Can a daily strawberry prevent dementia?
Nutrients released a research last month suggesting that may be achievable.
The University of Cincinnati (UC) evaluated 30 moderate cognitive decline individuals aged 50–65.
A UC news statement stated that participants were instructed to forgo berry fruit and add a packet of supplement powder to their drink each morning.
The powder contained strawberries for half the group.
Next, individuals took tests to assess their memory, cognitive functioning, mood, depression, and metabolism.
Drinking strawberry-infused powder "reduced memory interference," according to researchers.
"Reduced memory interference refers to less confusion of semantically related terms on a word-list learning test," stated lead researcher Robert Krikorian, UC College of Medicine Psychiatry and Behavioral Neuroscience professor emeritus.
"This phenomenon generally is thought to reflect better executive control in terms of resisting intrusion of non-target words during the memory testing."
Krikorian reported that strawberry powder decreased depression symptoms, enhanced emotional regulation, and improved problem-solving compared to placebo.
This investigation followed Krikorian's 2022 finding that blueberries may lessen the risk of dementia in middle-aged persons.
Strawberry antioxidants called anthocyanins may lessen the risk of cancer, heart disease, inflammation, diabetes, and obesity.
Ellagitannins and ellagic acid, micronutrients in the fruit, have been demonstrated to improve cognitive and metabolic health, Krikorian said.
"There is epidemiological data suggesting that people who consume strawberries or blueberries regularly have a slower rate of cognitive decline with aging," stated.
The scientists also thought strawberries might reduce brain inflammation and increase cognition.
"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," Krikorian said in a statement.
"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," he said.
"Accordingly, the beneficial effects we observed might be related to moderation of inflammation in the strawberry group."
Krikorian suggested doing further research on bigger groups of patients using strawberry supplements at different doses.
New Jersey-based registered dietitian Erin Palinski-Wade, author of "2 Day Diabetes Diet" and inventor of The Blood Sugar Fix, said strawberries are rich in antioxidants that prevent inflammation. She wasn't in UC's research.
"Strawberries contain beneficial nutrients including anthocyanins, ellagitannins and ellagic acid, all of which can help to improve metabolic health while reducing inflammation," stated.
"Since insulin resistance is a precursor to a variety of diseases, including dementia, adding nutrient-rich foods to the diet that help to reverse insulin resistance should have a positive impact on cognition."
Strawberry eating lowers blood pressure and boosts antioxidant capacity, which may reduce dementia risk, according to Palinksi-Wade.
"Although these studies suggest that strawberries may have cognitive benefits, more research with larger sample sizes and longer follow-up periods is needed to confirm these findings, but the results so far are very promising," said.
The original article appeared here first.