Consuming less sugar during pregnancy and the first years of life may lower the risk of developing dementia decades later, according to new research. People who experienced lower sugar intake before birth and through their first year of life had a 21% lower risk of dementia, while those whose sugar intake remained limited through age two had a 23% lower risk, researchers found. DAILY EATING HABIT LINKED TO BETTER BRAIN HEALTH IN OLDER ADULTS, NEW RESEARCH SUGGESTSThe study also found that people with lower sugar exposure early in life developed dementia an average of 2.6 years later than those who consumed more sugar. Researchers stressed that the study found only an association between early-life sugar intake and dementia risk and does not prove that reducing sugar directly prevents the disease. As a result, the findings cannot establish a direct cause-and-effect relationship between lower sugar intake early in life and a reduced risk of dementia.