Sharing another very relevant article by Dr Deanna Minich:
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I’m always searching for ways to keep my brain healthy, especially as I get older. Of course, we typically hear about individual nutrients or so-called “brain foods,” but our diets are much more complex than any single food or nutrient.
A recent study caught my attention because it looked at the bigger picture: fruit and vegetable intake and long-term dementia risk.
The researchers followed 18,339 adults across three prospective cohorts, with average follow-up ranging from 7 to 13 years. After accounting for numerous health, dietary, and lifestyle factors, those with the highest fruit and vegetable intake had a 26% lower relative risk of developing dementia than those with the lowest intake.
The researchers then combined the results from these three cohorts with 13 previously published cohort studies, representing 222,108 participants across 16 cohorts. Again, they found a similar pattern: higher fruit and vegetable intake was associated with a 20% lower relative risk of dementia.
Perhaps that’s no surprise!
Note that these were observational findings, so we can’t say that eating more fruits and vegetables directly prevents dementia. However, this study adds to the growing evidence linking plant-rich dietary patterns with healthier cognitive aging.
Green Caught My Attention
One finding I found particularly interesting was the association with green leafy vegetables. When the results from the three new cohorts were pooled, each additional daily serving of green leafy vegetables was associated with an 18% lower relative risk of dementia. The other individual fruit and vegetable subgroups did not show consistently significant associations across the pooled analyses.
Why might leafy greens be particularly interesting?
They provide a combination of nutrients and plant compounds, including folate, vitamin K, carotenoids, flavonoids, and other phytonutrients. We cannot say from this study which components might be contributing to the association, or even whether the leafy greens themselves were responsible, but it reminds us that a food’s nutritional value often comes from a combination of compounds rather than a single nutrient.
The Wisdom of Eating in Color
Color has been central to my work for many years. The Rainbow Diet grew from the idea that the different colors of plants reflect an incredible diversity of phytonutrients and other health-promoting compounds.
Although this particular study did not directly measure dietary color or phytonutrient diversity, its findings fit within a broader way of thinking about plant variety.
When we bring a spectrum of colorful plant foods onto our plates, we are not just making a meal more visually appealing. We are bringing together different compounds that interact with our bodies in different ways.
These include flavonoids across many fruits and vegetables, anthocyanins in red, blue, and purple berries, carotenoids in orange and yellow foods, and lutein and zeaxanthin in many yellow and green foods. And these are only part of the picture. Colorful plant foods also provide fiber, vitamins, minerals, and a wide range of other naturally occurring compounds.
For brain health, I think this gives us a simple way to think about variety. Instead of searching for one perfect “brain food,” we can look at our plates and ask: Where could I add another color?
Maybe it is a handful of berries at breakfast, leafy greens at lunch, colorful vegetables with dinner, or fresh herbs sprinkled over a meal. Small additions can make a familiar plate much more colorful and diverse.
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Think Variety, Not Perfection Reading this research made me think about how often we look for the one nutrient, supplement, or food that might support a particular aspect of health. Sometimes the more interesting answer is sitting right in front of us: more variety, more plants, and more color. |