A healthy diet is among the first steps to preserve cognitive function in ageing
In a Singapore study, published in the recent edition of the British Journal of Nutrition in March 2022, a team from the Healthy Longevity Translational Research Programme at the NUS Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, studied the data on consumption of fruits and vegetables among middle-aged Singaporean Chinese. It was found that those who ate a high intake of fruits and vegetables, in terms of quantity as well as in variety, had significantly reduced risk of cognitive impairment.
This research finding is consistent with other studies in Western populations in showing that higher quantity of total fruit and vegetable intake was associated with lower odds of cognitive impairment at late life.
This study showed that the benefit of fruits and vegetables were not limited to a specific type or a few specific items. Instead, higher intake at midlife of a variety of fruits with low or moderate glycaemic-index, as well as a variety of light green vegetables and gourds, yellow-orange vegetables like corn and carrot and a variety of mushrooms, were all associated with lower risk of cognitive impairment at late life.
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