“It is important to also realize that, for maximal benefits, a healthy diet would likely need to be combined with other healthy lifestyle practices to help protect an aging brain,” she says.
For now, Sexton notes that nutrition is one aspect of helping to stave off cognitive decline, but it’s not the only one. “It is important to also realize that, for maximal benefits, a healthy diet would likely need to be combined with other healthy lifestyle practices to help protect an aging brain,” she says. “Adopting one lifestyle factor, like a healthier diet, may reduce the risk of cognitive decline — but the more healthy lifestyle behaviors you can incorporate, the more cognitive benefit you’re likely to see.” This is an area of research the Alzheimer’s Association is exploring with its U.S. Study to Protect Brain Health Through Lifestyle.