Berries and Your Brain

The April 26 edition of Annals of Neurology has a new study performed at Brigham and Women's Hospital that found that a high intake of flavonoid rich berries, such as strawberries and blueberries, can, over time, delay memory decline in older women by 2.5 years. A modest reduction in memory decline was noted in women who consumed 2 or more servings of strawberries and blueberries each week. Data was collected from the Nurses' Health Study, a cohort of 121,700 women RNs between 30 and 55. The study began in 1976. The women included in this particular study had a mean age of 74 and a body mass index of 26, so somewhat overweight but not obese. Other research has shown the benefit of berries on the brain. There is no downside to including berries in your diet. If they're out of season, frozen ones will do.