Eating produce may reduce damaging inflammation in the brain and elsewhere in the body. Here are four delicious ways to enjoy more fruits and vegetables.
You’ve heard that an apple a day keeps the doctor away. That popular phrase may not be a scientific fact. But new research shows that an apple a day may help keep dementia away. So will blueberries, peppers, and other brightly colored fruits and vegetables.
A 2021 study published in the journal Neurology found that people who eat at least half a serving a day of these kinds of foods may have a 20% lower risk of cognitive decline.
The researchers followed almost 80,000 men and women for 20 years. They looked specifically at the subjects’ intake of flavonoids, a group of colorful compounds found in plants. And what they found may encourage you to build your foods around a rainbow of hues.
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Eating fruits and veggies boosts brain health
Flavonoids are antioxidants, which are molecules that neutralize harmful substances in the body called free radicals. Unchecked, free radicals create inflammation. The damage caused by inflammation can lead to several health conditions, including cancer and dementia.
Free radicals act like rust in the brain, says Lisa Mosconi, Ph.D., director of the Women’s Brain Initiative at Weill Cornell Medicine in New York City.
Fortunately, some types of flavonoids can cross the blood-brain barrier. That means they can travel into the brain and search out free radicals there. By removing free radicals, flavonoids protect brain cells from inflammation, says Mosconi.
Given this, the researchers in the Neurology study wanted to see whether people who eat more flavonoids might have long-term cognitive benefits. So they looked at subjective measures of cognitive decline, which often appear before actual dementia. They asked people questions such as:
- Do you have more trouble than usual remembering a short list of items, such as a shopping list?
- Do you have more trouble than usual following a group conversation or a plot in a TV program, due to your memory?
The study found that the more flavonoids a person ate, the less likely they were to feel like they were experiencing memory problems. And the amount needed to make a difference may be lower than you’d think.
“The people who did best [in the study] ate at least half a serving of flavonoid-rich produce per day,” says Tian-Shin Yeh, M.D., Ph.D. She’s the study’s lead author. She’s also an epidemiologist and post-doctoral research fellow in the Harvard-Oxford Program in Epidemiology and Department of Nutrition at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.
So half a serving: That’s the number to aim for. And you can get that in half a cup of berries; half an apple, orange, or banana; or a quarter of a grapefruit.
Among the flavonoid-rich foods named in the study:
- Brussels sprouts
And in general, more color indicates more brain-protecting power. Three subclasses of flavonoids — anthocyanins, flavanones, and flavones — were found to be the most protective. Anthocyanins give berries their deep jewel tones. Oranges and grapefruits are good sources of flavanones. And peppers and celery are rich in flavones. (Here’s how to save money at the supermarket.)
According to Dr. Yeh’s study, high flavone intake translated to a 38% reduction in risk of cognitive decline. That’s like being three to four years younger.
Speaking of age, Dr. Yeh says it’s never too late to start eating more produce to see brain benefits. “We found better cognitive function whether people were consuming the flavonoids 20 years ago, or if they started incorporating them more recently,” she says.
Eating to protect your memory
Yes, eating brightly colored food is good for you. But eating food only for color could backfire, says Dr. Yeh.
Mushrooms, for instance, are one of the few sources of vitamin D in the plant world. Millions of Americans need more vitamin D. But mushrooms don’t have much color, and by extension, they don’t contain flavonoids.
So build a colorful plate, but rathe