Healthy lifestyle changes can improve brain function in patients with mild cognitive impairment or early dementia Patients had their dementia symptoms either remain stable or improve within 20 weeks of adopting a healthy lifestyle The more they stuck to healthy choices, the better their improvement FRIDAY, June 7, 2024 (HealthDay News) -- New research shows that a set of healthy lifestyle habits can help preserve brain function in folks with mild cognitive impairment or early dementia. About 71% of patients who ate healthy, exercised regularly and engaged in stress management had their dementia symptoms either remain stable or improve without the use of any drugs , researchers reported June 7 in the journal Alzheimer’s Research and Therapy . By comparison, about 68% of patients in a control group without these lifestyle changes experienced a worsening of their symptoms, results show.
Researchers also found that the more patients changed their lives in healthy ways and stuck to those changes, the greater the benefit for their brain power. This is the first time that lifestyle changes have been shown to have any impact on the progression of dementia and Alzheimer’s, researchers said. “I’m cautiously optimistic and very encouraged by these findings, which may empower many people with new hope and new choices,” said lead researcher Dr.
Dean Ornish , founder and president of the nonprofit Preventive Medicine Research Institute. “We do not yet have a cure for Alzheimer�.
