Berries protect the aging brain

May, 2012

A large, long-running study confirms that regular consumption of colorful berries helps protect against age-related cognitive decline.

Over the years, I have reported on several studies that have found evidence that colorful berries — blueberries in particular (but I think that’s more of an artifact, due to the relative cheapness of these berries in North America) — benefit older brains. Indeed, I myself consume these every day (in my lunch smoothie) for this very reason (of course, the fact that they taste so good doesn’t hurt!).

But to date these studies have involved rodents or only very small numbers of humans. Now a new study analyzes data from the very large and long-running Nurses' Health Study, which has questioned 121,700 female, registered nurses about their health and lifestyle since 1976. Since 1980, participants were also asked about their frequency of food consumption. Between 1995 and 2001, memory was measured in 16,010 participants over the age of 70 years (average age 74), at 2-year intervals.

The study found that those women who had 2 or more servings of strawberries and blueberries every week had a slower rate of cognitive decline. The effects were equivalent to some 1.5-2.5 years of normal cognitive aging.

While the researchers cannot completely rule out the possibility that higher berry consumption is associated with slower cognitive decline because of its association with some other factor that affects brain aging, they did take into account a large number of potentially confounding factors, including: education, smoking history and status, antidepressant use, BMI, blood pressure, cholesterol, diabetes, physical activity, total calorie intake, fish consumption, alcohol use, overall diet scores, and various indirect measures of socioeconomic status.

Moreover, the findings are both consistent with both animal and cell studies, and with what we know about how the brain ages. The ‘magic’ ingredient of these berries is thought to lie in their flavonoids (particularly anthocyanidins), which have powerful antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. It’s thought that berries help the brain stay healthy both because they contain high levels of antioxidants, which protect cells from damage by harmful free radicals, and because they change the way neurons in the brain communicate, protecting against inflammation and oxidative stress.

As a rule of thumb, the deeper the color of the berry (or other fruit or vegetable), the more flavonoids it has. You can see a list of anthocyanin-rich foods here (acai isn’t in the list, but it also has a very high rating).

Reference: 

Related News

Data from more than 14,265 people older adults (51+) multiple times over a decade or more through the University of Michigan Health and Retirement Study has found that people with higher “multimorbidity scores” showed much faster cognitive decline than those with lower scores, even though most o

Large study shows level of beneficial alcohol consumption much lower than thought

Data from over 5,000 individuals found that a measure of belly fat (waist:hip ratio) was associated with reduced cognitive function in older Irish adults (60+). Body mass index (BMI), however, was found to protect cognitive function.

A study involving 116 healthy older adults (65-75) has found that higher levels of several key nutrients in the blood were associated with more efficient brain connectivity and better cognitive performance.

A long-running study involving 8225 adults found that self-reported diet during midlife (mean age 50) was not significantly associated with subsequent risk for dementia.

A small study comparing 38 younger adults (average age 22) and 39 older adults (average age 68) found that the older adults were less able to recognize when they made errors.

Can computer use, crafts and games slow or prevent age-related memory loss?

Americans with a college education live longer without dementia and Alzheimer's

Socially active 60-year-olds face lower dementia risk

Stressors in middle age linked to cognitive decline in older women

Data from some 900 older adults has linked stressful life experiences among middle-aged women, but not men, to greater memory decline in later life.

Pages

Subscribe to Latest newsSubscribe to Latest newsSubscribe to Latest health newsSubscribe to Latest news
Error | About memory

Error

The website encountered an unexpected error. Please try again later.