Researchers successfully tested a special diet they designed that appears to reduce the risk for developing Alzheimer’s disease.

The study compared the so-called MIND diet with the popular, heart-healthy Mediterranean diet and the DASH diet, which is intended to help control high blood pressure. The MIND diet borrows significantly from the other two, and all are largely plant-based and low in high-fat foods. But the MIND diet places particular emphasis on eating “brain-healthy” foods such as green leafy vegetables and berries, among other recommendations.

The study, conducted by researchers at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago, found strict adherence to any of the three diets lessened the chances of getting Alzheimer’s. But only the MIND diet seemed to help counter the disease even when people followed only some of the diet’s recommendations. The research was observational, not randomized or controlled, and therefore isn’t evidence the MIND diet caused a reduced risk for Alzheimer’s. Instead, the research shows there is an association between the two.

The study is part of a small body of research investigating how nutrition can improve brain health and stave off the cognitive decline and memory impairment that comes with Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia. Experts say there is growing awareness that lifestyle factors—not just genetics—play a prominent role in the development of Alzheimer’s, and researchers hope to come up with an optimal diet that will lessen the chances of developing the disease. An estimated 5.1 million people in the U.S. have Alzheimer’s, a number expected to grow to 7.1 million by 2025, according to the Alzheimer’s Association.

“It’s a relatively new field compared with heart disease and diabetes and nutrition,” said Martha Clare Morris, a professor of neurological epidemiology at Rush. “As we learn more and more I think we would definitely modify or update the [MIND] diet based on the latest research,” said Dr. Morris, who was first author of the study, published recently in the journal Alzheimer’s & Dementia.