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3. EAT A HEART-HEALTHY DIET This is a diet that keeps cholesterol in check and promotes normal insulin activity — both of which can help reduce your dementia risk. But which diet is the most

effective? A new scientific statement from the American Heart Association ranks the DASH (Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension) diet at the top of the list. Designed to help people

manage their blood pressure, DASH emphasizes vegetables, fruits, whole grains, legumes, low-fat dairy, and nuts and seeds. It limits red meat, sodium and sweets. Also ranking high on the new

AHA list is the well-known Mediterranean diet, which emphasizes vegetables, fruit, whole grains, legumes, fatty fish, extra-virgin olive oil, and nuts and seeds. “We have nice data that

people who adhere to more of a Mediterranean-style diet are less likely to develop dementia,” Sabbagh says. In a 2021 study, a team of German researchers found that the Mediterranean diet

was associated with larger brain volume and less beta-amyloid — the protein that forms the neuron-killing clumps that are a hallmark of Alzheimer’s disease. The MIND (Mediterranean-DASH

Intervention for Neurodegenerative Delay) diet is another approach, combining a Mediterranean-style plan with the DASH diet. It’s rich in neuroprotective foods (nuts, berries, green leafy

vegetables, fish and olive oil). A landmark study showed that people around the age of 80 who followed it for five years had a surprisingly large cognitive advantage over those who didn’t.

And a more recent study, published in March 2023 in the journal _Neurology, _found that people who followed the MIND or Mediterranean diets had fewer signs of Alzheimer’s disease in their

brains. 4. MANAGE YOUR WEIGHT Obesity is a well-established risk factor for dementia. In a 2020 study, subjects with obesity were 34 percent more likely to develop dementia than those who

were normal weight; the risk for women was even higher (39 percent). But how are the two linked? Neurons, like all cells, use glucose for their energy source. But they can’t take it up

without normal insulin function. Excess body weight (especially around the belly), not exercising, smoking and short sleep make it harder for insulin to move into cells, leading to insulin

resistance. That’s a stepping stone to type 2 diabetes, and those with that condition have about a 60 percent increased risk of developing dementia, research suggests. Losing weight is the

best way to prevent, or even reverse, insulin resistance. According to the American Diabetes Association, losing as little as 5 to 7 percent of your body weight can be enough. If you’re

taking an insulin-regulating medication like metformin, staying on track with it is extremely important for long-term cognitive health. A 2020 study found that people with type 2 diabetes

who didn’t take metformin were more than five times more likely to develop dementia over six years. 5. LEARN NEW THINGS Just like bodies, brains are meant to be active, Daffner says. Even

animals benefit from brain stimulation. “We have beautiful animal work showing that mice who live in enriched, interesting environments have more neurons in the brain, more connections

between neurons and a greater ability to resist or compensate for neuronal damage.” One of the most important human studies on this subject was ACTIVE, which randomly assigned participants

to three kinds of cognitive training (memory, speed and reasoning). Ten years later, when participants were around 82 years old, those who had taken the training still retained their gains.

Compared with controls, they were doing better in their daily activities, including maintaining independence and driving, and had better thinking skills. Those assigned to the

processing-speed training were 29 percent less likely to have dementia.