In 1979, the NHL finally decided that all hockey players had to wear helmets. That came more than a decade after the death of the Minnesota North Stars' Bill Masterton from an on-ice head injury.

It took that long for hockey’s warrior culture to admit the toll that head injuries and CTE (chronic traumatic encephalopathy) were taking on players. 

Regrettably, it's taking even longer for folks to realize that traumatic brain injury can happen from eating a diet loaded with saturated fats, red meats, dairy, and processed and sugary foods.

The average American still downs four and a half servings of red meat weekly and about 40 pounds of cheese a year, and some 37% of people eat fast food regularly.

Another new study shows that what you eat is a major weapon when it comes to protecting your brain from Alzheimer's disease.

Researchers used scans and tests of cerebrospinal fluid to determine that a Mediterranean diet reduces the accumulation of beta-amyloid proteins and tau proteins, which stick together inside brain neurons and appear to cause Alzheimer's symptoms.  

People who regularly ate a diet of fish, vegetables, fruits, nuts, legumes, whole grain cereals, and monounsaturated fats such as olive oil, along with moderate alcohol consumption, had fewer beta-amyloid and tau clumps and a larger hippocampus. That’s the brain's memory control center, which shrinks early and severely in cases of Alzheimer's.

So ditch added sugars and poach that salmon; cook up whole-grain pasta and have a salad and roasted veggies.

Your brain — and your waistline — will thank you.