Eating blueberries and strawberries may stave off mental decline in later life, claim researchers.
They
found brain ageing could be delayed by up to two and a half years in
elderly women regularly eating high amounts of the berries. The findings come from an ongoing study of nurses which involves only women, but may also apply to men.
Experts
believe the benefits are derived from the high content of flavonoids in
berry fruits, antioxidant compounds found in plants which can protect
against a wide range of diseases.
The
US research team used data from the Nurses’ Health Study, involving
121,700 female, registered nurses between the ages of 30 and 55 who
completed health and lifestyle questionnaires beginning in 1976. Since 1980 participants were surveyed every four years regarding their frequency of food consumption.
Between
1995 and 2001, cognitive function was measured in 16,010 women over the
age of 70 years, at 2-year intervals, says a report in the Annals of Neurology journal.
The findings suggest increased consumption of blueberries and strawberries slows cognitive decline in older women.
Source - Daily Mail
