A handful of blueberries a day may help improve brain function

summary: Adding a handful of blueberries to your daily diet lowers blood pressure, improves memory and cognitive function, and increases reaction time.

sauce: King’s College London

Eating a handful of wild blueberries each day can provide health benefits, including lower blood pressure, faster reactions, and improved memory and brain cognition, according to new research from the King University School of Life Sciences and Medicine. got it.

Research published in American Journal of Clinical Nutritionled by researchers from Kings and the University of Reading.

This was a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study in 61 healthy men and women between the ages of 65 and 80 who tested 26 grams of freeze-dried wild blueberry powder (equivalent to approximately 178 grams of whole berries). I drank a drink made from Other groups received matching placebos.

Over 12 weeks, researchers found that volunteers who consumed berry powder in their beverages had better memory, better accuracy on attention tasks, and lower blood pressure.

Also during this period, after consuming the berry, blood pressure in the test group was lower compared to the placebo group, blood flow-mediated dilation (FMD) was increased, and the risk of cardiovascular disease was reduced.

“This study is the first of its kind and the results show that daily consumption of wild blueberries lowers the risk of cardiovascular disease in people by lowering blood pressure and improving vascular function. ,” says Ana Rodriguez-Mateos, Ph.D., leader of nutrition science at the Department of Nutritional Sciences.

Dr. Rodriguez-Mateos added: .

“The blue pigment in blueberries, anthocyanins, is a type of polyphenol that is also present in other foods such as strawberries, raspberries, red grapes and purple vegetables, and an increase in its metabolites was seen in patients’ urine, suggesting that these effects were Think behind the volunteers after 12 weeks of ingestion.

Professor Claire Williams, head of the Department of Neuroscience at the University of Reading, said:

“The wild blueberry powdered group showed improved memory and signs of greater mental flexibility in completing cognitive tasks. This is consistent with what we already know about. This points to an important role for polyphenols in healthy aging.”

Funding: This study was funded by the North American Wild Blueberry Society.

About this Cognitive and Dietary Research News

author: Ana Rodriguez Mateos
sauce: King’s College London
contact: Ana Rodriguez-Matthews – King’s College London
image: image is public domain

Original research: open access.
“Wild blueberry (poly)phenols can improve vascular function and cognitive performance in healthy elderly men and women: a double-blind, randomized controlled trial.By Ana Rodriguez Mateos et al. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition

---

overview

Wild blueberry (poly)phenols can improve vascular function and cognitive performance in healthy elderly men and women: a double-blind, randomized controlled trial.

Background

There is evidence that blueberry (poly)phenol intake is associated with improved vascular function and cognitive performance. Whether these cognitive effects are related to increased cerebral or vascular blood flow or altered gut microbiota is currently unknown.

method

A double-blind, parallel, randomized, controlled trial was conducted in 61 healthy older adults aged 65-80 years. Participants received either 26 g of freeze-dried wild blueberry (WBB) powder (302 mg anthocyanins) or a matching placebo (0 mg anthocyanins). Endothelial function measured by flow-mediated dilation (FMD), cognitive function, arteriosclerosis, blood pressure (BP), cerebral blood flow (CBF), gut microbiota and blood parameters at baseline and 12 weeks after daily intake later measured. Plasma and urinary (poly)phenol metabolites were analyzed using micro-elution solid-phase extraction coupled with LC-MS.

result

The WBB group showed a significant increase in FMD and a decrease in 24-hour ambulatory systolic blood pressure compared to placebo (0.86%; 95% CI 0.56, 1.17, p<0.001; -3.59 mmHg; 95% CI -6.95, -0.23, p = 0.037; respectively). Improved immediate recall on auditory verbal learning tasks and improved accuracy on task switching tasks were also seen after his WBB treatment compared to placebo (p < 0.05). Total 24-hour urinary (poly)phenol excretion was significantly increased in the WBB group compared to placebo. No changes were found in CBF or gut microbiota composition.

Conclusion

Daily intake of WBB powder equivalent to 178 g live weight improves vascular and cognitive function and reduces 24-hour ambulatory systolic blood pressure in healthy older adults. This suggests that WBB (poly)phenols may reduce the risk of future cardiovascular (CVD) disease in the elderly population and improve episodic memory processes and executive function in older adults at risk of cognitive decline. suggests that there is

Clinical trial registration number at Clinicaltrials.gov

NCT04084457