HOLYOKE, Mass. – The Alzheimer's Association says more than 6 million Americans are dealing with Alzheimer's disease, and the number is expected to double over the next few decades.

The organization, along with Holyoke Community College dieticians, say making changes to your diet, however, can prevent the process of developing cognitive illnesses like Alzheimer's and dementia.

"The goal is to really follow something called the MIND diet," said Marissa Chiapperino. "Which is a mediterranean dash neurodegenerative delay diet, so what that means is that's a balance of whole grains, fruits and vegetables, different antioxidants and low, healthy fats to delay the onset of Alzheimer's and dementia."

The registered dietitian said it's important to balance the proteins, carbohydrates and fats so choices like low-sodium beans and canned fish at the grocery store can be healthy alternatives.

She said it's also important for people to have an idea of how food can be tasty as well as accessible, so Friday's Brain Health Can Start in the Kitchen” event involved a spread of healthy options.

"Today, we did roasted parmesan edamame, which are soy beans," she said. "We did a roasted chickpea for a nice crunchy snack. Then we did an orange chickpea chamomile blondie with chocolate chips. We did a keen and black-eye read salad with tomatoes and olive oil."

Chiapperino said physical exercise along with cognitive activities to keep the brain active can help lower the risk of developing Alzheimer's and dementia as well.

She said it can be difficult for people to make drastic changes to their diet, so she recommends going about it at a steady pace.

"I encourage people to only make one or two changes at a time," she said. "And if they're stuck and don't know where to start, changing your beverages from things that have a lot of sugar and fat in them to those that are sugar-free and mostly just tea, black coffee, water and anything that doesn't have any added sugar is a great place to start."

Both Holyoke Community College and the Alzheimer's Association want to remind people to seek support if they have a loved one suffering from cognitive illnesses and to not try to deal with the condition alone.