A familiar beverage that may help protect the brain from aging.
Orange juice is linked to a 47 percent reduced risk of memory problems with age, a study finds.
People drinking orange juice had a better memory for things like shopping lists and found it easier to follow group conversations, researchers found.
Red vegetables, leafy greens and berry fruits may also help to reduce the risk of memory loss.
The study included 27,842 men who were followed over two decades.
They were asked about their food intake and given tests of thinking and memory at four-yearly intervals.
Questions they were asked included:
- “Do you have more trouble than usual following a group conversation or a plot in a TV program due to your memory?”
- “Do you have more trouble than usual remembering a short list of items, such as a shopping list?”
The results showed that those consuming six servings of fruit and vegetables per day were at a 34 percent lower risk of worse thinking skills with age.
Orange juice, meanwhile, was linked to a 47 percent reduced risk.
Eating healthily in midlife emerged as particularly healthy.
Dr Changzheng Yuan, study co-author, said:
“One of the most important factors in this study is that we were able to research and track such a large group of men over a 20-year period of time, allowing for very telling results.
Our studies provide further evidence dietary choices can be important to maintain your brain health.”
The study only shows an association, and does not prove that orange juice causes the reduction in risk.
The study was published in the journal Neurology (Yuan et al., 2018).
