Veggies, not Fruit, Fight Memory Problems in Old Age

Ivanhoe Newswire
Tuesday, October 24, 2006; 12:00 AM

(Ivanhoe Newswire) -- If you want a memory like a steel trap in your golden years, fit more veggies into your diet. A new study reveals it's the things we try to hide under our plate, rather than fruit, that helps slow down memory loss.

Researchers from Rush University Medical Center in Chicago wanted to know how much eating fruits and vegetables affected memory loss in old age. They report people who ate nearly three servings of vegetables a day slowed their rate of cognitive decline by about 40 percent. Eating fruit did not have an affect.

So what veggies should you be sure to include in your diet? The researchers report leafy greens had the highest association with slowed cognitive decline.

Researchers theorize there could be a few explanations for why vegetables seem to save memory. Veggies tend to be eaten with added fats. Fats increase the absorption of vitamin E.

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SOURCE: Neurology, 2006;67:1370-1376