According to a decade-long study of older adults, a healthy lifestyle, particularly a healthy diet, is associated with slower memory decline. The findings of the study were published in The BMJ. Even for carriers of the apolipoprotein E (APOE) gene – the strongest known risk factor for Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias – a healthy lifestyle was found to slow memory loss. Memory continuously declines as people age, but evidence from existing studies is insufficient to assess the effect of a healthy lifestyle on memory in later life. And given the many possible causes of memory decline, a combination of healthy behaviours might be needed for an optimal effect. To explore this further, researchers analysed data from 29,000 adults aged at least 60 years (average age 72; 49 per cent of women) with normal cognitive function who were part of the China Cognition and Aging Study.