|
|
||
Free sample!
|
Drinking fruit or vegetable juice several time a week could help protect against Alzheimer's disease. Credit: Wikipedia WASHINGTON, 1st September 2006: Drinking fruit or vegetable juice several times a week could help protect against Alzheimer's disease, according to a study published today in The American Journal of Medicine. Led by Qi Dai of Tennessee's Vanderbilt University, the study showed that the risk of developing Alzheimer's - a degenerative brain disease that affects a person's memory, thinking and mood - was cut by 76 per cent among those who drank fruit or vegetable juice more than three times a week. Among those who drank juice once a week, the risk was reduced by 16 per cent. The study focused on 1,836 dementia-free people living in Seattle, Washington, beginning in 1991. They were tracked for nine years using questionnaires on their lifestyle and eating habits, as well as by cognitive function tests conducted every two years. The scientific community has long suspected that antioxidant vitamins like vitamins C and E or carotene have protective benefits against Alzheimer's. But according to Dai, this study confirms their belief that "there was maybe something else." He points to polyphenols - the natural antioxidants found in juice, tea and wine - as the ingredient of interest. "Animal studies and cell culture studies confirmed that some polyphenols from juices showed a stronger neuroprotective effect than antioxidant vitamins. So we are now looking at polyphenols," Dai said. The research did not indicate whether some types of juice were more beneficial than others. The study was part of a larger research project examining Alzheimer's disease in Japan, Hawaii and Seattle. The illness affects some 4.5 million Americans. In Australia, there are almost 150,000 people living with Alzheimer's. 
|
COSMOS newsletter!Receive regular updates highlighting the latest in science from COSMOS. Latest News |
