The everyday foods and drinks that could lower your dementia risk, and how much to have

Consuming flavonoids, pigments in foods such as berries and red onion and drinks like tea and wine, has been linked to a lower dementia risk

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Tea is among the flavonoid-rich foods and drinks whose consumption a study has linked to a lower a risk of dementia. Photo: Shutterstock

Published: 7:15am, 30 Sep 2024

This is the 46th instalment in a series on dementia, including the research into its causes and treatment, advice for carers and stories of hope.

Consuming more foods rich in flavonoids, such as berries, tea, red wine and dark chocolate, could lower your risk of dementia, new research suggests.

The study of over 100,000 participants found that increasing the intake of flavonoid-rich foods and drinks could help reduce that risk by 28 per cent.

The reduction was especially pronounced in people who had a higher genetic risk for dementia, or had hypertension or depression.

Blueberries, blackberries, strawberries and raspberries contain high levels of anthocyanin, a flavonoid which lowers blood pressure and the risk of heart disease. Photo: Shutterstock

There are over 8,000 different types of flavonoid in nature, says Aedín Cassidy, an author of the study at Queen’s University Belfast, in Ireland. They are a type of plant pigment and a member of the larger polyphenol family.

These nutrients in plants and plant-based foods help the body manage inflammation and protect against oxidative stress.

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