Having an active mind might help as well. 

Your fate, at least when it comes to dementia, is not inextricably bound to your genes, it seems.

According to a new study published in the journal JAMA, adopting a healthy lifestyle can wind back the risk of dementia conferred by a bad deal from the genetic lottery.

“This research delivers a really important message that undermines a fatalistic view of dementia,” says lead researcher David Llewellyn, an epidemiologist at the University of Exeter, UK.

“Some people believe it’s inevitable they’ll develop dementia because of their genetics. However, it appears that you may be able to substantially reduce your dementia risk by living a healthy lifestyle.”

The researchers took a deep dive into the UK Biobank, an open-access treasure trove for health researchers that contains genetic and health-related data for half a million Brits, collected between 2006 and 2010.

Read the full article in Cosmos magazine here