Dr. Reisa Sperling, director at the Center for Alzheimer’s Research and Treatment at the Brigham and Women’s Hospital, said there’s increasing information that links lifestyle to Alzheimer’s.

“Lifestyle factors don’t seem to have changed how much amyloid buildup you get, but they may change how resilient you are to decline,” Sperling explained. “I’ve done some other studies looking at exercise in particular. Taking about 9,000 steps a day really does help protect your brain if you have amyloid. For diet, it looks like a heart-healthy diet is helpful, but interestingly, that diet might have to be in midlife because it might not help quite as much if you change it later in life.”

According to a local nutritionist, Crystal Hadnott, a diet rich in vitamins like B1, Omega 3, CoQ10, vitamin D and folic acid is best for the brain.

B1 or thiamine

Helps with nerves and neurotransmitters.

You can get this from sunflower seeds and whole grains.

Omega 3

“Omega-3 is found in your fish and your flaxseeds and that helps promote brain health as well, but also combat inflammation, blood pressure, cholesterol,” Hadnott said.

CoQ10

“CoQ10 is found in fatty fish, vegetables specifically like cabbage, cauliflower, broccoli, sprouts. Those are very high in antioxidants that help protect the brain because not only do you want to feed the brain, you want to protect the brain,” Hadnott said.

B9 or Folic Acid

“Folic acid, that helps improve brain health as well as boost your mood, and those are found in leafy green vegetables and your beans,” Hadnott said.

Vitamin D

This is tough to get with food and sunlight alone so people are commonly vitamin D deficient. Hadnott said they’ll maintain a deficiency unless they know how to properly absorb the vitamin.

“Vitamin D is also considered a fatty vitamin or a fat-soluble vitamin, so when you eat it with fatty foods like avocado and nuts, it helps with the absorption of that vitamin,” she explained.