This Lifestyle Factor Predicts Brain Aging Better Than Genetics, According to Neurologists

The statistics surrounding dementia and Alzheimer’s are alarming. According to the Alzheimer’s Association, greater than 7 million Americans live with Alzheimer’s, a illness that may be a type of dementia, which is an umbrella time period for a variety of signs involving cognitive decline.

Since dementia and Alzheimer’s contact so many lives, you may seemingly consider at the least one one that has it. If somebody in your loved ones was recognized with Alzheimer’s, you might marvel if which means a prognosis is in your future too. 

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According to Dr. Majid Fotuhi, MD, PhD, a neurologist and the writer of The Invincible Brain, having a household historical past of dementia or Alzheimer’s doesn’t imply you’re going to get it too. He says it’s much more unlikely in case your member of the family developed dementia later in life. “Late-life cognitive decline has a really small genetic part.”

Dr. Fotuhi says that the same is true for dementia in general. “There is an important difference between early-onset Alzheimer’s disease, which is rare and driven by specific gene mutations, and late-onset Alzheimer’s disease, which represents more than 95% of cases and is strongly shaped by lifestyle, vascular health and daily habits,” he explains.

In fact, all four neurologists we spoke with say that diet and lifestyle predict how one’s brain will age more strongly than genetics, especially when it comes to one specific habit.

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How Much Does Diet and Lifestyle Impact Brain Health as We Age?

Neurologist Dr. Doug Strobel, MD, says that diet and lifestyle almost entirely control brain health related to aging, not genetics. While genetics isn’t a primary driver of dementia, Dr. Strobel says that the mere act of getting older is a risk factor. This is because cumulative biological changes can make the brain more vulnerable to damage. It’s similar to why age is a risk factor for heart disease; the body becomes less resilient over time. The same is true for the brain. For this reason, the probability of developing dementia doubles roughly each 5 years.

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You can’t management getting older, however you may management your food plan and way of life habits, one thing all 4 neurologists we talked to say is essential for supporting an getting old mind. “Diet and lifestyle play equally important roles in healthy brain aging,” says neurologist Dr. Jon Stewart Hao Dy, MD. 

Dr. Dy explains that this consists of consuming a wide range of nutrient-rich meals, exercising regularly, getting enough sleep and commonly taking part in stimulating actions, comparable to taking part in music, dancing or going to cultural events. “If these diet and lifestyle habits are combined, cognitive health and function can be preserved, at the very least, as one ages,” Dr. Dy says.

Dr. Fotuhi also says that healthy diet and lifestyle habits can control how healthy their brain will age almost entirely. “Your choices about diet, exercise, stress management, sleep and how much you challenge your brain daily have a profound impact on how well you preserve and grow your brain capacity with aging,” he notes.

He believes in five pillars of brain health: exercise, sleep, brain-healthy vitamin, constructive mindset and mind coaching (focused video games, workouts and actions geared toward supporting cognitive well being). “All five pillars matter and they work together to maintain and boost our cognitive capacity with aging,” Dr. Fotuhi says.

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While having brain-healthy habits in place can go a good distance in defending cognitive well being as we age, Dr. Charalampos Tzoulis, MD, PhD, a neurology professor on the University of Bergen, says that we will not management how our mind will age fully.

“We can affect threat, however we can’t absolutely management it. If we had full management, we’d have already got solved a lot of the rising international burden of mind getting old and neurodegenerative illness. But we do know that the identical components linked to good basic well being are additionally related to more healthy mind getting old and a decrease threat of dementia,” Dr. Tzoulis says.

The Habit That Matters Most When It Comes to the Aging Brain, According to Neurologists

While all of the aforementioned habits are important for supporting brain health as we age, Dr. Hy and Dr. Strobel believe that following a brain-healthy diet is most important. Three eating plans scientifically linked to reducing the risk of dementia are the Mediterranean food plan, the DASH diet and the MIND diet. In fact, the MIND diet was created specifically for lowering the risk of dementia. 

All three of these eating plans emphasize eating a wide range of fruits, vegetables, plant-based proteins, whole grains and foods high in omega-3 fatty acids such as seafood, nuts and olive oil. “You need a whole food, plant-based diet if you want to overcome your memory loss or your potential for memory loss,” Dr. Strobel says.

Dr. Hy agrees, saying that that is particularly the case for a stroke-related sort of dementia referred to as vascular dementia, which is the second most common form of dementia in the U.S. “Vascular risk factor prevention and control through proper diet and nutrition is probably the single most important factor in preventing accelerated brain atrophy, brain aging and dementia,” he explains.

One of the reasons why primarily plant-based eating plans are scientifically linked to reducing the risk of dementia is that foods like fruit, vegetables, legumes, nuts, seeds, spices and herbs are all high in antioxidants. Antioxidants help reduce inflammation in the brain and protect it from neurodegenerative diseases.

This Lifestyle Factor Should Be Prioritized Too

While Dr. Sy and Dr. Strobel believe that diet is most important when it comes to brain health, Dr. Fotuhi believes that exercise plays a more prominent role. “Exercise is the cornerstone of brain vitality. It is the most powerful and consistently supported strategy we have for protecting cognitive function as we age.  When it comes to brain health, I believe exercise is the fountain of youth,” he says.

Dr. Fotuhi explains that exercise impacts the brain on a cellular level by increasing the number and efficiency of mitochondria, the energy factories inside neurons. “It stimulates the birth of new neurons in the hippocampus, the thumb-size brain structure for learning and memory that can shrink with aging,” he says.

Scientific research shows that exercise can literally make the hippocampus bigger. In one research, cardio exercise was proven to extend the hippocampus. Considering the truth that the mind naturally shrinks with age, that is fairly unimaginable.

“Even moderate activity makes a difference. Research shows that people who walk about 5,000 steps a day or more tend to have lower levels of amyloid, the toxic protein that accumulates and contributes to brain atrophy in patients with Alzheimer’s disease,” Dr. Fotuhi says.

Mitigating the chance of dementia doesn’t simply come down to at least one issue. The fact is, each a part of how you reside impacts the mind, not only one behavior. “Rather than in search of a single ‘magic bullet,’ the strongest message is that mind well being is constructed over time via a number of habits and relationships,” Dr. Tzoulis says.

With this in thoughts, the extra brain-healthy habits you’ve got in place, the higher. Start with following a brain-healthy food plan, however don’t cease there. Your cognitive well being depends upon it.

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This story was initially printed by Parade on Mar 1, 2026, the place it first appeared within the Health & Wellness part. Add Parade as a Preferred Source by clicking here.