Sticking to a healthy diet in your 50s and 60s may give you a fighting chance of slashing your risk of dementia, a new study has suggested.  Research has long suggested that a diet packed with fish, pulses and veggies and few sugary treats could delay the development of the memory-robbing condition by up to 25 per cent. Now, British scientists have discovered that following such a programme between the ages of 48 and 70 improves activity areas of the brain that typically decline before a diagnosis.

Experts from the University of Oxford also found that those with less fat around their middle at this stage of life had better memory and more flexible thinking as they reached old age.The researchers, who labelled the findings ‘important’, urged the public to consider ‘strategies to improve’ their diet in order to maintain brain structure and reduce dementia risk.

Writing in the journal JAMA Network Open, the researchers said: ‘The global shift toward unhealthy dietary habits is associated with an increase in the prevalence of diabetes, cardiovascular disease and obesity, all of which are known risk factors for dementia.’It is important to consider the implications of overall diet and central obesity for memory and associated brain regions, such as the hippocampus.’In the study, researchers tracked the dietary habits of 512 Brits over 11 years and assessed 664 people’s waist to hip ratio over a follow-up of 21 years.

Research has long suggested that a diet packed with fish, pulses and veggies and few sugary treats could delay the development of the memory-robbing condition by up to 25 per cent. Scans such as MRI, together with cognitive performance tests, were carried out at the beginning of the study and then again when participants were aged 70 on average to track progress and pick up on signs of cognitive decline.

The scientists found that volunteers who stuck to a ‘better midlife diet’ had improved connectivity between the left hippocampus — the part of the brain that plays a key role in processing and memory — and occipital lobe, located at the back of the brain and primarily responsible for visual processing. Improvement in diet was also associated with better language s𝓀𝒾𝓁𝓁s, the researchers said. It comes as US research last year suggested that age-related changes that increase disease risk — like slowing metabolism and dwindling heart health — show significant peaks at age 44 and 60.

To offset the impact of these dramatic aging ‘waves’, scientists at Stanford University — who published their findings in the journal Nature Aging — suggested that those approaching 44 and 60 exercise more often and adopt a healthier diet.

Being unable to learn new tasks and struggling to stay focused on a single task can be a sign of dementia — which affects nearly 1million Brits and seven million Americans. A landmark study last July also suggested almost half of all Alzheimer’s cases could be prevented by tackling 14 lifestyle factors. World-leading experts found two health problems —high cholesterol and vision loss — were, combined, behind almost one in ten dementia cases globally. They join 12 other factors, ranging from genetics to smoking status, that experts have identified as increasing the risk a person will suffer dementia.

Experts claimed the study, published in the prestigious journal The Lancet, provided more hope than ‘ever before’ that the memory-robbing disorder that blights the lives of millions can be prevented. Alzheimer’s Disease is the most common form of dementia and affects 982,000 people in the UK. It is thought to be caused by a build-up of amyloid and tau in the brain, which clump together and from plaques and tangles that make it harder for the brain to work properly. Eventually, the brain struggles to cope with this damage and dementia symptoms develop. Memory problems, thinking and reasoning difficulties and language problems are common early symptoms of the condition, which then worsen over time.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.