Blackmores Institute

Examining over 900 people without dementia, the study has found that higher dietary intake of flavanols may be associated with a reduced risk of developing Alzheimer dementia (AD).
 
 “Among the 921 of the Rush Memory and Ageing Project (MAP) participants who initially did not have dementia in the analysed sample, 220 developed Alzheimer dementia (39.06 cases per 1,000 person-years) during the follow-up period (mean follow-up 6.1 years; standard deviation = 3.1),” the researchers reported.
 
 “We found evidence that higher flavonol intake through food sources, and kaempferol and isorhamnetin, in particular, may be protective against the development of Alzheimer dementia. The associations were independent of many diet and lifestyle factors and cardiovascular-related conditions.”
 
 According to the study, flavonoids are a class of polyphenol representing more than 5,000 bioactive compounds that are found in a variety of fruits and vegetables. A number of flavonoid classes, including flavonols, are known to have antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties, with this subclass exhibiting particularly effect anti-oxidant activities due to their biochemical composition. 
 
 “The top food item contributors to the individual flavonols in our cohort were:
 • kale, beans, tea, spinach and broccoli for kaempferol
 • tomatoes, kale, apples and tea for quercetin 
 • tea, wine, kale, oranges and tomatoes for myricetin, and 
 • pears, olive oil, wine and tomato sauce for isorhamnetin”
 
 “To our knowledge, no previous study has examined the relation of flavonol intake with incident Alzheimer dementia. Two previous studies reported inverse associations with incident AD and intake of the larger class of total flavonoids, of which flavonols are a subclass. In a previous study we found that kaempferol intake which is abundant in leafy green vegetables, was associated with a slower rate of cognitive decline,” the authors explained.
 
 “The catechol structure, found in polyphenolic compounds and abundant in flavonols, has the capability to act as a radical ion scavenger. This action can take place in the plasma and the gut where flavonols can limit reactive oxygen species formation.”
 
 “Although the correlations of these diets with flavonol intake, as mentioned above, are mild to moderate, these studies lend support to the prior temporal effect of dietary exposure on Alzheimer dementia.
 
 “Our findings suggest that dietary intake of flavonols may reduce the risk of developing Alzheimer dementia. Confirmation of these findings is warranted through other longitudinal epidemiologic studies and clinical trials in addition to further elucidation of the biologic mechanisms. Although there is more work to be done, the associations that we observed are promising and deserve further
 study,” the authors concluded.
 
 Source:
 Neurology 2020. DOI:<a href="https://n.neurology.org/content/early/2020/01/29/WNL.0000000000008981">10.1212/WNL.0000000000008981</a>

Consuming a variety of fresh fruits and vegetables in your diet has wide-ranging health benefits and now a new study from the United States has added to that list of benefits.

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