Alzheimer's Australia, a non-profit organisation dedicated to supporting people with dementia, is going to a new brain health program called “Your Brain Matters,” which will encourage people to keep their brains healthy.

Glenn Rees, chief executive of Alzheimer's Australia, said that the program would guide people on how to keep the brain healthy by taking physical and mental exercises and ingesting a nutritious diet.

The program will be funded by the federal government, which will make it the first dementia prevention program in the world to get public funding.

Speaking about the program, Rees said, "It's important to understand that while there is, as yet, no cure for dementia there are things we can all do now - like keeping your brain active, being fit and healthy.”

He added that taking due care of heart could also help in reducing risk of developing dementia. He also said that dementia is now treated as a chronic health condition, rather than a normal element of ageing.

Dr Serge Gauthier, an international Alzheimer's expert praised the program, saying such programs were crucial for stemming the soaring cases of dementia.

Estimates suggest that around 280,000 people in Australia are suffering from dementia, and the figure will jump to almost one million by the year of 2050.