Are Flavonoids a Must to Prevent Dementia and Alzheimer’s?
You’re probably familiar with the saying, “an apple a day keeps
the doctor away”. Typically, we say this to our kids and grandkids to teach
them to eat more fruit and have a healthier diet. But there actually is
some literal truth to that saying for a whole other age group - adults 65
years old and beyond. Recently, scientific evidence appeared suggesting that a
type of antioxidant present in berries, tea, and apples, among other
plant-based foods and drinks, may be not simply beneficial, but necessary to
prevent cognitive decline, dementia, and Alzheimer's disease. These
antioxidants are called flavonoids, and not consuming enough of them may actually
increase one's risk of said diseases.
The Research Behind the Link Between Flavonoids and Dementia
Scientists have known for a while that an antioxidant-rich
diet can help maintain an active and healthy brain for longer, as they've
observed that people with an antioxidant-rich diet like the Mediterranean diet
had a much longer lifespan and yet a lower incidence of cognitive decline and
dementia. Antioxidants are nutrients that help prevent cell damage by combining
with free radicals.
The research looked at almost 3.000 participants over the
course of 20 years, carefully assessing their diets for 6 different types
of flavonoids and excluding any potential confounding factors. “Our
study gives us a picture of how diet over time might be related to a person’s
cognitive decline, as we were able to look at flavonoid intake over many years
prior to participants’ dementia diagnoses,” explains one of the authors of the
study.
The results of the investigation revealed that people who
didn't eat many berries and other anthocyanin-rich
foods (black plums, red cabbage, red radish, etc.) had a 4 times
higher risk of developing dementia. Anthocyanins were found to be the most
active flavonoid group in the study, but a lower intake of other
flavonoid-rich foods, such as apples, tea, and pears, also increased the risk
of the disease twofold. Thus, not including foods and drinks high in flavonoids
in one's diet really raised the risk of dementia and Alzheimer's in the long
term.
Which
Foods Contain a Lot of Flavonoids and How Much Do You Need?
Berries, grapes, red wine, tea, apples, citrus fruits, kale, broccoli, dark chocolate, arugula, beets
The study defined a low intake of flavonoids as eating
no berries, about 1 apple, and no tea in an entire 1 month, and a high or
sufficient intake included about 8 apples or pears, 7.5 cups of berries, and 19
cups of tea in a month. Thus, in order to consume enough flavonoids, you don't
have to drink tea every day or eat an excessive amount of fruit a day, which is
great news as it makes a healthy brain an achievable goal for most people.
In the image above, we've also included other common foods
that are high in flavonoid content. Keep in mind that berries of any kind,
be it raspberries, blackcurrant, or cranberries, have been found to have the
most beneficial effect on brain health, so try to include some in your diet
several times a week.
While a high
intake of flavonoid-rich foods isn't capable of completely eliminating your
risk of dementia and Alzheimer's, it can certainly increase your chances of
healthy cognition, the study finds. In the absence of a cure for this
increasingly-widespread disease, prevention through a healthy diet and
lifestyle is your greatest weapon against the disease.
The more studies are conducted on the connection between diet
and dementia, the more apparent the link between an unhealthy diet and an
increased risk of Alzheimer’s and dementia becomes.
T