14 DAY TRIAL // Regular vegetables intake helps elderly people fight memory loss and other related problems by slowing down the rate of mental and cognitive decline naturally occurring as we age. A recent study carried out by researchers at the Rush University Medical Centre in Chicago showed that old people should eat about 3 servings of vegetables daily in order to prevent the decline of their cognitive function and preserve their mental health.
Presenting the results of the research, study author Martha Clare Morris stated that individuals who consume vegetables on a regular basis are 40% more likely to keep from cognitive decline: "Compared to people who consumed less than one serving of vegetables a day, people who ate at least 2.8 servings of vegetables a day saw their rate of cognitive change slow by roughly 40 per cent. This decrease is equivalent to about five years of younger age," the lead researcher pointed out.
The study was conducted on 3718 elderly individuals and lasted for a 6-year follow-up period. Overall results showed that vegetables are extremely beneficial when it comes to preserving mental abilities and preventing memory loss and related health disorders. However, not all vegetables are as potent against cognitive function decline, with some being more efficient than others. For instance, green leafy vegetables were found to work best against mental and memory problems, while yellow vegetables occupied the second-best place.
On the other hand, legumes such as peanuts or lentils proved to have weak abilities of slowing down cognitive decline. But the most unexpected result of the research was that fruits regular consumption was found to have little or no effect when it came to preventing mental problems.
The team concluded in their report published in the Neurology Journal: "Our finding of fruits in general does not mean that there aren't some individual fruits that would be protective. This was unanticipated and raises several questions. It may be due to vegetables containing high amounts of vitamin E, which helps lower the risk of cognitive decline. Vegetables, but not fruits, are also typically consumed with added fats such as salad dressings, and fats increase the absorption of vitamin E. Further study is required to understand why fruit is not associated with cognitive change."