A new study revealed that elderly people who regularly eat foods such as fish, nuts and olive oil may have less iron accumulation in the brain and a sharper memory compared to others. Location healthday.
The brain requires a certain level of iron to function normally, but with age, iron can build up in the brain in excess. This excess iron has been linked to cognitive decline, which is a slow decline in memory and thinking skills that can lead to dementia.
Valentinos Zaccario, a neuroscientist at the University of Kentucky and the lead researcher on the new study, said that diet represents one potential way to prevent dementia, as some nutrients may be protective, including vitamin C. E Certain fatty acids are found in foods such as fish, nuts and olive oils.
Using MRI scans of the brain, researchers found that older adults who ate higher amounts of these nutrients tended to have lower iron concentrations in brain tissue, which helped boost cognitive skills and memory, on average, on standard memory tests, compared to peers whose meals were The diet is relatively lacking in these nutrients.
The study, which was recently published online in the journal Neurobiology of agingNot the first to link healthy eating habits with slow cognitive decline.
And the classic Mediterranean diet — rich in fish, olive oil, vegetables and whole grains — was linked to more mental sharpness in older adults.
The same is true for the eating pattern called diet MIND The diet, which borrows from the Mediterranean diet and also focuses on berries and green leafy vegetables (a source of vitamin Eamong other nutrients).
The study included 73 healthy adults, ages 61 to 86, who reported eating certain foods in the past month, as well as exercising.
A group of nutrients has emerged as linked to iron concentrations in the brain and memory performance: Vitamin EFound in foods such as green leafy vegetables, nuts, vegetable oils, lysine, found in fish, chicken and beef liver, and omega-3 fatty acids, from sources such as fish, olives, soybeans, and fats. LA omega-6It is also found in these vegetable oils, as well as almond and wheat germ.
The study found that the more people ate these nutrients, the lower the concentration of iron in the brain and the better their memory performance.
