This Food Slows Brain Aging By 2.5 Years

Share this blog:

We’ve talked about berries a lot on this blog. One of the reasons for that is that berries contain a ridiculously high amount of antioxidants. In turn, antioxidants play a great role in fighting a host of chronic diseases, which modern-day society is plagued with.

However, did you know that berries can help keep your brain young as well? In turn, this improves your memory and lowers your risk of dementia. Learn more below!

Fruits, Veggies And Dementia

An aging brain means you’re more prone to dementia. Also, dementia has the potential to rob you of your independence, control, and identity. So, what can we do about it?

Fruits and vegetables help reduce the risk of other chronic diseases, so might they work for brain diseases as well? There has been a recent surge of interest in plant polyphenols as agents in the treatment of dementia.

That’s because there are 4,000 different kinds of polyphenols found in foods of plant origin, but berries are particularly packed with them.

Berries possess powerful antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties, and there’s a subset of a subset called anthocyanidins.

These are natural blue-purple pigments uniquely and specifically capable of crossing the blood-brain barrier and localizing inside brain regions involved in learning and memory.

In other words, they’re capable of fighting inflammation in the brain, which is exactly where we need them.

Also read: These 8 Berries Are Your Top Choices For Fighting Inflammation

Blueberries and Brain Health

The brain takes up less than 2% of the body weight but may burn up to 50% of the body’s fuel, creating a potential firestorm of free radicals.

This raised a thought-provoking idea: maybe a nutritional intervention with blueberries may be beneficial in forestalling or even reversing the neurological changes associated with aging.

So did researchers give blueberries to people and see what happened? Initially, no. As noted in an earlier study, they gave blueberries to rats. It would be a decade before the first human trial. But it worked!

A study called “Blueberry Supplementation Improves Memory in Older Adults” suggested that consistent supplementation with blueberries may offer an approach to forestall or mitigate brain degeneration with age (source)

Other Blue/Purple Foods

That same study suggests that supplementation with purple grape juice may enhance cognitive function in older adults with early memory decline.

However, why use juice and not whole Concord grapes? The reason is twofold.

First, using juice allows researchers to design a placebo that looks and tastes exactly the same, which is crucial for ruling out the very real and powerful placebo effect.

Second, the study was funded by the Welch’s grape juice company.

This effect was confirmed in a follow-up study, showing for the first time an increase in neural activation in parts of the brain associated with memory using functional MRI scans.

However, it’s important to note that this brain scan study was tiny, with just four people in each group. Similarly, the initial blueberry study had only nine participants.

The Harvard Nurse’s Health Study

So, let’s have a look at a larger study!

The Harvard Nurse’s Health Study followed the cognitive function of more than 16,000 women for years and found that higher, long-term consumption of berries was associated with significantly slower rates of cognitive decline in this cohort of older women (source).

This was true even after careful consideration of confounding factors like socioeconomic status, meaning that even after taking into account the fact that rich people eat more berries, the results still held.

This study provided the first population-based evidence that greater intakes of blueberries and strawberries were highly associated with slower rates of cognitive decline, and not just by a little bit.

The magnitude of the associations was equivalent to the cognitive differences that one might observe in women up to 2.5 years apart in age.

In other words, women with a higher intake of berries appeared to have delayed cognitive aging by as much as 2.5 years.

Do Supplements Also Work?

Why not just take some kind of anthocyanidin supplement? Because there hasn’t been a single study that found any kind of cognitive benefit from just giving these single phytonutrients.

In fact, the opposite is true (source). Whole blueberries appear to be more effective than individual components, showing that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.

These findings potentially have substantial public health implications, as increasing berry intake represents a fairly simple dietary modification that could be tested in older adults for maintaining brain function.

The ease of incorporating berries into one’s diet makes this an accessible and practical approach for many people.

Practical Tips for Incorporating Berries into Your Diet

Given the potential benefits, how can you easily incorporate more berries into your daily diet? Here are some practical tips:

1. Breakfast boost: Add a handful of blueberries or strawberries to your morning cereal, oatmeal, or yogurt. This simple addition can make your breakfast both more delicious and nutritious.
2. Smoothie power: Blend berries into a smoothie. Combining them with other fruits, vegetables, and a protein source like Greek yogurt or plant-based protein powder can create a balanced, brain-boosting meal.
3. Snack smart: Keep a bowl of fresh berries in your refrigerator for a quick and healthy snack. Alternatively, dried berries can be a convenient option for on-the-go snacking.
4. Salad upgrade: Toss berries into your salads. They pair well with leafy greens, nuts, and a light vinaigrette, adding a burst of flavor and color.
5. Dessert delight: Use berries as a natural sweetener for desserts. Top off a bowl of ice cream, a slice of cake, or a serving of pudding with fresh berries for a healthier treat.

Conclusion

Incorporating more berries into your diet is a simple yet effective way to potentially slow brain aging and enhance cognitive function. The evidence suggests that the natural compounds found in berries, particularly anthocyanidins, play a crucial role in maintaining brain health.