Leafy greens, tea, red wine ward off dementia: Study

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A cup of tea with breakfast, leafy greens at lunch and a glass of red wine with dinner could be just the thing to lower the risk of developing dementia.

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Food or drinks that have antioxidant flavonols – plant compounds present in a variety of fruits and vegetables as well as wine, tea and chocolate – appear to slow the rate of cognitive decline, according to researchers.

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Scientists out of Rush University Medical Center in Chicago enlisted 961 people with an average age of 81 who did not have dementia in the seven-year study published in the online journal Neurology.

The participants filled out a questionnaire each year on the foods they ate and how often, and completed cognitive and memory tests asking them to recall lists of words, remember numbers and put them in the correct order.

They were divided into five equal groups based on the amount of flavanols they had in their respective diets.

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The subjects had an average of 10 milligrams (mg) of total flavanols each day, with the lowest group taking in 5 mg and the highest group consuming 15 mg – which works out to be one cup of dark, leafy greens or three to four cups of tea.

The researchers used a global score system to measure cognitive decline.

They found that those who had the highest intake of flavonols had a 32% reduction in their rate of cognitive decline compared to those who consumed the lowest amount of flavonols.

Kale, beans, tea, spinach and broccoli were what participants with the slowest rate cognitive decline ate, though tomatoes, apples, tea, wine and oranges also benefitted.

“It’s exciting that our study shows making specific diet choices may lead to a slower rate of cognitive decline,” study author Thomas Holland said.

“Something as simple as eating more fruits and vegetables and drinking more tea is an easy way for people to take an active role in maintaining their brain health,” he continued.

“At the end of the day, I would want people to know it is never too early or too late to start making healthy lifestyle changes, especially when it comes to diet,” Thomas added. “The research presented here adds to the ever-growing body of evidence that what we eat matters.”