How the COLOUR of your diet could protect against Alzheimer’s

CHOOSING colourful foods to eat could protect you against Alzheimer’s, more research suggests.

People who ate the highest amount of foods like strawberries, oranges, grapefruits, citrus celery and bananas had up to a third lower risk of cognitive decline.

The study tracked 77,000 middle-aged people for 20 years.

They were aged between 48 and 51 years old, on average, at the start of the study, according to the paper published in the scientific journal Neurology.

Participants completed several diet surveys over the years, and their brain power was self-reported twice.

They answered questions such as “do you have trouble following a conversation” and “have you recently experienced any change in your ability to remember things”. 

Findings revealed that those with the highest intake of flavonoids had a 20 per cent lower risk of seeing their mental function decline during the study period.

Flavonoids are compounds found naturally in a wide variety of foods, but particularly fruit and veg. 

They are hailed for having antioxidant properties.

This is the first study to pick up two distinct flavonoids - flavones and anthocyanin types.

Flavones are mostly found in yellow and orange plant foods, and in this study, were mostly eaten in orange juice, oranges, peppers, celery, and even red wine.

Anthocyanins are found in darker foods, mostly consumed from blueberries, strawberries, apples, and even red wine.

People who said they ate an abundance of yellow and orange foods were 38 per cent less likely to report their brain slowing down.

It’s the equivalent of being three to four years younger in age, the paper claimed.

Those who particularly ate darker foods were 24 per cent at less risk.

Our results are exciting... they show making simple changes to your diet could help prevent cognitive decline

Dr Walter Willettlead author, Harvard University

Researchers were particularly impressed with strawberries, which appeared to have a “significant” impact on their own.

But the authors noted that it was flavones that people ate less of, when looking at all types of flavonoids. 

“Adding colour to your plate may lower the risk of cognitive decline”, said lead author Dr Walter Willett, of Harvard University in the US, according to The Mirror. 

“Our results are exciting... they show making simple changes to your diet could help prevent cognitive decline.

“There is mounting evidence suggesting flavonoids are powerhouses when it comes to preventing your thinking skills from declining as you get older.”

Cognitive decline could be indicative of dementia, of which the most common form is Alzheimer’s.

But the study did not actually look at whether people got a dementia diagnosis. 

Dr Sara Imarisio, Head of Research at Alzheimer’s Research UK, said: “While the researchers found that those eating a diet with high levels of flavonoids were less likely to report memory and thinking problems, we should treat these results with caution.

“The study relied on participants accurately filling out a survey about what they ate, rather than having their food intake monitored. 

“What’s more this study didn’t look at dementia, and we can’t know from this research whether a diet high in flavonoids would have any effect in either preventing or delaying the onset of the condition.”

Dr Imarisio said that while a balanced die can maintain brain health, “dementia is caused by a complex mix of age, genetics and lifestyle factors”. 

“From this study alone we are unable to untangle diet or a specific food component from other lifestyle factors which contribute to dementia risk,” she said.

Not smoking, staying mentally and physically active, drinking within the recommended guidelines and keeping blood pressure and cholesterol in check are all ways to reduce the risk of dementia. 

The NHS advises eating a healthy diet, including five portions of fruit of veg every day, to reduce the risk of heart disease, which is linked with dementia. 

Heart-healthy eating also includes limiting the intake of sugar and saturated fats.

Two diets that have been studied and may be beneficial to lowering the risk of Alzheimer's are the DASH diet and the Mediterranean diet, which both limit red meat and focus on fruit and veg, wholegrains and healthy fats like nuts and olive oil.

Dr Imarisio urged people to get information to protect the brain by taking part in the charities’ .