BATON ROUGE — People at risk for dementia may want to check out the Mediterranean diet, as a new study finds that it lowers the risk of dementia.

It is especially effective for people with the APOE4 gene, considered a major risk factor for Alzheimer's disease.

It lowered the probability of developing dementia by at least 35%.

The Mediterranean diet is plant-based — full of fish, vegetables, fruits, nuts and olive oil.

It also calls for little to no alcohol, red meat or processed foods.

"Lastly, we really limit things like dairy. So you can have a little bit of cheese on the Mediterranean diet. But it's really just kind of a dusting just to add some flavor, but not the foundation of a meal and it shouldn't really be consumed every day," Registered dietitian Julia Zumpano said.

The research covered 5700 people for more than three decades.