Men who eat lots of fruits and vegetables have less memory loss
24 November, 2018
Men who follow a healthful diet could be protecting their brains, according to a new study that tracked a large group of men for more than 2 decades.
Researchers from the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health in Boston, MA, analyzed data from a study that had followed 27,842 men for 26 years.
The men had all filled in detailed surveys about their food and drink intake at the start of the study in 1986 — when they were aged 51 years, on average — and then every 4 years until 2002.
The follow-up lasted until 2012, by which time their average age was in the mid- to late-70s.
During the last few years of the follow-up, they had also completed short tests to find out whether they had noticed any decline in their own ability to think and remember things.
The analysis showed that consuming higher amounts of certain foods and drinks was tied to lower risk of decline in memory and thinking skills.
The foods that most strongly showed this effect were leafy greens, red and dark orange vegetables, berry fruits, and orange juice.
The journal Neurology recently published a paper about the study and its findings.
"Our studies," says first author Dr. Changzheng Yuan, who works in the school's departments of nutrition and epidemiology, "provide further evidence [that] dietary choices can be important to maintain your brain health."
Subjective cognitive function test
The purpose of the subjective cognitive function (SCF) tests that the men completed was to discern changes in memory and thinking abilities that they had noticed themselves.
The SCF test contains six items, and the study authors note that its "validity was supported by strong associations" with a gene that is linked to Alzheimer's disease.
The subjective test can uncover decline in memory and thinking skills before they begin to show up in objective tests.
The men completed the SCF test twice: once in 2008 and again at the end of the follow-up in 2012. Typical questions included:
- "Do you have more trouble than usual remembering a short list of items, such as a shopping list?"
- "Do you have more trouble than usual following a group conversation or a plot in a TV program due to your memory?"
The authors note that they "categorized the average of the [two] scores as good, moderate, and poor SCF."