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The Effectiveness of Combining Exercise and Dietary Supplements on Cognition in Older Adults: A Narrative Review
1Department of Geriatric Medicine, The Affiliated Wuxi People's Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Wuxi, China; Wuxi Medical Center, Nanjing Medical University, Wuxi, China; Wuxi People's Hospital, Wuxi, China.
Objectives:
This review aimed to provide an overview of the effectiveness of combining exercise and dietary supplements on cognitive function in older adults and to examine whether the combined interventions exert synergistic effects.
Design:
Narrative review.
Setting And Participants:
Older adults around the world.
Methods:
A literature search was undertaken during August 2025 across Embase, PubMed, Web of Science, Cochrane Library, APA PsycArticles, and Psychology and Behavioral Sciences Collection. Relevant studies on the combined intervention of exercise and dietary supplements on cognitive function in older adults were retrieved. Two reviewers independently screened the studies and assessed the quality of studies. Data extraction was performed by one reviewer and then verified through discussion with the other author to reach a final consensus. A narrative synthesis was conducted to integrate the findings from the included studies.
Results:
A total of 20 studies were included: 15 randomized controlled trials and 5 quasi-experimental studies. Exercise interventions included the following 4 types: resistance training, aerobic exercise, resistance training combined with aerobic exercise, and multicomponent exercise. Dietary supplements included vitamins, beta-alanine, leucine, folic acid, phosphatidylserine, Gingko biloba standardized leaf extract, calcium, rice wine lees, Bifidobacterium, creatine, protein, long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acid (LCPUFA), β-hydroxy β-methylbutyrate (HMB), branched-chain amino acids, and carbohydrates. Despite several studies reporting positive cognitive outcomes of the combined intervention compared with the control group, none demonstrated a statistically significant synergistic benefit.
Conclusion And Implications:
The review found that although certain combinations benefited cognitive function, none demonstrated synergistic effects. High-quality studies on exercise combined with dietary supplements for cognition in older adults are needed in the future. To develop more effective interventions, future research could focus on elucidating the mechanisms by which exercise and dietary supplements affect cognition.
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