Recently, the nutrition site Eat this published an article about the best vegetables for brain health. Accordingly, numerous scientific studies of food have identified several nutrients that appear to be essential for the optimal function of the most important parts of the body, such as the brain.
Eat this interviewed American nutritionist Toby Amidor about this issue. Toby is an award-winning author and the Wall Street Journal bestseller about diabetes, “Diabetes Create Your Plate Meal Prep Cookbook”.
Experts say green leafy vegetables are the most effective group of vegetables in keeping the brain healthy in the long run.
Ms. Toby said green leafy vegetables are the most effective group of vegetables in keeping the brain healthy in the long run.
“Research shows that eating green leafy vegetables in a balanced diet can help slow cognitive decline,” says registered dietitian Toby.
When asked what green leafy vegetables are, Toby replied: “Kale, spinach, broccoli and collard greens.”
Toby says these leafy greens are rich in nutrients that have been shown to boost brain health, such as vitamin K, folate, beta-carotene and lutein.
Toby tells of an observational study published in 2018 in the journal Neurology. The study involved more than 950 people aged 58 to 99 participating in a project called the Memory and Aging Project.
In the study, participants completed a questionnaire about how often to eat foods and two cognitive assessments over nearly five years.
When analyzing the data, the researchers found that people who ate one to two servings of green leafy vegetables daily had memory and intellectual abilities comparable to those of someone 11 years younger than them. The green leafy vegetables questioned in the study were spinach, kale, collard greens, and collard greens.
Scientists speculate that the key nutrients in green leafy vegetables work to slow cognitive decline.
Scientists speculate that the key nutrients in green leafy vegetables work to slow cognitive decline.
Nutrition in green leafy vegetables
Here are the key compounds in green leafy vegetables that are believed to have brain effects:
Vitamin K
You may already know about K’s role in blood clotting, but phylloquinone, the scientific name for vitamin K, has been shown to protect nerve cells from damage caused by toxins in the brain.
Folate
This B vitamin is important for the production of neurotransmitters and myelin, a fatty substance that wraps around nerve fibers, aids in speeding up electrical communication between nerve cells.
Spinach is one of the most nutrient-dense vegetables.
Beta-carotene
This compound gives the orange and red color of carrots and peppers, which is good for the eyes. This compound is also found in many green leafy vegetables.
As an antioxidant, beta-carotene is helpful in limiting damage caused by oxidative stress, which is believed to be a major factor in cognitive decline. Studies have shown that beta-carotene improves memory skills.
Lutein
This antioxidant is known to reduce age-related macular degeneration. Lutein is also a carotenoid, like beta-carotene, but may be even more important for brain health because lutein makes up 60% of the carotenoid content in the brain.
Researchers are looking at lutein as a potential treatment for Parkinson’s disease due to this antioxidant’s role in preventing cell death.
Conclude
Now, you’re probably thinking that your brain needs more greens. There are many ways to add green leafy vegetables to your diet. You can use these vegetables to make salads, or boil, bake, stir-fry them to eat with other dishes.
Nutritionist Toby adds: “If you like to drink smoothies for breakfast, add some spinach or kale to your smoothie. You won’t even feel the difference!”
(Source: Eatthis)
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