Dementia risk may be massively reduced by eating one popular fruit a day

13 November 2023 , 08:57

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Dementia risk may be massively reduced by eating one popular fruit a day

Strawberry lovers are in for a treat as new research from a university claims eating strawberries every day could help reduce the risk of dementia for certain people of middle age.

Thirty overweight patients who had complained of mild cognitive impairment were asked to stop eating berries, aside from a packet a day of supplement powder which was combined with water and eaten with breakfast, during the 12-week experiment. Half the participants, aged 50 to 65 years old were given powder with the equivalent of one cup of whole strawberries, which is considered standard serving size, and the other half of the study were made to take a placebo.

Then the researchers tracked the long-term memory, mood and metabolic health of participants. They discovered that those in the strawberry powder group performed considerably better on a word-list learning test and had considerably fewer symptoms of depression.

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Eating strawberries could help reduce the risk of dementia for certain people of middle age (Getty Images/iStockphoto)

Robert Krikorian, professor emeritus in the Cincinnati University's College of Medicine's Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neuroscience, has previously studied the health effects of eating blueberries. He said: "Both strawberries and blueberries contain antioxidants called anthocyanins, which has been implicated in a variety of berry health benefits such as metabolic and cognitive enhancements."

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In a statement he added: "There is epidemiological data suggesting that people who consume strawberries or blueberries regularly have a slower rate of cognitive decline with ageing."

He noted that strawberries have ellagitannins, and ellagic acid, and have been located in anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, antimicrobial, and anticancer properties.

Krikorian said the strawberries in his study could have improved cognitive function by reducing inflammation in the brain. He explained that: "Executive abilities begin to decline in midlife and excess abdominal fat, as in insulin resistance and obesity, will tend to increase inflammation, including in the brain.

“So, one might consider that our middle-aged, overweight, prediabetic sample had higher levels of inflammation that contributed to at least mild impairment of executive abilities. Accordingly, the beneficial effects we observed might be related to moderation of inflammation in the strawberry group.”

Krikorian said that research in the future should have more participants and different strawberry doses.

The university said his research was supported by the California Strawberry Commission, with funding and donation of strawberry and placebo powders. But they claim the group had no role in the design of the study, data collection and analysis, or publication of the results.

The research was published in the journal Nutrients last month.

Charlie Duffield