Veggies may make big difference in keeping brain young

CHICAGO — Eating two or more servings of vegetables a day may slow a person's mental decline by about 40 percent compared with a person who consumes few vegetables, according to a new study.

The research in almost 2,000 Chicago-area men and women doesn't prove that vegetables reduce mental decline, but it adds to mounting evidence pointing in that direction. The findings also echo previous research in women only.

The slowdown in the rate of cognitive decline experienced by people who ate 2.8 or more servings of vegetables a day is "equivalent to about five years of younger age" compared with people who ate less than one vegetable serving per day, said lead author Martha Clare Morris, a researcher at the Rush Institute for Healthy Aging at Chicago's Rush University Medical Center.

The study was published in today's issue of the journal Neurology and was funded with grants from the National Institute on Aging.

Consuming lots of fruit did not appear to offer the same mental protection, although fruit has been associated with a wide variety of other health benefits, Morris said.

The study also suggested it may never be too late to reap the benefits of vegetable consumption. Older people who started eating more than two vegetable servings a day still showed a significant delay in mental decline, Morris said.

A vegetable serving equaled about one-half cup chopped, or one cup if the vegetable was a raw leafy green like spinach.

Green leafy vegetables including spinach, kale and collards appeared to be the most beneficial. The researchers said that may be because they contain lots of vitamin E, an antioxidant that is believed to help fight chemicals produced by the body that can damage cells. Vegetables generally contain more vitamin E than fruits do.

Vegetables also are often eaten with healthful fats such as olive or vegetable oils, which help the body absorb vitamin E and other antioxidants, Morris said. The fats from healthful oils can help keep cholesterol low and arteries clear, contributing to brain health.

The research involved 1,946 people age 65 and older who filled out questionnaires about their eating habits. They also had mental function tests three times over about six years.

The tests included measures of short-term and delayed memory, which asked these older people to recall elements of a story that had just been read to them.

Overall, people did gradually worse on these tests over time, but those who ate more than two vegetable servings a day had about 40 percent less mental decline than those who ate few or no vegetables. Their test results resembled what would be expected in people about five years younger, Morris said.

The study also found that people who ate lots of vegetables were more physically active, adding to evidence that "what's good for your heart is good for your brain," said neuroscientist Maria Carillo, director of medical and scientific relations for the Alzheimer's Association.

Matt Kaeberlein, who conducts research on the biochemical processes of aging at the University of Washington, said he was surprised the study didn't show any beneficial effect of eating fruit on cognitive decline. Studies in animals, he said, show that berries seem to protect memory in aging animals.

Morris said too few people in the study consumed berries regularly to determine if they helped preserve memory and other cognitive functions.