Memory & Dementia
Can Lifestyle Impact Dementia?
Amarish Dave, DO explains how physical activity, vascular risk factors, nutrition, sleep, social engagement, and cognitive activity fit into brain health and dementia care.
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Can Dementia Be Prevented?
There is no guaranteed way to prevent dementia. Yet dementia is not necessarily an inevitable part of aging, and addressing potentially modifiable risks throughout life may help delay or reduce some cases.
Written and medically reviewed by Amarish Dave, DO, board-certified neurologist. This page is educational and does not replace an individual medical evaluation.
Age, genetics, and other influences cannot be completely controlled. At the same time, growing evidence suggests that a substantial portion of dementia risk may potentially be prevented or delayed by addressing factors that can change across the course of life.
The 2024 Lancet Commission estimated that approximately 45% of dementia cases worldwide are associated with 14 potentially modifiable risk factors. This is a population-level estimate. It does not mean that an individual can reduce personal risk by exactly 45%, and it never means that someone who develops dementia failed to take care of their health.
What can you do to reduce your risk of dementia?
Brain health and cardiovascular health are closely connected. Evidence-based risk-reduction strategies include:
- Get regular physical activity
- Manage high blood pressure, diabetes, and high cholesterol
- Maintain a healthy weight
- Do not smoke and avoid harmful alcohol use
- Evaluate and treat hearing loss and vision impairment
- Stay socially connected and cognitively active
- Follow a healthy, balanced dietary pattern
- Address depression
- Reduce the risk of traumatic brain injury
- Prevent and appropriately treat stroke
What is good for your heart is often good for your brain
High blood pressure, diabetes, high cholesterol, smoking, obesity, and physical inactivity can affect blood vessels throughout the body—including those supplying the brain. Reducing vascular risk is therefore an important part of long-term brain health and stroke prevention. Learn more about exercise and brain health and the broader brain-health approach.
Don't forget hearing and vision
Hearing loss and untreated vision impairment have emerged as important potentially modifiable dementia risk factors. Hearing and vision changes deserve evaluation rather than being dismissed as unavoidable parts of getting older.
Do vitamins or supplements prevent dementia?
No vitamin or supplement is proven to prevent dementia in everyone. The World Health Organization's updated 2026 guidance does not recommend taking vitamin B, vitamin E, omega-3, or multivitamin/mineral supplements specifically to reduce dementia risk in people without a diagnosed deficiency. This is not a blanket statement about every use of supplements: a documented nutritional deficiency should still be treated appropriately. A healthy dietary pattern is more important than any isolated pill; review practical nutrition and Alzheimer's disease guidance.
It is never too early to think about brain health
Dementia develops over many years, and risk factors can accumulate throughout life. Prevention-minded brain health should not begin only after memory loss appears. Healthy behaviors in midlife—and often earlier—may influence brain health decades later. Regular activity, restorative sleep, and consistent medical care are long-term investments rather than quick fixes.
Can you still develop dementia if you do everything right?
Yes. Risk reduction is not the same as prevention. Someone can exercise, eat well, control blood pressure, and remain socially active and still develop Alzheimer's disease or another dementia. These strategies aim to improve the odds and reduce potentially modifiable risk—not guarantee that dementia will never occur.
Risk is personal, not a scorecard
Dementia is not a personal failure. Age, genetics, medical conditions, environment, and factors that are not yet fully understood all contribute to risk.
Continue learning about memory and brain health
Compare this risk-reduction guide with Can Lifestyle Impact Dementia?, the detailed dementia risk-reduction guide, and brain-healthy nutrition.
If memory or thinking has changed, learn about memory loss and dementia evaluation, what happens during a dementia evaluation, what tests may be ordered, and how dementia is treated. New disease-modifying options are covered in What Is the New Alzheimer's Disease Treatment?
Frequently asked questions
- Can Alzheimer's disease be prevented?
- There is no guaranteed way to prevent Alzheimer's disease. Age, genetics, and other factors cannot be fully controlled. Addressing potentially modifiable risks may improve the odds of healthier cognitive aging, but it cannot eliminate risk.
- What percentage of dementia may be preventable or delayed?
- The 2024 Lancet Commission estimated that about 45% of dementia cases worldwide are associated with 14 potentially modifiable risk factors. This is a population-level estimate, not a promise that one person can lower personal risk by exactly 45%.
- Does exercise reduce dementia risk?
- Regular physical activity is associated with healthier cognitive aging and helps control vascular risks such as blood pressure, diabetes, and weight. It may reduce risk, but it cannot guarantee that dementia will not develop.
- Does controlling blood pressure protect the brain?
- Managing high blood pressure helps protect blood vessels throughout the body, including those that supply the brain. Blood-pressure control is an important part of stroke prevention and long-term brain health.
- Can treating hearing loss reduce dementia risk?
- Hearing loss is one of the potentially modifiable factors associated with dementia risk. Evaluation and appropriate treatment can also improve communication, social participation, safety, and quality of life.
- What diet is associated with better brain health?
- Balanced dietary patterns such as Mediterranean, DASH, and MIND-style eating emphasize vegetables, fruits, legumes, nuts, whole grains, fish, and healthy fats. The overall pattern matters more than any single food.
- Do vitamins prevent dementia?
- No vitamin or supplement has been proven to prevent dementia in everyone. WHO guidance does not recommend vitamin B, vitamin E, omega-3, or multivitamin/mineral supplements specifically for dementia risk reduction in people without a diagnosed deficiency. A documented deficiency should still be treated.
- Does staying socially active help brain health?
- Social connection and cognitively engaging activities are associated with healthier aging and may be part of a risk-reduction plan. Choose meaningful, sustainable activities rather than relying on a single brain game or program.
- Can someone who lives a healthy lifestyle still develop dementia?
- Yes. Risk reduction is not the same as prevention. A person can exercise, eat well, manage medical conditions, and remain socially active and still develop Alzheimer's disease or another dementia.
Related dementia and brain-health videos
Continue with medically reviewed videos about lifestyle, memory evaluation, dementia treatment, and healthy aging.
Memory & Dementia
How Do We Treat Dementia?
Amarish Dave, DO explains why dementia treatment depends on the cause, stage, symptoms, health risks, safety needs, and goals of each patient and family.
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How to Manage Agitation in Dementia
Amarish Dave, DO shares practical ways caregivers can look for triggers, reduce distress, redirect calmly, create predictable routines, and recognize sudden changes that need medical evaluation.
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What Tests Are Ordered When Evaluating for Dementia?
Amarish Dave, DO explains the tests a neurologist may order when evaluating memory loss and other thinking changes, from cognitive testing to blood work and brain imaging.
Watch VideoSubscribe to the NeurologistCare YouTube channel for additional short videos answering common questions about memory, dementia, and neurological health.
Want to protect your brain health or concerned about changes in memory?
Learn more about brain health, memory loss, and comprehensive dementia evaluation at NeurologistCare.com. In-person neurological and memory evaluations are available in Crystal Lake and Woodstock, Illinois, and Lake Geneva, Wisconsin, with telehealth available when appropriate for patients physically located anywhere in Illinois or Wisconsin at appointment time.
Medical disclaimer
This information is for general educational purposes and is not individualized medical advice. Individual dementia risk varies based on age, genetics, medical conditions, and other factors. Patients should discuss their individual risk factors and appropriate interventions with their healthcare professional.
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