Reverse Brain Aging with Vegetables
BBC NewsNeurology October 24, 2006; 67(8): 1370-1376
New research indicated that eating vegetables may slow mental decline and help to keep the brain healthy and young.
A six-year study of almost 2,000 Chicago-area seniors showed that older people who ate more than two servings of vegetables each day were mentally sharper than those who ate few or no vegetables.
Participants were given mental function tests three times over about six years, including measures of short-term memory and delayed memory, such as recall of story details or symbols on flashcards.
Those who ate more vegetable showed about 40 percent less mental decline, and their test results were those that would be expected of people about five years younger.
Green leafy vegetables such as spinach and kale seemed to be the most beneficial. This may be due to the fact that they contain significant quantities of the antioxidant vitamin E. Vegetables usually contain more vitamin E than fruits, which were not linked with slowed mental decline, and are also often eaten with the fats found in salad oils, which help the body absorb vitamin E.