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Besvruchten tegen het ouder worden van de hersenen*
Uit een studie onder ruim 16.000 vrouwen die vanaf 1980 werden gevolgd blijkt dat het eten van diverse besvruchten zoals aardbeien en blauwe bessen het ouder worden van de hersenen doet vertragen. Besvruchten zijn rijk aan de bioactieve stof anthocyanen waarvan studies laten zien dat die de cognitieve functies verbeteren. In deze studie werd gekeken of dat na jarenlange inname ook het geval is. Op verschillende momenten werden de cognitieve functies van de vrouwen gecontroleerd. Zij die de meeste besvruchten aten bleken duidelijk beter te scoren dan zie met de minste inname. Omgerekend kon gesteld worden dat de hersenen van de vrouwen met de hoogste inname 2,5 jaar jonger waren. Trouwens de hoeveelheid besvruchten, van zij met de hoogste inname, was nog redelijk laag te weten gemiddeld elke week een schaaltje aardbeien of een half schaaltje blauwe bessen.
Dietary intakes of berries and flavonoids in relation to cognitive decline
1. Elizabeth E. Devore ScD1,*, 2. Jae Hee Kang ScD1, 3. Monique M. B. Breteler MD, PhD2, 4. Francine Grodstein ScD1
DOI: 10.1002/ana.23594
Abstract
Objective:
Berries are high in flavonoids, especially anthocyanidins, and improve cognition in experimental studies. We prospectively evaluated whether greater long-term intakes of berries and flavonoids are associated with slower rates of cognitive decline in older women.
Methods:
Beginning in 1980, a semiquantitative food frequency questionnaire was administered every 4 years to Nurses' Health Study participants. In 1995–2001, we began measuring cognitive function in 16,010 participants, aged ≥70 years; follow-up assessments were conducted twice, at 2-year intervals. To ascertain long-term diet, we averaged dietary variables from 1980 through the initial cognitive interview. Using multivariate-adjusted, mixed linear regression, we estimated mean differences in slopes of cognitive decline by long-term berry and flavonoid intakes.
Results:
Greater intakes of blueberries and strawberries were associated with slower rates of cognitive decline (eg, for a global score averaging all 6 cognitive tests, for blueberries: p-trend = 0.014 and mean difference = 0.04, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.01–0.07, comparing extreme categories of intake; for strawberries: p-trend = 0.022 and mean difference = 0.03, 95% CI = 0.00–0.06, comparing extreme categories of intake), after adjusting for multiple potential confounders. These effect estimates were equivalent to those we found for approximately 1.5 to 2.5 years of age in our cohort, indicating that berry intake appears to delay cognitive aging by up to 2.5 years. Additionally, in further supporting evidence, greater intakes of anthocyanidins and total flavonoids were associated with slower rates of cognitive decline (p-trends = 0.015 and 0.053, respectively, for the global score).
Interpretation:
Higher intake of flavonoids, particularly from berries, appears to reduce rates of cognitive decline in older adults. ANN NEUROL 2012 (Mei 2012)