A recent study published in Neurology found that incorporating whole foods such as leafy greens, veggies, and some fruits into your daily diet can reduce your risk of developing dementia by 48 percent. Foods such as kale, spinach, tomatoes, and pears were found to help prevent cognitive decline.
Tomatoes
Tomatoes are a particularly good source of two all-star antioxidants: lycopene and beta-carotene. These are essential to protect brain cells and prevent damage. Tomatoes prove to be one of the most economical ways to increase your brainpower.
Broccoli, cauliflower, brussels sprouts, and other cruciferous vegetables are high in B vitamins and carotenoids that have the ability to reduce levels of homocysteine — an amino acid linked to cognitive decline, brain atrophy, and dementia.
Avocados contain B vitamins, which have been studied for their potential role in brain health because of their role in homocysteine metabolism (5, 8). Elevated homocysteine level is a risk factor for AD and dementia. B vitamins can help to lower homocysteine levels (47).
Eggs provide bioactive compounds, such as lutein, choline, zeaxanthin, and high-value proteins, that may have a protective role against dementia due to their beneficial effects on inflammation (22, 23).
New research finds that it's not only what you eat, but also how you combine certain foods that can increase your risk of developing Alzheimer's and other forms of dementia in later life. The foods most strongly associated with this risk were sugary snacks, alcohol, processed meats, and starches like potatoes.
There are many different types of flavonoids; those with the greatest link to lower dementia risk came from tea, apples, pears, blueberries, and strawberries. A high intake was about the same as having 7.5 cups of berries, eight apples or pears, and 19 cups of tea per month.
Carrots are a great source of beta-carotene (which your body converts to vitamin A). Many studies have shown that people who consumed higher levels of vitamin A and other anti-oxidants over several years had substantially decreased levels of Alzheimer's disease.
Did you know that one of your favorites can also help prevent Alzheimers? It turns out that a compound found in cucumbers does just that! Fisetin, a flavenol, can ward of memory loss. Many people don't know that how you live your life plays a big role in whether you develop Alzheimer's.
Lycopene is a carotenoid, which is the natural pigment that gives certain fruit and veg its vibrant red colour. The properties of lycopene have been linked to preventing memory loss in age-related conditions such as Alzheimer's.
Green, leafy vegetables.
Leafy greens such as kale, spinach, collards, and broccoli are rich in brain-healthy nutrients like vitamin K, lutein, folate, and beta carotene. Research suggests these plant-based foods may help slow cognitive decline.
In the CAIDE study, coffee drinking of 3-5 cups per day at midlife was associated with a decreased risk of dementia/AD by about 65% at late-life. In conclusion, coffee drinking may be associated with a decreased risk of dementia/AD.
The study did not only help provide evidence that yogurt may help prevent dementia, but it may also help fight against cognitive decline. Increasing dietary supplement probiotics may indeed increase concentration, decision-making, and overall understanding.
Several epidemiological studies have investigated the relationship between milk and dairy intake and cognitive impairment or dementia. 6–12 Some cross-sectional studies have evaluated this relationship and found that higher milk and dairy intake is likely to have a protective effect against cognitive impairment.
Certain fruits such as oranges, bell peppers, guava, kiwi, tomatoes, and strawberries, contain high amounts of vitamin C. Vitamin C helps prevent brain cells from becoming damaged and supports overall brain health. In fact, a study found that vitamin C can potentially prevent Alzheimer's.
In this population-based cohort study, higher cheese intake associated with lower risk of incident dementia, whereas other dairy or meat subgroups or fish did not associate with the risk of incident dementia, and none of the foods associated with AD risk.
While the process of creating cocoa and chocolate can often reduce the flavanol content, flavanol-rich cocoa or chocolate may improve cognitive function for elderly people. The benefits, however, are very small and specific. Whether it can protect against dementia is even less clear.
Ice cream brings people with dementia to happier, warmer times when the treat was shared with friends and loved ones at special, joyous occa- sions. Ice cream has the power to immediately elicit soothing feelings at the very first taste of a single spoon-full.
Someone with dementia may become dehydrated if they're unable to communicate or recognise that they're thirsty, or if they forget to drink. This can lead to headaches, increased confusion, urinary tract infections and constipation. These can make the symptoms of dementia worse.