Following a healthy diet in your 50s and 60s may give you the chance to reduce your risk of dementia, a new study suggests.
Research has long suggested that a diet rich in fish, legumes and vegetables and low in sweets can delay the development of the memory-sapping disease by up to 25 percent.
Now, British scientists have found that following such a program between the ages of 48 and 70 improves activity in areas of the brain that typically decline before a diagnosis.
Experts from the University of Oxford also found that those who had less fat around their waists at this stage of life had better memory and more flexibility in thinking when they reached old age.
The researchers, who labeled the finding "important," urged the public to consider "strategies for improving" their diet in order to preserve brain structure and reduce the risk of dementia.
Writing in the journal JAMA Network Open, the scientists said: "The global shift towards healthier eating habits is associated with an increase in the prevalence of diabetes, cardiovascular disease and obesity, all of which are known risk factors for dementia.
"It is important to consider the consequences of overall diet and central obesity for memory and relevant brain regions, such as the hippocampus."
In the study, researchers followed the eating habits of 512 Britons for 11 years and assessed the waist-to-hip ratio in 664 people over a follow-up period of 21 years.
Scans such as MRIs, along with cognitive performance tests, were performed at the start of the study and then again when participants were an average of 70 years old to track progress and catch signs of cognitive decline.
Scientists found that volunteers who followed a "better midlife diet" had improved connectivity between the left hippocampus — the part of the brain that plays a key role in processing and memory — and the occipital lobe, which is located at the back of the brain and is primarily responsible for visual processing.
Improving diet was also linked to better language skills, the scientists said.
This study comes after research in the US last year suggested that age-related changes that increase the risk of disease — such as slowing metabolism and worsening heart health — appear with significant peaks at ages 44 and 60.
To offset the impact of these age "waves," scientists at Stanford University — who published their findings in the journal Nature Aging — suggested that those approaching the ages of 44 and 60 exercise more frequently and adopt a healthier diet.
A landmark study published last year also suggested that almost half of Alzheimer's cases could be prevented by addressing 14 lifestyle factors.
The world's leading experts found two health problems — high cholesterol and vision loss — that, together, were behind almost one in ten cases of dementia globally.
They join 12 other factors, from genetics to eating status to smoking, which experts have identified as increasing a person's risk of suffering from dementia.
Experts claimed that the study, published in the prestigious journal The Lancet, offers more hope than "ever before" that the memory-sapping disorder that affects the lives of millions of people can be prevented.
Alzheimer's disease is the most common form of dementia and affects 982,000 people in the UK alone.
It is thought to be caused by a buildup of amyloid and tau in the brain, which clump together and form plaques and tangles that make it harder for the brain to function properly.
Eventually, the brain has difficulty coping with this damage and symptoms of dementia develop.
Memory problems, difficulties in thinking and reasoning, and problems with language are common symptoms of the disease, which worsen over time.
Alzheimer's Research UK's analysis found that 74,261 people died from dementia in 2022 compared to 69,178 the year before, making it the country's biggest killer. /Express newspaper/
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