Attention all consumers seeking to protect brain health: You can save hundreds of dollars a year and enhance the health of your brain and body by ignoring the myriad unproven claims for anti-dementia supplements and instead focusing on a lifestyle long linked to better mental and physical well-being.

How many of these purported brain boosters have you already tried — Ginkgo biloba, coenzyme Q10, huperzine A, caprylic acid and coconut oil, coral calcium, among others? The Alzheimer’s Association says that, with the possible exception of omega-3 fatty acids, all that were properly tested thus far have been found wanting.

I admit it’s very appealing to think you can maintain your cognitive powers by swallowing a few pills a day instead of adopting a brain-healthy diet, getting regular exercise and adequate sleep, among other health-preserving measures like not smoking. But you’d only be fooling yourself and wasting precious dollars that could be better spent on nutritious foods and a good pair of walking shoes.

“No known dietary supplement prevents cognitive decline or dementia,” Dr. Joanna Hellmuth stated emphatically in JAMA in January. “Yet,” she added, “supplements advertised as such are widely available and appear to gain legitimacy when sold by major U.S. retailers.”