Yum! But what the heck is the MIND diet?

Brain food. No, really. This is what researches say we should eat to keep our brains productive and sharp, especially as we age. They call it the MIND diet.

What the heck is the MIND diet?

It's abbreviated from Mediterranean/DASH Intervention for Neurodegenerative Delay and was created by a team of researchers at Rush University Medical Center and the Harvard School Of Public Health.

A mix of the popular DASH (Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension) and Mediterranean diets, the researchers studied eating patterns that reduces the risk Alzheimer's disease and conducted cognitive tests of 960 adults over a nine-year period, tracking their dietary habits.

The MIND diet is simple. You eat a lot of 10 'brain-healthy' foods like green leafy vegetables, nuts, berries and fish. You limit (not ban) foods like red meat, butter and margarine, cheese, sweets and anything processed.

Alzheimer's & Dementia: The Journal of the Alzheimer's Association published findings revealing that older adults who strictly adhere to the MIND diet face a 53 percent lower risk of Alzheimer?s. Following it moderately saw 35 percent lower risk.

So eat up! (If you can be so disciplined).