A new study has drummed home the importance of lifestyle changes in the battle against preventing dementia—and what you're putting on your plate is key.

The US POINTER trial involved more than 2,000 men and women aged between 60 and 79, who were at risk of developing dementia. 

Subjects were given lifestyle interventions focused on physical activity, diet, brain training, and social engagement, and were monitored for two years. 

They were instructed to follow the MIND diet—short for Mediterranean-Dash Diet Intervention for Neurodegenerative Delay—an eating pattern which combines key features of the Mediterranean diet with a dramatic reduction in salt to help control blood pressure. 

The participants were split into two groups, and given either a structured or self-guided programme, reports medical journal JAMA. 

The study author wrote that after two years, both groups showed cognitive improvements compared with the start of the experiment. 

The were assessed on their memory, executive function, and processing speeds, with the structured group noted as performing slightly better. 

Adherence to the plan was high in both groups, with less than four per cent of people dropping out. 

Lead Researcher Dr Jonathan M Schott said: 'From a pragmatic clinical and public health perspective, the key message of US POINTER may be that even relatively modest lifestyle changes can support cognitive health in aging populations.'

The MIND diet has 15 components, including 10 'brain-healthy food groups'—green leafy vegetables, other vegetables, nuts, berries, beans, whole grains, fish, poultry, olive oil and wine.

It also has five unhealthy groups that comprise red meats, butter and stick margarine, cheese, pastries and sweets, and fried or fast food.

The MIND diet includes at least three servings of wholegrains, a salad and one other vegetable every day.

It also involves snacking most days on nuts and eating beans every other day or so, poultry and berries at least twice a week and fish at least once a week.

Dieters must limit eating the designated unhealthy foods, eating less than one tablespoon of butter a day and eating cheese, fried or fast food less than once a week.

The Alzheimer's Society estimate that by 2040 there will be 1.4 million people living with dementia in the UK.

Dementia is an umbrella term for several brain diseases that affect memory, thinking and cognition, and the most common of those in the UK is Alzheimer's.

Previous studies have highlighted four 'pathways' to developing the memory-robbing illness, but there's increasing evidence to support that there are ways to avoid, or at least defer the onset of, the disease.

American researchers analysed data from more than 24,000 patients and identified psychiatric conditions, brain dysfunction illnesses, mild cognitive impairments and heart disease, as all leading to the debilitating disorder.

A landmark study from Finland which inspired the US POINTER study, the FINGER trial, monitored 1,200 people who were at risk of cognitive decline because of lifestyle factors such as lack of exercise and high blood pressure. 

It found that interventions to help with diet, exercise and cognitive training significantly improved or maintained cognitive function, protecting the cohort from succumbing to the disease, or at least delaying its onset.  

In 2020, the Lancet Consortium on Dementia Prevention concluded that 40 per cent of dementia cases could be prevented or delayed by targeting 12 modifiable risk factors, including obesity, type 2 diabetes, physical inactivity, excess alcohol intake and smoking. 

Scientists have previously suggested that the high levels of antioxidant compounds in the MIND diet can protect the brain from harmful inflammation that fuels dementia.

Up to four in 10 dementia cases are thought to be attributed to lifestyle factors such as poor diet and lack of exercise.

Around 944,000 people in the UK are thought to be living with dementia, while the figure is thought to be around 7million in the US.

 Analysis by the Alzheimer's Society estimated the overall annual cost of the dementia to the UK is £42billion a year, with families bearing the brunt.

An ageing population means these costs—which include lost earnings of unpaid carers—are set to soar to £90billion in the next 15 years.

Alzheimer's Research UK analysis found 74,261 people died from dementia in 2022 compared with 69,178 a year earlier, making it the country's biggest killer.

Classic early signs of dementia are memory loss, difficulty concentrating, communication issues and mood problems.

But there are other lesser known signs, with earlier studies connecting changes in sight, hearing, touch and balance with the early stages of the disease.

Experts have called for these sensory changes to be included in diagnostic tests to help people be diagnosed sooner.