Paying attention to what you eat reaps dividends in maintaining healthy brain function as you age. A study of what foods are beneficial and which ones are to be avoided was recently published in Alzheimer's and Dementia, the journal of the Alzheimer's Association.

The study looked at three diet strategies: the Mediterranean diet, the DASH diet and the MIND diet. Researchers found that a strict adherence to the first two resulted in a lower rate of cognitive decline associated Alzheimer's disease, while a more moderate compliance to the MIND diet gave similar results.

The group from the Department of Internal Medicine and the Rush Alzheimer's Disease Center at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago had followed 923 people ages 58 to 98 for more than four years. The researchers, led by Martha Clare Morris, Ph.D., used surveys to determine the diet patterns of the participants.

The Mediterranean diet is considered to be heart healthy. These diets reflect what is considered to be reflective of the typical foods and recipes in the diets of those from the Mediterranean.

Important aspects include consuming primarily plant foods, such as fruits, vegetables, whole grains, legumes and nuts. The diet does not incorporate animal fats such as butter, but uses olive oil and replaces salt with herbs and spices. Strict adherence to the diet is limited to minimal consumption of red meat and eating fish and poultry twice a week. The consumption of red wine is also an aspect of the diet.

The DASH diet was developed to combat hypertension and healthy cholesterol levels. The diet also emphasizes plant-based foods — vegetables and fruits — with a balance of proteins. The stress is on portion size and balancing optimum foods.

The MIND diet is a combination of the Mediterranean and DASH diets and is considered easier to follow. The MIND Diet has 10 do's and five don'ts. The foods considered beneficial include green leafy vegetables, other vegetables, nuts, berries, beans, whole grains, fish, poultry, olive oil and wine. The foods considered detrimental to brain health are red meats, butter/margarine, cheese, pastries/sweets and fried/fast foods.

An aspect of adherence to the diet includes eating three servings of whole grains, a salad and one other vegetable on a daily basis. The consumption of wine is part of adherence. But the diet requires limiting the consumption of don't foods to less than three servings a week.

Researchers found that the longer the adherence to the diet, the less likely that a person will develop Alzheimer's disease.

"You'll be healthier if you've been doing the right thing for a long time," Morris said.

Eating right, feeling right and thinking right are all related.