(CNN) Meals from the sunny Mediterranean have been linked to stronger bones, a healthier heart and longer life, along with a reduced risk for diabetes and high blood pressure.
Now you can add lowering your risk for dementia to the ever growing list of reasons to follow the Mediterranean diet or one of its dietary cousins.
New research being presented at the Alzheimer's Association International conference in London this week found healthy older adults who followed the Mediterranean or the similar MIND diet lowered their risk of dementia by a third.
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"Eating a healthy plant-based diet is associated with better cognitive function and around 30% to 35% lower risk of cognitive impairment during aging," said lead author Claire McEvoy, of the University of California, San Francisco's School of Medicine.
McEvoy stressed that because the study was conducted in a nationally representative older population "the findings are relevant to the general public."
Registered dietitian Lisa Drayer, who was not involved in the study, agrees that it's important to focus on eating healthy foods rather than avoiding unhealthy ones.
"We all need to eat to live," she said. "If you want to break other bad habits, you cut them out of your life: You cut cigarettes, you cut out drugs. But when it comes to food, you can't not eat. It's just as important, if not more important, for everyone to know what they should eat as opposed to what they should steer clear of. Adding certain foods on a regular basis is more achievable as opposed to stripping your diet of everything you like."
Drayer said the Mediterranean diet is consistent with the new U.S. Dietary Guidelines and other diets, such as Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension, which have proved to be protective in terms of disease prevention. She recommends including foods from the Mediterranean diet, such as salmon, fruits, vegetables, whole grains and even a glass of wine, to keep our hearts healthy.
"The diet has proven itself, and it behooves every one of us to eat more fish on a regular basis, to have half of our plate filled with produce and to enjoy the occasional glass of wine," she said. "And the more consistent you are with this type of diet, the more impact it has on your health."
" Study isn't a 'green light' for unhealthy foods "
The researchers also found that consuming a Western diet did not increase the risk of cardiovascular events. Stewart said this is surprising because such a diet includes foods known to increase the risk of obesity.
Although the study didn't find an association with the Western diet, Drayer said it's still important to limit processed and fried foods, since they've been shown to increase weight gain, cholesterol and heart disease risk.
The study does have some limitations, as it relied on people's memories of what they ate, and the questionnaire didn't define a serving size. The study was also part of a drug trial, but the findings of this study were not related to the drug.
Stewart and Drayer both caution that these new findings don't mean people can consume unhealthy foods without restrictions.
"This study should not give people the green light to go ahead and eat large portions of sugary foods and beverages and deep-fried foods," Drayer said. "But this study shows that it's never too late to make changes in your diet, and it can be particularly beneficial to include healthy foods."