Concerned about memory loss? Eating more fruits and vegetables may be all it takes to protect your brain.
Research on memory and diet
A team of researchers from the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health looked at the data from a 26-year study that followed 27,842 men. The men had answered questions about food and drink consumption when they started in 1986 (average age 51) and then continued to do so every four years.
When the men were in their mid- to late-70s, the researchers administered questionnaire-type tests to ask if there had been any decline in their memory or ability to think. They found that men who consumed the most leafy greens, red and dark orange vegetables, orange juice and berry fruits had a lower risk of memory and thinking decline.
A link between SCFs and Alzheimer’s
The men were given subjective cognitive function tests to determine not only if they had changes in memory and thinking, but if they had noticed it themselves.
It’s interesting to note that the authors of the study found that the validity was supported by strong links to a gene associated with Alzheimer’s. Some of the questions were:
- Do you have more trouble than usual following a group conversation or a plot in a TV program due to your memory?
And
- Do you have more trouble than usual remembering a short list of items, such as a shopping list?
How fruits and vegetables helped
The researchers found that men who ate the most vegetables were 34% less likely to say they had decreased memory function.
They also found that orange juice made a significant difference. The men who drink it every day (compared to the men who only drank it once per month) had a 47% decreased chance of having a poor score on the SCF tests.
