Healthy Plant Diets Linked to Lower Dementia Risk, Even in Later Life

A large multiethnic study of about 93,000 adults found that higher-quality plant-based diets are linked to lower dementia risk: those eating more plant foods had about 12% lower risk, while those following a healthy plant-based pattern had about 7% lower risk; conversely, unhealthy plant-based eating raised risk. Importantly, changing to a healthier plant-based diet over 10 years reduced dementia risk by 11% (shifting toward unhealthy patterns increased risk by 25%). Benefits appeared even in people over 60 at baseline, suggesting late-life dietary improvements can help. The study is observational, so it shows associations, not causation, and researchers call for interventional trials to confirm causality.