Going green is not just healthy for your body but your mind too!
Green leafy vegetables may now prevent dementia, according to a study published in the Neurology journal. Researchers at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago found that nutrients found in green leafy vegetables make your mind 11 years younger. [1]
Dementia is the loss of cognitive functioning that includes thinking, remembering, and reasoning, and behavioral abilities to such an extent that it interferes with a person’s daily life and activities. The most common forms of dementia include Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s and Huntington’s disease. According to Alzheimer’s Association, one in three senior citizens dies due to some or the other form of Dementia. If this deadly disease can be prevented by a bowl of salad, why not grab it? [2]
Martha Clare Morris and her team performed the study on 960 individuals aged 58 to 99 years. These individuals had been assessed for cognitive disease two or more times for over an average of 5 years of follow-ups. The assessment was done through a questionnaire which included questions such as how often they ate a particular food in the past year. Simultaneously, they were also tested for their memory.
Based on both the activities the researchers made a note of the nutrients consumed by them and their performance in the memory test. An analysis of the two led to the conclusion that those who eat the most servings of green leafy vegetables per day had 11 years younger mind compared to those who ate less or completely avoided it.
“Consumption of approximately one serving per day of green leafy vegetables and foods rich in phylloquinone, lutein, nitrate, folate, α-tocopherol, and kaempferol may help to slow cognitive decline with aging,” reported the research team. The most important greens that provide the mentioned nutrients and contribute to this effect are spinach, kale, lettuce, and collard greens.
So, trade that burger for a bowl of spinach. Because you have nothing to lose, other than the weight of course.
