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Nutrition, Vitamins & Supplements for Seniors
Senior Citizens Can Slow Cognitive Decline by Eating
More Vegetables
It is probably the vitamin E that does the trick
 October 24, 2006 - Eating vegetables, not fruit,
helps slow down the rate of cognitive change in older adults, according
to a study published in today's issue of Neurology, the
scientific journal of the American Academy of Neurology.
In determining whether there was an association
between vegetables, fruit and cognitive decline, researchers studied
3,718 residents in Chicago, Illinois, who were age 65 and older.
Participants completed a food frequency questionnaire and received at
least two cognitive tests over a six-year period.
“Compared to people who consumed less than one
serving of vegetables a day, people who ate at least 2.8 servings of
vegetables a day saw their rate of cognitive change slow by roughly 40
percent,” said study author Martha Clare Morris, ScD, with Rush
University Medical Center in Chicago. “This decrease is equivalent to
about five years of younger age.”
Of the different types of vegetables consumed by
participants, green leafy vegetables had the strongest association to
slowing the rate of cognitive decline. The study also found the older
the person, the greater the slowdown in the rate of cognitive decline if
that person consumed more than two servings of vegetables a day.
Surprisingly, the study found fruit consumption was
not associated with cognitive change.
“This was unanticipated and raises several
questions,” said Morris. “It may be due to vegetables containing high
amounts of vitamin E, which helps lower the risk of cognitive decline.
Vegetables, but not fruits, are also typically consumed with added fats
such as salad dressings, and fats increase the absorption of vitamin E.
Still, further study is required to understand why fruit is not
associated with cognitive change.”
Morris says the study’s findings can be used to
simplify public health messages by saying people should eat more or less
of foods in a specific food group, not necessarily more or less of
individual foods.
The study was supported by grants from the National
Institute on Aging.
The American Academy of Neurology, an association
of more than 19,000 neurologists and neuroscience professionals, is
dedicated to improving patient care through education and research. A
neurologist is a doctor with specialized training in diagnosing,
treating and managing disorders of the brain and nervous system such as
stroke, Alzheimer’s disease, epilepsy, Parkinson disease, and multiple
sclerosis. For more information about the American Academy of Neurology,
visit
http://www.aan.com.
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