Key TakeawaysEating a balanced and nutritious diet earlier in life may protect your cognitive function for your later years.While studies are exploring the link between diet and brain health, more research is needed on the relationship.It is never too late to improve your eating habits to support your lifelong health.

Key Takeaways

Eating a balanced and nutritious diet earlier in life may protect your cognitive function for your later years.While studies are exploring the link between diet and brain health, more research is needed on the relationship.It is never too late to improve your eating habits to support your lifelong health.

According to the preliminary results of a new study presented at the American Society for Nutrition’s annualNUTRITION 2024conference, a nutritious diet early in life can protect againstcognitive declineas you age.

The study analyzed data from the UK’s National Survey of Health and Development, a long-term health survey of over 3,000 people in the 1946 British Birth Cohort who were followed for almost seven decades.

The researchers discovered that participants who ate a higher-quality diet earlier in life were much more likely to have higher cognitive ability in their 60s and 70s than people who ate a lower-quality diet.

Compared to other research on the subject, this study is unique because it shows how diet in early childhood and adulthood might affect cognition later in life. Most studies that have explored the link only looked at the quality of a person’s diet in their later adult years. This new study was the first to look at diet and cognitive abilities throughout life (from age 4 to 70).

“The benefits of diet [are] something we talk a lot about, and this study will add valuable information on how eating patterns directly and indirectly correlate with cognitive health,”Victor Henderson, MD, professor of epidemiology, population health, and neurology at Stanford University, told Verywell.

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How Diet Affects Brain Health

What you eat affects many aspects of your overall well-being—from heart health to sleep, mood, and weight. Studies suggest that a nutritious diet may help protect against neurodegenerative disorders, including cognitive decline anddementia. A health-supporting diet may even help you live longer.

Eating plans that are low in fat and processed sugars may boost brain health. Common examples of these types of diets include:

While the exact link between diet and brain health is not fully understood, researchers think that key micronutrients, such asB vitamins,iron, andantioxidants, may have a protective role in cognitive function (e.g., thinking, learning, and memory).

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It’s Never Too Late to Start Eating Better

Many adults didn’t get the chance to establish health-supporting eating habits early in life, and the effects of a diet that lacks nutrition are often felt when they hit middle age. At this phase of life, people often develop chronic conditions such asobesity,heart disease,diabetes, andsleep disorders.

However, experts stress that it is never too late to change your eating patterns to support and improve your health and reduce the symptoms of chronic disease.

“Diet can be a continuing factor in our health,” Kelly Cara, PhD, abstract presenter, a recent graduate of Tufts University’s School of Nutrition Science and Policy, and now a post-doctoral fellow at the American Cancer Society, told Verywell. “Cognitive health is one of many positive outcomes of eating a healthy diet. It is never too late to start.”

Many factors are involved in an individual’s diagnosis of dementia and cognitive decline, but diet is one modifiable lifestyle habit that can have a positive effect on well-being at any age. Changing what you eat now may help reduce your chances of developing cognitive problems later in life.

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What Foods Are Best for Brain Health?

Research suggests that the Mediterranean and DASH diets are beneficial for overall health as we age, but the MIND diet specifically targets the aging brain. In one study, 53% of participants who followed the MIND diet had lower rates ofAlzheimer’s diseasecompared to people who followed Mediterranean the eating plan.

To get the best results on the MIND diet, eat plenty of:

What This Means For YouWhile more studies are needed to fully understand how your diet throughout your life affects your cognitive health, there is a lot of evidence that eating plenty of fruits, vegetables, and whole grains supports your lifelong well-being.

What This Means For You

While more studies are needed to fully understand how your diet throughout your life affects your cognitive health, there is a lot of evidence that eating plenty of fruits, vegetables, and whole grains supports your lifelong well-being.

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6 SourcesVerywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.American Society for Nutrition.Want to stay mentally sharp longer? Eat a healthy diet now.Puri S, Shaheen M, Grover B.Nutrition and cognitive health: a life course approach.Front Public Health. 2023;11:1023907. doi:10.3389/fpubh.2023.1023907American Medical Association.Diet patterns that can boost longevity, cut chronic disease.Gauci S, Young LM, Arnoldy L, Lassemillante AC, Scholey A, Pipingas A.Dietary patterns in middle age: effects on concurrent neurocognition and risk of age-related cognitive decline.Nutr Rev. 2022;80(5):1129-1159. doi:10.1093/nutrit/nuab047Hosking DE, Eramudugolla R, Cherbuin N, Anstey KJ.MIND not Mediterranean diet related to 12-year incidence of cognitive impairment in an Australian longitudinal cohort study.Alzheimers Dement. 2019;15(4):581-589. doi:10.1016/j.jalz.2018.12.011Morris MC, Tangney CC, Wang Y, et al.MIND diet slows cognitive decline with aging.Alzheimers Dement. 2015;11(9):1015-1022. doi:10.1016/j.jalz.2015.04.011

6 Sources

Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.American Society for Nutrition.Want to stay mentally sharp longer? Eat a healthy diet now.Puri S, Shaheen M, Grover B.Nutrition and cognitive health: a life course approach.Front Public Health. 2023;11:1023907. doi:10.3389/fpubh.2023.1023907American Medical Association.Diet patterns that can boost longevity, cut chronic disease.Gauci S, Young LM, Arnoldy L, Lassemillante AC, Scholey A, Pipingas A.Dietary patterns in middle age: effects on concurrent neurocognition and risk of age-related cognitive decline.Nutr Rev. 2022;80(5):1129-1159. doi:10.1093/nutrit/nuab047Hosking DE, Eramudugolla R, Cherbuin N, Anstey KJ.MIND not Mediterranean diet related to 12-year incidence of cognitive impairment in an Australian longitudinal cohort study.Alzheimers Dement. 2019;15(4):581-589. doi:10.1016/j.jalz.2018.12.011Morris MC, Tangney CC, Wang Y, et al.MIND diet slows cognitive decline with aging.Alzheimers Dement. 2015;11(9):1015-1022. doi:10.1016/j.jalz.2015.04.011

Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.

American Society for Nutrition.Want to stay mentally sharp longer? Eat a healthy diet now.Puri S, Shaheen M, Grover B.Nutrition and cognitive health: a life course approach.Front Public Health. 2023;11:1023907. doi:10.3389/fpubh.2023.1023907American Medical Association.Diet patterns that can boost longevity, cut chronic disease.Gauci S, Young LM, Arnoldy L, Lassemillante AC, Scholey A, Pipingas A.Dietary patterns in middle age: effects on concurrent neurocognition and risk of age-related cognitive decline.Nutr Rev. 2022;80(5):1129-1159. doi:10.1093/nutrit/nuab047Hosking DE, Eramudugolla R, Cherbuin N, Anstey KJ.MIND not Mediterranean diet related to 12-year incidence of cognitive impairment in an Australian longitudinal cohort study.Alzheimers Dement. 2019;15(4):581-589. doi:10.1016/j.jalz.2018.12.011Morris MC, Tangney CC, Wang Y, et al.MIND diet slows cognitive decline with aging.Alzheimers Dement. 2015;11(9):1015-1022. doi:10.1016/j.jalz.2015.04.011

American Society for Nutrition.Want to stay mentally sharp longer? Eat a healthy diet now.

Puri S, Shaheen M, Grover B.Nutrition and cognitive health: a life course approach.Front Public Health. 2023;11:1023907. doi:10.3389/fpubh.2023.1023907

American Medical Association.Diet patterns that can boost longevity, cut chronic disease.

Gauci S, Young LM, Arnoldy L, Lassemillante AC, Scholey A, Pipingas A.Dietary patterns in middle age: effects on concurrent neurocognition and risk of age-related cognitive decline.Nutr Rev. 2022;80(5):1129-1159. doi:10.1093/nutrit/nuab047

Hosking DE, Eramudugolla R, Cherbuin N, Anstey KJ.MIND not Mediterranean diet related to 12-year incidence of cognitive impairment in an Australian longitudinal cohort study.Alzheimers Dement. 2019;15(4):581-589. doi:10.1016/j.jalz.2018.12.011

Morris MC, Tangney CC, Wang Y, et al.MIND diet slows cognitive decline with aging.Alzheimers Dement. 2015;11(9):1015-1022. doi:10.1016/j.jalz.2015.04.011

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