Lifestyle medicine for healthy cognitive aging: A narrative review

Many countries across the globe are experiencing aging populations, which brings into question the fitness and capacity of these populations. Rates of neurodegenerative diseases worldwide are increasing, even after adjusting for increasing lifespans. This worrying trend motivates taking steps in the population to prevent dementia. This review summarizes the work on lifestyle medicine based prevention of dementia and cognitive decline using multiple modalities and interventions. Our results bring hope to those seeking to stay cognitively healthy in advanced age through combinations of diet, exercise, and mindfulness based interventions. Leveraging cheap and scalable interventions is an important strategy for alleviating the expected tide of neurodegenerative illnesses. This review covers the potential lifestyle and dietary interventions which can alleviate Alzheimer’s disease burden, paving the way for population level preventative approaches for neurodegenerative disease.