I’ve said it before and I’m happy to have the opportunity to say it again: Eating more fresh fruits and veggies is good for you in so many ways, it’s hard to pack them all into one blog post. A new research effort from Harvard University says even a small dose can dramatically reduce cognitive decline…
Seniors can stay sharp and enjoy many other health benefits by adding even a
small amount of colourful fruits and veggies to their diets every day..
The whole premise proposed by Dr. Walter Willett of Harvard is that the flavones and flavonoids in colourful fresh fruits and veggies can help protect your brain. Flavones and flavonoids are powerful antioxidants.
“There is mounting evidence suggesting flavonoids are powerhouses when it comes to preventing your thinking skills from declining as you get older,” said study report author Willett. “Our results are exciting because they show that making simple changes to your diet could help prevent cognitive decline.”
What they did
According to an abstract of the study report, the study looked at 49,493 women with an average age of 48 and 27,842 men with an average age of 51 at the start of the study. Over 20 years of follow up, people completed several questionnaires about how often they ate various foods. Their intake of different types of flavonoids was calculated by multiplying the flavonoid content of each food by its frequency. Study participants evaluated their own cognitive abilities twice during the study, using questions like, “Do you have more trouble than usual remembering recent events?” and “Do you have more trouble than usual remembering a short list of items?”
What they found
The people in the group that represented the highest 20 percent of flavonoid consumers, on average, had about 600 mg in their diets each day, compared to the people in the lowest 20 percent of flavonoid consumers, who had about 150 mg in their diets each day, the abstract report s. Strawberries, for example, have about 180 mg of flavonoids per 100 gram serving, while apples have about 113.
After adjusting for factors like age and total caloric intake, people who consumed more flavonoids in their diets reported lower risk of cognitive decline. The group of highest flavonoid consumers had 20 percent less risk of self-reported cognitive decline than the people in the lowest group.
Researchers also looked at the ‘potency’ of individual flavones, and found that compounds in yellow and orange fruits and veggies, and some spices such as turmeric, had the greatest beneficial effect on memory; up to 38 percent less cognitive decline over the term of the study. Peppers of all kinds were noted for their antioxidant content. And dark red and purple fruits and veggies – such as blueberries, blackberries, cherries, plums, purple carrots and beets – were also associated with significant reductions in cognitive decline.
The takeaway
The message in the study findings is clear: eating more foods that are rich in antioxidants can help us stay sharp in what have traditionally been referred to as our ‘declining years’.
My take
But that’s just the tip of the antioxidant iceberg. There have been many reports of beneficial effects from brightly coloured and deep-red-blue hued fruits and veggies in recent months:
- Strawberries, blueberries may reduce women’s risk for heart attack
- Flavonoids in berries, tea, chocolate may reduce type 2 diabetes risk
- Dark-pigmented fruits may delay lung function decline
- Consuming flavonoids may help maintain body weight
And a special report in Nutrition & Food Science, Volume 39, Issue 2, gives us a comprehensive rundown on the spectrum of antioxidants found in colourful foods and their benefits.
Given the growing mountain of evidence supporting the theory that eating more fruits and veggies can improve our lives in so many ways, why would anyone NOT run right out and fill a shopping cart with every kind of colourful produce they can find? As I’ve said previously, human nature is our own worst enemy…
~ Maggie J.