Consensus statement on exploring the Nexus between nutrition, brain health and dementia prevention

Abstract An international expert panel convened to evaluate nutrition-based approaches to brain health and dementia prevention. This consensus statement integrates perspectives from lived experiences, mechanistic evidence, epidemiology, and clinical interventions. Nutrition plays a crucial role in b...

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Main Authors: Alexandra M. Johnstone, Emiliano Albanese, Daniel R. Crabtree, Boushra Dalile, Stefanie Grabrucker, Jenna M. Gregory, Giuseppe Grosso, Adrian Holliday, Catherine Hughes, Catherine Itsiopoulos, John Mamo, Claire McEvoy, Phyo Kyaw Myint, Leticia Radin Pereira, David Vauzour, Mario Siervo
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: BMC 2025-07-01
Series:Nutrition & Metabolism
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Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1186/s12986-025-00981-6
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author Alexandra M. Johnstone
Emiliano Albanese
Daniel R. Crabtree
Boushra Dalile
Stefanie Grabrucker
Jenna M. Gregory
Giuseppe Grosso
Adrian Holliday
Catherine Hughes
Catherine Itsiopoulos
John Mamo
Claire McEvoy
Phyo Kyaw Myint
Leticia Radin Pereira
David Vauzour
Mario Siervo
author_facet Alexandra M. Johnstone
Emiliano Albanese
Daniel R. Crabtree
Boushra Dalile
Stefanie Grabrucker
Jenna M. Gregory
Giuseppe Grosso
Adrian Holliday
Catherine Hughes
Catherine Itsiopoulos
John Mamo
Claire McEvoy
Phyo Kyaw Myint
Leticia Radin Pereira
David Vauzour
Mario Siervo
author_sort Alexandra M. Johnstone
collection DOAJ
description Abstract An international expert panel convened to evaluate nutrition-based approaches to brain health and dementia prevention. This consensus statement integrates perspectives from lived experiences, mechanistic evidence, epidemiology, and clinical interventions. Nutrition plays a crucial role in brain health throughout life and in cognitive decline pathogenesis, particularly through the food-gut-brain axis. Intervention effectiveness varies across the health promotion, prevention, treatment, and maintenance spectrum due to methodological differences and individual responses to nutritional interventions. The Mediterranean and MIND dietary patterns show promise for maintaining cognitive function across studies. Multi-domain interventions like FINGER effectively combine dietary modifications with lifestyle changes to delay dementia onset in at-risk older adults. These findings align with mechanistic evidence on the food-gut-brain axis in maintaining optimal brain health by preventing neurodegeneration. Key mechanisms include gut microbiota composition and function, blood-brain barrier integrity, endothelial and mitochondrial dysfunction, insulin resistance, oxidative stress, and inflammatory processes. Research priorities include standardizing cognitive assessment methodologies, developing early intervention strategies, and implementing integrated precision nutrition and lifestyle approaches. Incorporating patients’ and caregivers’ lived experiences in research co-production was identified as essential to support those with lived experience. The panel concluded that future directions should combine population and individual-level preventive approaches while addressing challenges in sustaining healthy behavioral changes and understanding the complex interplay between diet, lifestyle, and genetic factors in brain health and dementia prevention. Experts emphasized the need for both standardized methodologies and personalized interventions to account for individual variability in nutritional responses and facilitate effective prevention strategies across diverse populations.
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spelling doaj-art-fa613dd9620b46ca9a202a83e40b62062025-08-20T03:42:37ZengBMCNutrition & Metabolism1743-70752025-07-0122111810.1186/s12986-025-00981-6Consensus statement on exploring the Nexus between nutrition, brain health and dementia preventionAlexandra M. Johnstone0Emiliano Albanese1Daniel R. Crabtree2Boushra Dalile3Stefanie Grabrucker4Jenna M. Gregory5Giuseppe Grosso6Adrian Holliday7Catherine Hughes8Catherine Itsiopoulos9John Mamo10Claire McEvoy11Phyo Kyaw Myint12Leticia Radin Pereira13David Vauzour14Mario Siervo15University of AberdeenUniversità della Svizzera ItalianaUniversity of AberdeenLaboratory of Biological Psychology, KU LeuvenDepartment of Anatomy and Neuroscience, University College CorkUniversity of AberdeenDepartment of Biomedical and Biotechnological Sciences, University of CataniaSchool of Biomedical, Nutritional, and Sport Science, Faculty of Medical Sciences, Newcastle UniversityUlster UniversityRMIT UniversitySchool of Population Health, Curtin UniversityCentre for Public Health, Institute for Global Food Security, Queen’s University BelfastUniversity of AberdeenDepartment of Community Health Sciences, Cumming School of Medicine, University of CalgaryUniversity of East AngliaSchool of Population Health, Curtin UniversityAbstract An international expert panel convened to evaluate nutrition-based approaches to brain health and dementia prevention. This consensus statement integrates perspectives from lived experiences, mechanistic evidence, epidemiology, and clinical interventions. Nutrition plays a crucial role in brain health throughout life and in cognitive decline pathogenesis, particularly through the food-gut-brain axis. Intervention effectiveness varies across the health promotion, prevention, treatment, and maintenance spectrum due to methodological differences and individual responses to nutritional interventions. The Mediterranean and MIND dietary patterns show promise for maintaining cognitive function across studies. Multi-domain interventions like FINGER effectively combine dietary modifications with lifestyle changes to delay dementia onset in at-risk older adults. These findings align with mechanistic evidence on the food-gut-brain axis in maintaining optimal brain health by preventing neurodegeneration. Key mechanisms include gut microbiota composition and function, blood-brain barrier integrity, endothelial and mitochondrial dysfunction, insulin resistance, oxidative stress, and inflammatory processes. Research priorities include standardizing cognitive assessment methodologies, developing early intervention strategies, and implementing integrated precision nutrition and lifestyle approaches. Incorporating patients’ and caregivers’ lived experiences in research co-production was identified as essential to support those with lived experience. The panel concluded that future directions should combine population and individual-level preventive approaches while addressing challenges in sustaining healthy behavioral changes and understanding the complex interplay between diet, lifestyle, and genetic factors in brain health and dementia prevention. Experts emphasized the need for both standardized methodologies and personalized interventions to account for individual variability in nutritional responses and facilitate effective prevention strategies across diverse populations.https://doi.org/10.1186/s12986-025-00981-6AgeingDietNutritionCo-productionMechanismsBrain health
spellingShingle Alexandra M. Johnstone
Emiliano Albanese
Daniel R. Crabtree
Boushra Dalile
Stefanie Grabrucker
Jenna M. Gregory
Giuseppe Grosso
Adrian Holliday
Catherine Hughes
Catherine Itsiopoulos
John Mamo
Claire McEvoy
Phyo Kyaw Myint
Leticia Radin Pereira
David Vauzour
Mario Siervo
Consensus statement on exploring the Nexus between nutrition, brain health and dementia prevention
Nutrition & Metabolism
Ageing
Diet
Nutrition
Co-production
Mechanisms
Brain health
title Consensus statement on exploring the Nexus between nutrition, brain health and dementia prevention
title_full Consensus statement on exploring the Nexus between nutrition, brain health and dementia prevention
title_fullStr Consensus statement on exploring the Nexus between nutrition, brain health and dementia prevention
title_full_unstemmed Consensus statement on exploring the Nexus between nutrition, brain health and dementia prevention
title_short Consensus statement on exploring the Nexus between nutrition, brain health and dementia prevention
title_sort consensus statement on exploring the nexus between nutrition brain health and dementia prevention
topic Ageing
Diet
Nutrition
Co-production
Mechanisms
Brain health
url https://doi.org/10.1186/s12986-025-00981-6
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