Healthy diets, antioxidant supplements, and the prevention of nutritional deficiencies or exposure to foods and water with high content of metals appear to be first line of defense against the development and progression of cognitive decline. While the precise mechanisms underlying these influences are complex, modulation of brain insulin activity and neuroinflammation are considered likely problems.

Inflammation and oxidative stress play important roles in brain aging. Inflammatory markers, as well as cellular and molecular oxidative damage, increase during normal brain aging. This increase is accompanied by the related decline in cognitive and motor performance in the elderly population, even in the absence of neurodegenerative diseases. One emerging theory regarding the development of dementia, Alzheimer’s, and Parkinson’s disease is that neuroinflammation hastens the onset.

Fruits and Vegetables

The onset of age-related neurodegenerative diseases in people with declining nervous systems are thought to exacerbate the cognitive behavioral deficits that normally occur with age. Scientists have been exploring ways that diet may help to stop this process and forestall the onset of these diseases.

Studies indicate that consumption of diets rich in antioxidants and anti-inflammatory compounds, such as those found in fruits and vegetables, may substantially lower the risk of developing ARCD and neurodegenerative diseases, including Alzheimer's and Parkinson's. Dietary supplements with fruit or vegetable extracts decrease age-enhanced vulnerability to oxidative stress as well as inflammation.

Providing delightful bursts of flavor along with potent antioxidant properties, berries rate high on the list of foods responsible for healthy aging. Research suggests that the polyphenolic compounds found in fruits, such as blueberries, can alter stress signaling and neuronal communication, suggesting that interventions may exert protection against age-related deficits in cognitive and motor function.

Research has suggested that just one cup of blueberries per day may slow or even reverse degenerative diseases of the brain, such as Alzheimer’s, dementia, and stroke. Studies show that cranberry juice may increase overall ability to remember. Raspberries, strawberries, blackberries. and boysenberries are also excellent sources of antioxidants.

Mediterranean Diet

Clinical evidence suggests that vascular risk factors may be important in the development of mild cognitive impairment (MCI), dementia. The Mediterranean diet has been proposed as a protective factor against MCI and dementia in several longitudinal studies. The Mediterranean diet contains certain foods, like monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFAs), polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs), and whole grains that reduce the cardiovascular risk associated with cognitive impairment and dementia.

In large scale research, the elderly population of southern Italy, which typical eats a Mediterranean diet, have been found to experience protection against cognitive decline. Conversely, the consumption of diets high in saturated fat are associated with cognitive decline and dementia.

References
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