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Daily dose of blueberries may guarantee improved memory | A daily dose of blueberries could be the perfect way
to ease the memory lapses and brain slips that typically accompany old age. In
a small study, older adults who drank a couple cups of blueberry juice a day improved
their scores on a learning and memory task by 20 percent. Studies in animals have
linked blueberries with brain function, but this is one of the first such studies
in people. The results have indicated that blueberries might just live up to their
reputation as "superfoods." Among other health benefits, adding the tasty little,
blue marbles to your diet could help slow the march of memory decline and possibly
even prevent memories from slipping in the first place. "We're getting the first
signal in humans that this might work. There's so much research now suggesting
that fruits and vegetables are beneficial. I don't have any qualms about recommending
that people eat blueberries," Discovery News quoted Robert Krikorian, a neuropsychologist
at the University of Cincinnati in Ohio, as saying. In animal studies, older individuals
that consume blueberry extract improve their performance on memory tasks, sometimes
to the point of being just as sharp as their younger counterparts. Scientists
have attributed blueberries' impressive brain-boosting effects on a type of antioxidant
called anthocyanins. These molecules belong to a larger group called polyphenols,
which come in thousands of varieties. Polyphenols appear in virtually all fruits
and vegetables, and have been shown to reduce the risk of cancers and heart disease,
among other benefits. In animals that have consumed lots of blueberries, scientists
have spotted anthocyanins in the brain structures that are known to be involved
in memory. That's where molecules appear to work their magic by helping neurons
communicate with each other, facilitating memory processing. Anthocyanins also
make brain cells more resilient in the face of stress. The molecules might even
act as a sort of mild toxin that prods the body to grow stronger. Krikorian wanted
to know whether any of it applied to people, and thus recruited nine adults who
were, on average, in their mid-70s. All participants had experienced some mild
memory decline. In the beginning, each participant took a series of learning and
memory tests and for the next 12 weeks, they drank three glasses of blueberry
juice a day, for a total of between two and two and a half cups. During the last
week of the study, participants took the memory tests again. Researchers noted
a 20 percent improvement in the tests after taking blueberry juice everyday. |
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