We’re always looking for new healthy habits. Cooking at home may not only improve your diet but could also cut older people’s dementia risk by 30 percent. And the risk may be 70 percent lower in older cooks with fewer skills.
As a society, we have become increasingly more dependent on prepared foods. Cooking is a source of physical activity and mental stimulus that can aid aging brains. Knowing that, researchers wanted to learn if frequently cooking was linked to lower incidences of dementia and if the risk was linked to skill level.
“The risk of dementia became lower as people cooked more frequently, and the benefits of cooking were particularly significant for those with low cooking skills,” researchers said. “Creating an environment where people can cook meals when they are older may be important for the prevention of dementia.”
The research used 10,978 participants, aged 65 and older, whose cognitive health was tracked for six years. Participants filled out surveys about how often they cooked from scratch, ranging from never to more than five times a week. They were also assessed on their competency in seven skills, including their ability to peel vegetables and their stew-making abilities.
About half the group cooked at least five times a week. More than a quarter didn’t cook frequently. Women and experienced cooks were more likely to make food than men and inexperienced cooks.
During the study, 11 percent of the participants developed dementia. Cooking more frequently was linked to a lower risk of dementia. People with the fewest cooking skills who cooked at least once a week had a 67 percent lower risk of dementia. Perhaps it’s because cooking is harder and therefore more cognitively demanding when you are less skilled at it.
The team said that cooking “provides opportunities for cognitive stimulation because it involves a cognitively complex series of tasks with multiple steps,” such as meal planning, shopping, preparing ingredients and serving.
The study was observational. They didn’t ask people to change their behavior or learn new skills, so they weren’t testing any changes. Therefore, no cause and effect can be concluded. We can see a pattern, but not conclusively say cooking caused the reduction.
Researchers also pointed out that home-cooked meals are often healthier than other options. Food from restaurants and premade options can often be too fatty or salt-heavy. Homemade food made from scratch can be much lighter.
