Do These Five Things to Lower Your Alzheimer’s Risk by 60%

At the Alzheimer’s Association International Conference on Sunday, British, German, and American researchers revealed that they had identified five lifestyle habits that can lower Alzheimer’s risk, even if a person is genetically predisposed. Their study, which was recently published in the journal JAMA, analyzed the data of 196,383 UK adults age 60 and older and found that those who didn’t smoke, exercised regularly, maintained a healthy diet, drank in moderation, and engaged in mentally stimulating activities had a 60 percent reduced risk of dementia compared to those who did just one or none of these things.

Of course, it’s not exactly surprising that leading a healthy lifestyle really pays off; in fact, these highlighted habits correlate to the five habits that a 2018 Harvard study found could extend your life by over a decade. However, this new study is encouraging because it found that, even if you have a high genetic risk for dementia, making good lifestyle choices can still reduce your risk by 32 percent.

“This is the first study to analyze the extent to which you may offset your genetic risk of dementia by living a healthy lifestyle,” Dr Elzbieta Kuźma, a research fellow in neuroepidemiology at the University of Exeter Medical School and co-author of the study, said in a university newsletter. “Our findings are exciting as they show that we can take action to try to offset our genetic risk for dementia.”

So, if dementia does run in your family, know that you still have a lot more control than you might think. Just by doing these five things: quitting smoking, limiting your alcohol intake, practicing meditation, and working out for 30 minutes a day, you can boost your chances of staying sharp well into old age.