Healthy eating in childhood helps seniors maintain cognitive health

The menus we eat during our childhood influence brain health in retirement, according to an American study, which has just been presented at the Chicago Nutrition Congress.

Researchers at the University of Massachusetts studied the link between cognitive performance at age 70 and nutrition throughout life.The results, published Monday July 1 in the journal EurekAlert, are final. A healthy diet from childhood is statistically linked to good cognitive health at age 70. Some 93% of people who have had a balanced diet since childhood have at 70 years old, working memory, speed of processing and analysis of information average or above. They also less frequently show signs of dementia. Conversely, among people who have a poor quality diet throughout their lives, only 8% retain cognitive abilities higher than average at age 70.

Participants who had healthier brains at age 70 tended to eat more green vegetables, raw fresh fruits, whole grains and generally consume less salt or fat throughout their lives. This diet rich in antioxidants, maintains the health of cells and blood circulation in the brain. It turns out that good habits in childhood tend to persist into adulthood. Here the researchers were fortunate to be able to work on a cohort of 3,000 British adults whose follow-up began in 1946, when they were only 4 years old. Throughout their lives, these volunteers filled out questions about their diet, their health and underwent cognitive tests.

If we start adopting good eating habits later, at 40 or 50 years old, the benefits are also visible on the brain. This time, it is a study conducted by a Harvard team, involving 100,000 people, who says so. EIt has also just been presented at the Chicago Nutrition Congress and it indicates that People who make an effort to follow a healthy diet, even from age 40, are between 43% and 84% more likely to be physically and mentally healthy at age 70, pcompared to those who keep bad habits. To age in good health, review the contents of his plate, presents always an interest even if you start late.