Eating some kinds of berries can help your brain stay healthy by helping to clean out toxic material linked to mental decline, including age-related memory loss, a new study shows.
The findings were reported at a meeting of the American Chemical Society in Boston by Shibu Poulose, a scientist with the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Experts have long known that as the body ages it suffers oxidative damage and is less likely to be able to protect itself against cancer, heart disease and age-related mental decline.
But Poulose and his colleague found that strawberries, blueberries and acai berries activate brain cells called microglia. These cells, according to the ACS, act as the brains housekeeper. In a process called autophagy, they clean out biochemical debris that would otherwise interfere with brain function.
And in aging, Poulose said, microglia fail to do their work, and debris builds up. The berries appear to regenerate the microglia and seem to restore the normal housekeeping function through the action of compounds called polyphenolics, he said.
Although the study focused on berries, Poulose said his research indicated people should o eat other foods that are rich in polyphenolicsespecially fruits and vegetables that are deep blue, red or orange. And when eating berries, he advised, be sure to eat the whole fruit to get the maximum benefit. When berries arent in season, he said, frozen ones are just as good.?
