Here’s a checklist for lowering Alzheimer’s risk

There’s a to-do list for preventing dementia, new research suggests: Ditch the cigarettes and red meat, take a brisk walk to the grocery store, do the Sunday crossword or play Scrabble, and stick to one glass of wine at dinner.

A study presented in July at the Alzheimer’s Association International Conference in Los Angeles found that combining five lifestyle habits — including eating healthier, exercising regularly and refraining from smoking — can reduce the risk of Alzheimer’s disease by 60 percent.

The report, compiled by the Rush University Medical Center in Chicago, tracked 2,765 individuals over about a decade. All participants were older adults enrolled in either the Chicago Health and Aging Project (CHAP) or the Rush Memory and Aging Project (MAP), both federally funded, long-term observational studies.

The fact that people can exert some control in preventing the disease through their own choices is encouraging news, researchers say.

The study’s authors said they were floored by the “magnitude of the effect,” said Klodian Dhana, a Rush University professor and co-author.

Dhana and his colleagues found that individuals who pursued four or five healthy behaviors over the period studied were 60 percent less likely to develop Alzheimer’s compared with participants who scored 0 or 1. The results did not vary by race or gender, Dhana said.

Around 50 million people have dementia worldwide, and that number is expected to triple by 2050, according to the 2018 World Alzheimer Report.

If you cannot adopt all four or five healthy lifestyle habits studied, aim for one or two, Dhana said. Anything will help: The Rush team found that making just one more healthy choice decreased the chance of Alzheimer’s by an additional 27 percent.

“My biggest takeaway is I encourage older people to consume more leafy green vegetables, replace red meat with poultry, and avoid as much as possible fried food,” he said. “Also, walk to the grocery store and read books.”