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Study: Berries Good for Memory

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A major new health study has revealed that the consumption of blueberries and strawberries can strengthen the memory of women – and possibly men as well – as they age. “We think it’s an exciting finding because it is such a simple dietary intervention people can do,” said lead author and epidemiologist Elizabeth Devore of Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School.

Devore and her fellow health experts analyzed data from The Nurses’ Health Study, which began monitoring the health and lifestyle habits of 121,700 nurses in 1976. In the aspect of the study that focused on the results of regular berry intake, 16,000 women who never had a stroke and were over age seventy were given six tests for memory and cognitive function.

The women in the group who ate more blueberries and strawberries had the slowest memory decline, retaining their mental acuity for up to two years longer than their non-berry consuming peers, according to the study published late this past week in the Annals of Neurology. “Not everyone’s memory declines as they age, but on average, when women did decline over time, the group that ate the most berries declined less,” Devore explained.
The cognitive benefit was achieved when the women being studied ate as little as one-half cup of blueberries or one cup of strawberries a week. The same results occurred whether the berries were regular, frozen or organic.

“Because cognitive decline develops over many years, long-term dietary habits are likely most relevant to brain health,” Devore said. “The practical message to take away: Eat more berries, and the sooner in life the better.”

Previous studies have demonstrated that foods that are rich in flavonoids have powerful antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties that help slow down the aging process. The special property in berries that generates a memory boost may be a specific type of flavonoid known as anthocyanidins, which cross the blood-brain barrier. These elements have also been located in the regions of the brain involved with learning and memory.

One prominent New Yorker – 67-year-old Linda Leest, who oversees the “SNAP” senior program in Queens – reports that she has been eating berries every morning with her cereal for many years. Leest credits her husband Steve, a retired executive who handles the household’s food preparation and other household chores, with ensuring her “mentally healthy” menu. “I’m going to make sure he also eats lots of berries,” Linda said, laughing, “so he’ll still remember to cook and do laundry when we are very old.” 

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