How do colored foods affect brain function in old age?

The importance of food in human life can hardly be overemphasized. As a source of nutrients, food fulfills more than just the function of satiety. The study of dietary patterns has even saved lives! Dietary control helps prevent and treat many diseases. We are not afraid of rickets (vitamin D deficiency), beri-beri (vitamin B1 deficiency) and many other diseases, because science has established a link between nutritional disorders and the resulting conditions.

The effects on humans of certain food groups and specific nutrients continue to be studied – discovering new ways to stay healthy for years to come. For example, scientists from the American Academy of Neurology managed to find out that consumption of colored foods containing flavonoids reduces the risk of age-related memory impairment.

We tell you about the details of the study with Irina Yuzup, PhD, doctor of integrative, preventive and conventional medicine, nutritionist and pediatrician.

Ph.D., physician, nutritionist, and pediatrician

A new study shows that people who follow a diet high in flavonoids have a 20% lower chance of acquiring cognitive impairment and disorders.

Flavonoids: what are they for and where can you find them?

Flavonoids are pigments that only plants produce. They color vegetables, fruits, berries, nuts, spices in colors familiar to the eye.

The influence of flavonoids on health was first discussed in 1936. A new round of scientific interest in pigments was aroused in the 1990s with the discovery of their antioxidant properties. Proanthocyanides alone are 20 times more powerful than ascorbic acid and 50 times more powerful than vitamin E.

This group of substances is also capable of

• reduce capillary permeability and fragility;
• inhibit blood clotting;
• increase the elasticity of red blood cells;
• antimicrobial action.

Flavonoids enter the human body only with plant foods and are unable to accumulate in it. Therefore, it is necessary to include in the diet daily products containing these pigments.

What have scientists managed to establish?

It turned out that the participants of the study, whose diet was the most products with flavonoids, had a lower risk of cognitive decline than participants from the group with the lowest intake of pigments. Adjustments for age and calorie intake were taken into account when evaluating the results.

Irina Yuzup

Ph.D., physician, nutritionist, pediatrician

A new study shows that people who follow a diet high in strawberries, oranges, peppers, and apples (these foods contain flavonoids) are 20% less likely to acquire cognitive impairment and disorders.

This is indeed true, although in addition to flavonoids, anthocyanins are also worth highlighting.

The work lasted 20 years! During this time, about 50,000 women (average age 48 years) and about 30,000 men (average age 51 years) systematically recorded their diet. In addition, the participants regularly assessed two parameters:

• The ability to memorize recent events;
• The ability to memorize a short list of items.

This assessment helps identify memory problems early on: when it has deteriorated enough for you to notice, but not so much that it can be detected by a screening test.

Participants with a diet rich in flavonoids consumed about 600 mg of the pigment each day. And the menus of those who were more at risk contained about 150 mg. To give you an example, there are 180 mg of flavonoids in 100 g of strawberries, and about 113 mg in 100 g of apples.

Does color matter?

The researchers also looked at individual flavonoid varieties to identify their positive effects on participants’ cognitive abilities.

Pigments found in certain spices and yellow or orange fruits and vegetables had the strongest protective qualities. The study reported a 38% reduction in the risk of cognitive impairment.

Irina Yuzup

Ph.D., physician, nutritionist, pediatrician

Orange and red pigments – a sign of the presence of copper, zinc, iron in the product. For example, in turmeric. Deficiency of trace elements contained in it may play a definite role in the development of Alzheimer’s disease. Copper, zinc and iron concentrate in the brain and cause amyloid aggregation or oxidative neurotoxicity. Curcumin, on the other hand, forms strong complexes with metals and blocks the toxicity and inflammation caused by them.

The yellow color we find in seeds such as sunflower seeds or soybeans is a sign that the product is rich in lecithin. It helps form membranes around nerve fibers and promotes cell regeneration.

Anthocyanins contained in blueberries, blackberries and cherries, in a similar test showed a 24% reduction in risk. At the same time, 100 g of blueberries contain about 164 mg of the pigment.

Irina Yuzup

Ph.D., physician, nutriciologist, pediatrician

Anthocyanins (or anthocyanins) are specific compounds that help reduce oxidative (oxidative) stress in the body. They color plants blue and purple, and easily pass through the physiological barrier between the bloodstream and the central nervous system, positively affecting brain cells.

The pigments improve circulatory system function and thought processes. By consuming blueberries, blueberries and other dark berries, fruits and vegetables, we slow age-related cognitive decline.

Anthocyanins support clear memory and thought processes by reducing inflammation and preventing DNA damage in brain cells.