New study demonstrates how diet, exercise, and other interventions improved brain cognition and function after just 20 weeks

Imagine being able to fight the effects of Alzheimer’s, not with a pill, but by making changes to the way you live your daily life? That’s what Dr. Dean Ornish of the Preventive Medicine Research Institute set out to research in a randomized controlled clinical trial and the results were astonishing.

In a study published in Alzheimer’s Research and Therapy on June 7, 2024, Ornish and his colleagues found that after 20 weeks of an intensive lifestyle intervention, some patients with mild cognitive impairment or early-stage Alzheimer’s disease saw improvement in brain cognition and function.

The lifechanging interventions the participants engaged in included:

• Healthy Plant-Based Diet. The diet centered on whole foods (fruits, vegetables, grains) low in harmful fats and refined carbohydrates.
• Exercise. Specifically, moderate aerobic exercise and strength training for a minimum of 30 minutes daily.
• Stress Management. This includes things like meditation and stretching for an hour a day.
• Support Groups. Patients, spouses, or study partners met for one hour three times a week.
• Supplements. Participants were given eight different supplements each day.

The study was first previewed in a CNN documentary, “The Last Patient,” where Dr. Sanjay Gupta, who has a family history of Alzheimer’s, evaluated his own risk of developing the disease and left with advice on steps he can take to reduce his chances of developing Alzheimer’s.

To learn more, visit the Preventive Medicine Research Institute.