How cooking can help lower your dementia risk – even just 1 meal a week

One morning, in the last year of her life, my mother – in the later stages of dementia – offered to make me a cup of tea. She turned the kettle on and then described what she was doing. “There are four stages to making a mug of tea,” she told me. “I talk myself through them so that I remember: tea bag in cup, hot water, milk, then sugar.” Her delight at being able to do this small thing for me was evident – she could still play “hostess”, make herself a brew first thing in the morning and exercise a degree of autonomy, even if just around a simple cup of tea. Near the end of her life, it broke my heart that she could no longer make a cup of tea for herself or me – or even hold a mug safely without the risk of spilling and burning herself. That little tea ceremony was much more than just “tea”; it was an exercise in remaining independent. I was not altogether surprised when I read a study published last month in the BMJ’s Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health that showed cooking at home could be good for the brain, for lots of reasons. Researchers from the Tokyo Institute of Science followed 11,000 people aged 65 and older for six years and monitored how often they cooked for themselves at home, from as often as more than five times a week to never. The study also took into account their culinary knowledge, including skills ranging from the simplest – peeling fruit, boiling an egg – to more complicated, such as making casseroles and preparing stir-fry dishes. It found that those who cooked more often had a lower risk of developing dementia. Even those who cooked only one meal a week from scratch saw a positive impact. As the researchers observed, cooking involves much more than just the act of food preparation. Hong Kong-based clinical psychologist Dr Ritu Verma is not surprised at the findings. Because cooking is an everyday, domestic task, we are inclined to ignore or undervalue its intricacies, she says. First, there is the decision-making, asking first what you are going to eat and what you are going to cook. Having decided, the next steps require planning and possibly a little grocery shopping, which usually involves movement, which enhances physical activity. Getting out to the shops then creates an opportunity to engage with other people, even if briefly. If you use the same store regularly, you may get to know the people behind the till and other shoppers, and be inclined to greet them or share a few words. Shopping for what you need means being able to navigate a store, recognise the right foods and understand sell-by dates. The cooking itself requires following instructions on a package, a recipe or remembering how to make an old favourite dish. This challenges the brain through memory, sequencing and sensory engagement, Verma says. “Learning a new recipe stimulates the brain to form new neural connections, reinforce existing pathways and adapt to fresh information,” she says, all of which helps grow your cognitive reserve. Cooking also often involves many individual steps such as washing, peeling, chopping, slicing, stirring or kneading. These actions all require movement, and help enhance fine psychomotor control and hand-eye coordination. Significantly, cooking helps “ground one in the present moment, reducing stress and anxiety”, Verma explains. As she says this, I remember happy hours spent in my kitchen watching my sister make marmalade with our mother. Broadly, cooking lends an opportunity for everyday cognitive stimulation, she says, a powerful preventive intervention for dementia. Then there is the sense of purpose – also positive for brain health – and accomplishment. This helps boost confidence, which can decline steeply with age and stop people from engaging. Cooking with others – or sharing what you have cooked with others – elevates it all as a social activity with numerous and significant brain benefits. Think about baking a cake, for example: finding a recipe, gathering the necessary ingredients, measuring or weighing them, selecting the right-sized baking tin, setting the correct oven temperature, enjoying the scent of baking fill your kitchen, remembering to take the cake out of the oven before it burns – and then the satisfaction at having baked something that may give you an excuse to share it with somebody. There is a lot of positive brain stimulation in the process. The other advantages are that home-cooked meals are often much less expensive than eating out and much better for us than takeaways or even food you might eat in a restaurant. Generally, they include more whole foods and fewer ultra-processed items, so they often have less fat, sugar and salt. How nutritious a meal is becomes especially important in old age as appetites tend to be smaller, which means meals need to be even more nutrient-dense. Brain health is closely aligned with a healthy diet. The Tokyo study observed that old people who could not cook for themselves and had nobody to cook for them were at three times the risk of being poorly nourished. “A healthy diet, regular physical activity and good brain health constitute the three fundamental pillars of dementia preventive intervention,” Verma says. “Cooking at home provides all three.” This is the 87th instalment in a series on dementia, including the research into its causes and treatment, advice for carers, and stories of hope.

How cooking can help lower your dementia risk – even just 1 meal a week

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Experts say the processes involved in cooking, from grocery shopping to following recipes, can all have a positive impact on brain health

Experts say the processes involved in cooking, from grocery shopping to following recipes, can all have a positive impact on brain health