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Healthy Aging Health Center
Berries May Slow Mental Decline From Aging
Study Shows Blueberries, Strawberries, and Acai Berries Are Good for Your
Brain's Health
By Bill Hendrick
WebMD Health News
Reviewed by Laura J. Martin, MD
[image: berries_healthy_aging_1.jpg]
Aug. 23, 2010 -- Compounds found in various berries and possibly in walnuts
may slow down natural aging processes in the brain, new research indicates.
What's more, blueberries, strawberries, and acai berries may help the aging
brain in a crucial but previously unrecognized way, according to a study
presented at the National Meeting of the American Chemical Society in
Boston.
Scientists say they have found evidence that compounds in the berries and
maybe walnuts activate the brain's natural "housekeeper" mechanism that
cleans up and recycles toxic proteins, which have been linked to age-related
mental decline and memory loss.
"The good news is that natural compounds called polyphenols found in fruits,
vegetables and nuts have an antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effect that
may protect against age-associated decline," Shibu Poulose, PhD, a scientist
with the U.S. Department of Agriculture-Agriculture Research Service's Human
Nutrition Research Center on Aging, says in a news release.
Poulose says previous research has suggested that one factor involved in
aging is a steady decline in the body's ability to protect itself against
inflammation and oxidative damage, which can leave people vulnerable to
degenerative brain diseases, cancer, and heart disease.
He says research he's done in the past has shown that old laboratory rats
that were fed for two months on diets containing high-antioxidant
strawberry, blueberry, or blackberry extract showed a reversal of
age-related declines in nerve function and behavior involving learning and
memory.
The Benefits of Berries
In the new study involving mouse brain tissue, Poulose says he and his
colleague investigated cells called microglia, which collect waste products
of the nervous system, and found that in aging they stop working properly.
When that happens, the biochemical waste builds up, and the normally
protective cells become overactivated to the point that they damage healthy
cells.
"Our research suggests that the polyphenolics in berries have a rescuing
effect," he says in the news release. "They seem to restore the normal
housekeeping function. These findings are the first to show these effects of
berries."
Poulose says the study provides more reason to eat foods rich in
polyphenols. These include, in addition to berries and walnuts, many
other fruits and vegetables, especially those with deep red, orange, or blue
colors.
Frozen berries, he says, also are good sources of polyphenols and are
available all year.
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