Brain health may not be something you think about too often but it is certainly something you should be thinking about. A poor diet can increase the risk of Alzheimer’s disease and also a decline in cognition. Eating right can be an easy, preventative way to avoid it and possibly improve memory too.

The “MIND” diet focuses on eating plant-based foods while limiting saturated fat, red meat, and sweets. After taking a look at the Mediterranean diet in addition to DASH diets, researchers came up with the MIND diet that can possibly prevent neurological decline. Researchers noted eating logs in an adult population for around 4.5 years and determined the differences in eating habits in those who developed dementia versus those who did not.

These tweaks to your diet may help prevent neurological decline and even boost memory and cognition when followed over time:

• Berries at least twice a week
• Green leafy vegetables at least 6 times per week (Salads and such)
• Other vegetables at least once per day
• Poultry 2 times per week
• Eating red meat less than 4 times per week
• Beans 3 times per weak or more
• Fish at least once per week
• Less than 5 pastries or sweets per week
• Nuts 5 times per week
• Use mainly olive oil during cooking
• Fast food or fried food once per week or less
• A tablespoon or less of butter per day
• Less than a serving of cheese per week
• Only a single glass of wine or 1 alcoholic drink per day

Those tweaks have each been shown to reduce the risk of Alzheimer’s disease and are more flexible than other types of diets that are going to yield similar effects. Each rule is worth 1 point and there is a total of 15 points. Try for as many as you can per week to improve your brain health!