Leafy Green Veggies Help Aging
A new US study suggests that eating plenty of leafy green vegetables, which include the mineral lutein, may help maintain brain function as you age.
Researchers from the University of Illinois wanted to see if there was a significant difference in cognitive performance between participants who were younger and middle-aged and who had greater and lower lutein levels.
The majority of earlier research has examined lutein levels in older persons, when a period of cognitive decline has already occurred; however, the current study included 60 participants between the ages of 25 and 45.
“People often endure degradation as they age.” Research has found that this process could begin earlier than anticipated. According to Anne Walk, the paper’s first author, “you may even start to observe some changes in your 30s.” We are interested in learning how nutrition affects cognition across the lifespan. “We should urge individuals to eat lutein-rich foods at a stage in their lives when it has the most effect if lutein can guard against decline.”
The body cannot produce lutein on its own; thus, it must be obtained through food. In addition to green leafy vegetables like spinach and kale, it may also be found in foods like eggs and avocados.
The individuals were asked to stare into a scope and react to a flickering light as the researchers measured the quantities of the nutrient in their eyes, which is where lutein accumulates in the tissue.
The volunteers completed a test to gauge their attention, and the researchers monitored neural activity in the brain using electrodes placed on their scalps.
“Lutein appears to have some protective role, since the data suggest that those with more lutein were able to engage more cognitive resources to complete the task,” said Walk of the findings, adding that “the neuro-electrical signature of older participants with higher levels of lutein looked much more like their younger counterparts than their peers with less lutein.”
Naiman Khan, a professor of kinesiology and community health at the University of Illinois, concluded: “Now there’s an extra reason to eat nutrient-rich foods like green leafy vegetables, eggs, and avocados.” “We are aware that certain foods have numerous health advantages, but these findings suggest that there may also be cognitive advantages.”
Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience, a publication, has published the findings online.
