Eating Foods High in Flavonoids May Help Prevent Cognitive Decline

Berries, citrus fruits, peppers, and celery were among the most effective, notes a new study.
Angela Haupt writes:
If you needed another reason to feast on fruits and veggies, consider this: Colorful produce may help keep your brain young, a new study suggests.

The research, published July 28 in the journal Neurology, found that people who consumed about 600 milligrams (mg) of flavonoids per day had a 20 percent lower risk of cognitive decline than those who only got 150 mg. (Blueberries, for example, have about 164 mg of anthocyanins — which is one type of flavonoid — per 100-gram serving. Peppers have about 5 mg of flavones, which is another type, per 100-gram serving.) Cognitive decline is associated with aging, per research published in August 2015 in Seminars in Hearing, and may happen independent of neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s.

“Integrating flavonoid-rich foods into your healthy lifestyle may be good for brain health and overall health,” says study author Tian-Shin Yeh, MD, PhD, a research fellow with the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health in Boston.
Flavo-what, you may ask? Flavonoids are naturally occurring plant compounds that are powerful antioxidants, says Lisa Young, PhD, RDN, an adjunct professor of nutrition at New York University in New York City. They’re found in brightly colored fruits and veggies, such as strawberries, blueberries, oranges, and red peppers.

The new research was based on data from nearly 80,000 middle-aged people who were followed for more than 20 years. Participants answered questions about how often they ate various foods, which the study authors used to calculate intake of different types of flavonoids. The participants also assessed their own cognitive abilities by answering questions about whether, for example, they had trouble remembering recent events or their daily to-do list.
The findings indicate that flavones, which are a type of flavonoid found in spices, as well as yellow and orange fruits and vegetables, had the strongest protective effect: They were linked with a 38 percent reduction in the risk of cognitive decline. Anthocyanins, which are another type of flavonoid — and found in darker fruits, like blackberries — were associated with a 24 percent reduced risk.
The study wasn’t perfect. One of its limitations is that the participants’ eating habits were self-reported, which leaves room for error. Plus, assessing your own cognitive abilities is an imperfect art: If someone is experiencing memory issues, they may not consciously realize how much they’re forgetting, and therefore can’t report it on a self-study.
Yet it did account for major nondietary risk factors for poor cognitive function, such as lack of regular physical activity, smoking, depression, low socioeconomic status, as well as unhealthy diet. Dr. Yeh says she was particularly excited that the study results “remained robust” after researchers made these adjustments.

“We weren’t totally surprised by the findings, but we were somewhat surprised at the strength of the association,” Yeh says. She adds that the flavonoid-rich foods that had the strongest protective associations include: berries, oranges, grapefruits, citrus juice, peppers, and celery.
To help increase your flavonoid intake, Yeh recommends keeping fruit in a prominent spot where you can see it. Place several ready-to-eat, washed whole fruits in a bowl, or store chopped colorful fruits in a glass bowl in the refrigerator, she suggests. That way, “you can easily get them whenever you have a sweet tooth,” she says.

Dr. Young recommends adding a colorful fruit or veggie to every meal. “So at breakfast, throw in some blueberries. At lunch, if you’re not having a salad, you could do a soup or have some veggies,” she says. “As a snack, maybe have an apple.” Or make a smoothie out of your favorite colorful fruit, or have some watermelon slices or a handful of cherries. The important thing is adding that burst of color. “It could be raw, it could be cooked, it could be in a soup,” she says. “If you can get organic for certain fruits, great, but if you can’t, still have them anyway.”

Young’s big takeaway on the new study: “Get the fruits and vegetables you like best, and try to make half your plate produce whenever possible. I’m a portion person, but the bigger the portion here, the better.”

Courtesy: Everyday Health