A new study has found that eating a Mediterranean diet can help reduce the risk of having brain infarcts, or silent strokes, that can lead to problems with thinking and memory.

Researchers assessed the diets of 712 people in New York and divided them into three groups based on how closely they were following the Mediterranean diet. Then they conducted MRI brain scans of the people an average of six years later.

Those who were most closely following a Mediterranean-like diet were 36 percent less likely to have areas of brain damage than those who were least following the diet. Those moderately following the diet were 21 percent less likely to have brain damage than the lowest group.

"In this study, not eating a Mediterranean-like diet had about the same effect on the brain as having high blood pressure," said study author Dr. Nikolaos Scarmeas.

The Mediterranean diet is high in olive oil, plant-based foods such as fruits, vegetables, legumes, whole-grain cereals, nuts and seeds as well as fish.

Previous studies have linked the diet to a reduced risk of heart disease and Alzheimer’s disease.