Eating more natural, unprocessed food, keeping active and having a good social life are all ways you can fight off dementia as you age, according to two new studies published Wednesday in Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.
PHYSICAL, MENTAL AND SOCIAL ACTIVTY HELPS
Regularly doing household chores lowered risk by 21% while daily visits with family and friends lowered the risk of dementia by 15%, compared with people who were less engaged. Visiting pubs appeared to raise risk, the study found. Everyone in the study benefited from the protective effect of physical and mental activities, whether or not they had a family history of dementia, researchers found.
"The results show that not only are ultraprocessed foods harmful to brain health, but removing them from your diet may improve cognitive outcomes and reduce dementia risk," said Niotis, who was not involved with the study. Minimally processed and unprocessed foods are defined as whole foods in which the vitamins and nutrients are still intact. Raw and frozen vegetables, whole grains, legumes and beans, fruits, nuts, meats, seafood, herbs, spices, garlic, eggs, and milk can all fit into this category.