5 Habits SLASH Your Risk of Cognitive Decline
Just the thought of developing dementia is terrifying.
The fact that there are already 7 million Americans over 65 living with the disease—and that will increase to 12 million in the next 15 years—is even scarier.
You might think that at your age, it’s too late to make any meaningful changes to protect your brain. But if so, you couldn’t be more wrong.
In fact, according to a recent study, there are steps you can take to reduce your risk of cognitive decline… even if you already have signs of dementia.
Researchers tracked study participants for over 20 years, gathering data through regular mental and physical tests and lifestyle questionnaires.
When volunteers died, the researchers looked at autopsies of their brains.
They discovered a direct connection between engaging in specific lifestyle habits and a significantly reduced risk of cognitive decline.
Incredibly, this was even the case in participants who had signs of Alzheimer’s disease (like beta-amyloid plaque and tau) in their brains.
In other words, engaging in healthy habits can reduce the risk of cognitive decline, even in people at a higher risk of dementia.
The five habits that put people in the healthy brain category include:
- Not smoking.
- Engaging in 150 minutes of activity every week.
- Limiting alcohol intake to 1-2 drinks daily.
- Engaging in brain-stimulating activities.
- Following the MIND diet, which is essentially a whole foods diet that limits sugar and processed meat.
The higher the healthy lifestyle score, the better the volunteer’s brain health—and the healthier folks were overall.
Higher scores were also linked to lower beta-amyloid plaque levels and higher cognitive scores.
The bottom line: A healthier diet leads to a healthier brain.
P.S. Delicious fix SUPERCHARGES brain health.
SOURCE:
Dhana K, Agarwal P, James BD, et al. Healthy Lifestyle and Cognition in Older Adults With Common Neuropathologies of Dementia. JAMA Neurol. Published online February 05, 2024. doi: 10. 1001 /jamaneurol .2023.5491
