Eating Leafy Greens May Slow Brain Aging
Summary: A new study from researchers at Rush University reveals eating one serving of leafy greens a day could help preserve memory and cognitive skills in older people.
Source: Rush University Medical Center.
While cognitive abilities naturally decline with age, eating one serving of leafy green vegetables a day may aid in preserving memory and thinking skills as a person grows older, according to a study by researchers at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago. The study results were published in the December 20, issue of Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.
“Adding a daily serving of green leafy vegetables to your diet may be a simple way to help promote brain health,” said study author Martha Clare Morris, ScD, a nutritional epidemiologist at Rush. “There continues to be sharp increases in the percentage of people with dementia as the oldest age groups continue to grow in number. Effective strategies to prevent dementia are critically needed.”
The study results suggest that people who ate one serving of green, leafy vegetables had a slower rate of decline on tests of memory and thinking skills than people who rarely or never ate them. The study results also suggest that older adults who ate at least one serving of leafy green vegetables showed an equivalent of being 11 years younger cognitively.