Having two servings of leafy greens a day significantly reduces risk of cognitive decline over time. Leafy greens have vitamins, minerals, and anti-aging affects. A paper in the Neurology, the journal of the American Academy of Neurology, reports that people who consume two servings of leafy greens a day over people who rarely consumed them was equivalent to being 11 years younger.
Having two servings of leafy greens a day significantly reduces risk of cognitive decline over time. Leafy greens have vitamins, minerals, and anti-aging affects. A paper in the Neurology, the journal of the American Academy of Neurology, reports that people who consume two servings of leafy greens a day over people who rarely consumed them was equivalent to being 11 years younger.
The researchers analyzed data from up to 1,000 participants whose average age was about 81 at the beginning of the study. No participants had dementia. They asked them how often they consumed greens and divided them up into fifths based on how many greens they ate on average. The team tracked the participants for up to ten years, testing them on memory and cognition every year.
Their results were that the participants in the highest fifth, who ate about 1.3 servings of greens a day, had a remarkable decrease in the rate of developing cognitive decline. Those in the lowest fifth, who ate 0.1 servings of greens per day, did not have nearly as great of results as the highest fifth.
Many studies have been done that show that certain foods contribute heavily to our neurological and cognitive health. A diet based largely on plants and a Mediterranean style diet has been shown to be the healthiest diets around.
Leafy greens have many mechanisms like carotenoids, lutein, and folate that have all been shown to protect the brain in different ways, and probably act in concert. “These nutrients for which green leafy vegetables are a rich source,” the team writes, “may have independent mechanisms of action that synergistically protect the brain.”
Leafy greens have other proven benefits including lower cholesterol, preserving vision health, fueling your body, boosting bone health, preventing colon cancer, and many more.
Remember to check in with your doctor to see if these vitamins would be beneficial to you. Click here to get to Cosmo Insurance Agency’s Doctor Search.
