A study of 1,984 adults from Columbia University Medical Center in New York, published in the Archives of Neurology, said there is growing evidence that the Mediterranean diet cuts the risk of stroke, heart disease and diabetes, suggesting that vascular factors may contribute to the chances of developing Alzheimer’s disease.

After taking into account other possible risk factors, researchers found that those in the top third in terms of how their diets matched the Mediterranean model had 68 percent lower odds of having Alzheimer’s disease than those in the bottom one-third.

A second study in the same publication, reported that Omega-3 fatty acid food supplements may slow mental decline in some patients with very mild Alzheimer’s disease, but do not appear to affect those with more advanced cases.