According to the National Institute on Aging, “Forgetfulness can be a normal part of aging. As people get older, changes occur in all parts of the body, including the brain. As a result, some people may notice that it takes longer to learn new things, they don’t remember information as well as they did, or they lose things like their glasses.”
But a new body of research suggests that eating grapes and blueberries together can boost your brain power.
So, while historically fish and certain nuts were said to add brain power, this new 2018 study shows that memory loss can actually be slowed significantly with the addition of this dynamic duo of grapes and blueberries. Here’s why adding them to your daily routine as either raw or in a smoothie or just a quick snack throughout the day could work.
Researchers found that the beneficial effects of a polyphenol-rich extract from grapes were aided significantly by pairing it with a polyphenol-rich extract from blueberries; and that the combination produced a far more robust effect than either one on its own.
Over the course of the trials, the research demonstrated that the aged mice fed the polyphenol-rich diet spent far more time examining objects they had never seen before, while ignoring those they had, could remember where the exit was in their swimming pool despite the start point changing each swim session, and lived a longer sharper life in general during the trials. Strikingly, 52% of the mice who were fed the normal diet died before a single mouse had died from the control-diet group.
After the trials, the mice were found with much higher levels of polyphenols in their blood plasma and brains. The data presented exciting conclusions that daily supplementation of blueberry AND grape extract together improved memory and brain function, as well as neurogenesis – the creation and repair of new brain cells – particularly in the hippocampus, as well as neuro-plasticity, a key marker of age-related neuro-decline.
“…Our data provides evidence of both direct and indirect effects on the brain. The well-being of aged people is closely linked to…
… good memory performance and proper brain functioning, which very often deteriorate during aging,” the researchers noted. “Together, the data obtained in this study are in line with the hypothesis that optimized preventive nutrition may promote the maintenance of a satisfactory cognitive state in elderly subjects and may thus prevent or delay dementia, and contribute to healthy aging.”
In an unrelated study, it was found that the anthocyanins in blueberries ward off Alzheimer’s. Anthocyanins are what make fruits and vegetables purple, and it’s also the substance responsible for aiding weight loss.
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