Preparing home-cooked meals could cut the risk of developing dementia by more than a quarter, a study suggests.

Researchers found that people who cooked from scratch at least once a week were significantly less likely to develop the condition, with the strongest benefits seen in those with little prior experience in the kitchen.

 What the study found

The study, published in the Journal of Epidemiology & Community Health, tracked 10,978 adults aged 65 and over for six years, up to 2022.

Participants were asked to rate their cooking skills, allowing researchers to assess how both frequency and experience related to dementia risk.

Men who cooked regularly had a 23% lower risk of dementia, while women saw a 27% reduction compared with those who did not cook.

Strikingly, those with limited cooking skills appeared to benefit the most, with a 67% lower risk. Researchers suggest this may reflect the cognitive stimulation involved in learning new skills.

The authors said: “The risk of dementia became lower as people cooked more frequently, and the benefits of cooking were particularly significant for those with little cooking experience.

“Creating an environment where people can cook meals when they are older may be important for the prevention of dementia.”

The study assessed participants’ skill level across various tasks, including their ability to peel fruits and vegetables and their competence in making stews.

Around half of participants said they cooked five times a week.

Over the six years of the study, 1,195 participants developed dementia, with 870 known to have died.

Limitations to consider

The authors noted that the study was observational, meaning it cannot prove cause and effect.

They also said cases of mild dementia may have been missed in the registry data used, and that results may vary across cultures due to differences in the types of foods eaten.

How diet and dementia risk may be linked

This is not the first time food has been linked to dementia risk. Separate research has suggested the Mediterranean diet could reduce risk by up to 23%.

Just this month, the Daily Mail reported that scientists also suggested a “brain-healthy” diet could slow physical deterioration linked to Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s.

In a major long-term study, those who stuck closest to it showed a slower loss of brain cells and less overall shrinkage on scans—changes strongly linked to memory loss and dementia.

The eating plan, dubbed the MIND diet (short for Mediterranean–DASH Intervention for Neurodegenerative Delay), emphasises foods such as leafy green vegetables, berries, nuts, olive oil and fish.

It has previously been linked to a lower risk of dementia, but researchers claim they now have evidence it helps slow the damage that leads to these diseases.

Writing in the Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery & Psychiatry, researchers said encouraging people to follow the diet could be a simple way to help tackle rising rates of dementia as populations age.