Why the POINTER Study Is So Exciting for Alzheimer’s Prevention

For decades, Alzheimer’s disease has been viewed as something almost inevitable with age, especially if you carry genetic risk. But the new POINTER study, published in JAMA (PubMed PMID: 40720610), is changing that narrative in a powerful way.

What the POINTER Study Showed

The study followed 2,111 adults between 60 and 79 years old who were at risk for memory decline. For two years, they were assigned to either:

• A structured program with coaching, group support, and accountability around lifestyle habits, or

• A self-guided program with the same recommendations but less oversight.

  
  

Both groups were encouraged to move more, eat a brain-healthy diet (like the MIND diet, aka my favorite), stay socially and mentally engaged, and keep tabs on cardiovascular health.

The result? Both groups improved their cognition - but the structured program led to greater gains, especially in executive function (skills like focus, planning, and problem-solving). And here’s the kicker: the benefit was seen across the board - even in people carrying the APOE4 Alzheimer’s risk gene!

Why This Is So Awesome

This is a game-changer for how we think about brain health. For years, prevention has seemed out of reach, with the spotlight on expensive drugs that mostly slow decline after it starts. POINTER shows us another path: lifestyle and diet are not just “healthy habits,” they are medicine for the brain.

That means the tools to fight cognitive decline are in our own hands:

• Exercise can boost blood flow and stimulate growth factors that protect neurons.

• Diet rich in plants, omega-3s, and antioxidants helps reduce inflammation and oxidative stress.

• Social and cognitive activity builds “cognitive reserve,” giving the brain extra resilience.

• Managing blood pressure and heart health protects blood vessels that supply the brain.

  
  

And perhaps the most empowering message: it’s never too late. Even in people already in their 60s and 70s, structured lifestyle change produced measurable gains.

Alongside lifestyle changes like those highlighted in the POINTER study, I also use NOURO from Tonum Health and encourage my loved ones to as well - it’s a supplement designed to support long-term brain resilience, strongly backed by science I trust, and for me it’s one more tool in protecting my cognitive health. You can check out NOURO HERE.

Looking Forward

The effect sizes in POINTER were modest, but the implications are huge. Imagine entire communities adopting these changes with support and accountability. Even small gains, scaled up, could shift Alzheimer’s rates downward and delay onset for millions of people.

This isn’t about replacing medications or stopping research into new drugs. It’s about adding a whole new dimension to prevention - one that’s accessible, low-cost, and puts power back in people’s daily lives.

The POINTER study is more than just another trial. It’s proof that the future of Alzheimer’s prevention may be as much about what’s on our plate and how we live each day as what’s in the pharmacy. And that’s something to be really excited about.