The MIND diet ― a hybrid of the Mediterranean diet and the Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) diet ― may slow cognitive decline in elderly adults, according to researchers from Chicago's Rush University Medical Center who developed the MIND diet.

In an observational study, elderly people who rigorously followed the MIND diet were 7.5 years younger cognitively during a period of roughly 5 years than those with the poorest adherence.

"Following the MIND diet may be a way to preserve the brain with age and to prevent dementia," Martha Clare Morris, ScD, a nutritional epidemiologist at Rush University Medical Center, told Medscape Medical News.

The study was published online June 15 in the journal Alzheimer’s and Dementia.