I’ve really been loading up on vegetables lately. Slews of studies show they’re great for warding off ailments such as cancer, diabetes and cardiovascular disease. A recent study suggests they can even protect your brain against age-related memory loss and dementia. So, if you’re a big veggie eater like I am, now is definitely not the time to slack off. And if vegetables are not your forte – well, it’s time to consider giving them another try.
Here’s why …
Researchers from Chicago’s Rush University Medical Center led by Martha Clare Morris studied the effect of vegetable and fruit consumption on brain function. They asked nearly 4,000 men and women over age 64 from a variety of ethnic groups to complete a food intake questionnaire and take a battery of thinking and memory tests on three occasions over a period of six years. Final results were published in Neurology.
On average, the participants did gradually worse on the tests over time. Those who ate 2.8 vegetable servings or more a day had a 40 percent reduction in the rate of mental decline compared with people who ate less than one serving. The decreased rate in the group of people who ate more vegetables vs. the group who ate fewer was “equivalent to about five years of younger age,” Morris said.
Most types of vegetables helped preserve brain function in the study. The superstars were green, leafy vegetables such as spinach, kale and collards. The researchers also singled out zucchini, summer squash, eggplant, broccoli, lettuce and tossed salad as being especially beneficial. For these vegetables, a serving equals 1/2 cup of chopped vegetables, raw or cooked – or 1 cup of raw leafy greens.
Surprisingly, consuming fruit did not appear to offer the same mental benefits as vegetables in the study. Hey – wait! Fruits are good for you. So why, then, the difference?
Well, the researchers guessed that vegetables may offer some advantages over fruits for preserving brain function. For example, green vegetables are rich sources of vitamin E. This antioxidant vitamin may help your body neutralize chemicals called free radicals, which tend to attack and damage body cells. In addition, vegetables are typically eaten in the same meal with fats that enhance the absorption of vitamin E. Added fats, such as olive or vegetable oil, also help your body assimilate other antioxidant nutrients contained in vegetables, such as carotenoids and flavonoids.
The good news is that it’s never too late to start receiving greater benefits from the nutrients in vegetables. The greatest brain-boosting powers occurred among the study’s oldest old, Morris said.
At any age, she concluded, consumption of vegetables may protect against age-related mental decline.
Morris’ research confirms similar findings from another study. Harvard researchers followed 13,000 women from the Nurses’ Health Study over a period of six years. They found that those who ate five or more servings of veggies a day retained their mental abilities better than those who ate less than two servings. Once again, the strongest benefit came from leafy greens as well as cruciferous vegetables. These include cabbage, collards, kale, chard, spinach, broccoli and cauliflower. Fruits did not offer brain protection in this study, either.
Other studies suggest that fruit and vegetable juices and all kinds of berries may help preserve your mental abilities. These items weren’t specifically studied in Morris’ study.
For now, though, we know that eating more vegetables is a great way to keep your brain in shape.
American Dietetic Association, www.eatright.org.
Contact Dr. Elizabeth Smoots, a board-certified family physician and fellow of the American Academy of Family Physicians, at doctor@practicalprevention.com. Her columns are not intended as a substitute for medical advice or treatment. Before adhering to any recommendations in this column, consult your health care provider.
2007 Elizabeth S. Smoots
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