Pensioners: Eat more spinach, it will protect you from dementia by archyde

 from https://www.archyde.com/pensioners-eat-more-spinach-it-will-protect-you-from-dementia/

May 7, 2022 by archyde

A study suggests that eating spinach like Popeye will not only make you stronger, but may protect you from dementia.

Researchers found that people with higher levels of three major antioxidants in their blood were less likely to develop memory-stealing disorder.

Two compounds, lutein and zeaxanthin, are abundant in green leafy vegetables, as well as peas. Oranges and papaya are the main sources of beta-cryptoxanthin.

“Expanding people’s cognitive function is an important public health challenge,” said lead researcher Dr. May Beydoun, an expert on aging from the US National Institutes of Health.

She continued, “The antioxidants may help protect the brain from oxidative stress, which can cause cell damage.” But, she added, more studies are needed to test whether the antioxidants really can help protect the brain from dementia.

The study itself, published in the Journal of Neuroscience, didn’t actually look at the volunteers’ diets.

However, scientists have long advocated that a healthy diet can prevent dementia by promoting heart and circulatory health, both of which are known to play a role in the disease.

As well as through diet, people can boost blood levels of the three compounds by taking supplements.

Dr. Beydoun and her colleagues analyzed blood samples from more than 7,000 Americans. All participants were at least 45 years old and also underwent a physical examination and interview at the start of the study. They were then monitored for 16 years, on average, so that experts could track rates of dementia.

Participants were divided into three groups based on the level of the antioxidants lutein, zeaxanthin and beta-cryptoxanthin in their blood.
An increase of 15.4 micromols per liter in levels of lutein and zeaxanthin was associated with a seven percent reduction in the risk of dementia, the researchers said.

Meanwhile, each increase of 8.6 micromols per liter of beta-cryptoxanthin reduced the chance of developing dementia by 14 percent. The effect of antioxidants on dementia was reduced when other factors, including education, income and physical activity were taken into account.

It is possible that these factors may help explain the relationship between antioxidant levels and dementia, Dr. Beydoun added.

The team also acknowledged that the results are limited because they are based on a single blood measurement taken at the start of the study, which means they may not reflect people’s levels over their lifetime.

Dozens of studies have shown that a diet rich in fruits and vegetables can help reduce the risk of dementia, which affects 944,000 Britons and 6.5 million Americans.

Experts believe that eating a particular diet can influence the biological mechanisms that lead to dementia.

And what a person eats could be indirectly linked to dementia by increasing the risk of diabetes, obesity and heart disease, which are known to be linked to dementia.

Studies have previously found that a Mediterranean diet, high in vegetables, fruits, legumes, and fish, lowers blood pressure, a risk factor for dementia.

Dr James Connell, from the Alzheimer’s Research Institute in the UK, said previous findings on the relationship between antioxidants and the risk of dementia have been mixed.

He said that when lifestyle, socioeconomic status and physical activity factors were taken into account, the reduced risk observed in the new study was smaller.

Dr. Connell said it’s important that researchers continue to investigate the protective effects of antioxidants in the context of other risk factors and work to understand how they interact.

“The diseases that cause dementia develop over many years, but this study only looked at levels of antioxidants at one time.”
“While this research highlights an interesting finding, it is important that the research takes a long-term view of the factors that may influence risk.”

Dr. Connell added: “The only way to know if certain foods or supplements containing these foods help reduce the risk of dementia is through careful clinical trials in the future.”

“We know that the risk of developing dementia is complex and includes factors including age and genetics as well as lifestyle factors such as our diet.”
“Making positive lifestyle changes can reduce the risk of developing the diseases that cause dementia.”

 

윤희영의 News English

뽀빠이처럼 시금치를 먹으면(eat spinach like Popeye) 힘을 세게 해줄 뿐 아니라 치매도 예방해준다(protect you from dementia)는 연구 결과가 나왔다. 미국국립보건원 연구팀에 따르면, 이 같은 효과는 시금치를 비롯한 푸른 잎줄기 채소들에 풍부한 화합물에서 생겨난다(stem from compounds abundant in leafy green vegetables).

혈액 속에 세 가지 주요 산화 방지 물질(three key antioxidants in your blood)이 많으면 기억을 앗아가는 장애(memory-robbing disorder)인 치매에 걸릴 위험성을 낮춰준다(lower dementia risk). 완두콩과 잎줄기 채소에 많이 들어있는 화합물인 루테인과 제아잔틴, 오렌지·파파야 등 과일에 풍부한 베타크립토잔틴을 충분히 섭취하면 세포 손상을 초래하는(cause cell damage) 산화 스트레스로부터 뇌를 보호하는데 도움이 된다(help protect the brain from oxidative stress).

노화 전문가(expert in aging)인 메이 베이다운 박사가 이끄는 연구팀은 45세 이상 미국인 7000여 명의 혈액 샘플을 분석하며 16년간 치매 비율을 추적 관찰해왔다(track and monitor the rates of dementia). 연구는 대상자들을 앞에 언급한 세 가지 산화 방지 물질의 혈중 농도에 따라 세 그룹으로 나눠 진행했다. 그 결과, 건강한 식습관(healthy diet)이 심장과 혈액순환 기능을 증진시켜(boost heart and blood circulation) 치매를 막아주는(ward off dementia) 것으로 조사됐다.

혈액 1리터당 루테인과 제아잔틴 15.4 마이크로몰이 늘어날수록 치매 위험성은 7%씩 낮아졌다. 베타크립토잔틴은 리터당 8.6 마이크로몰이 증가할수록 치매 발병 가능성을 14%씩 낮추는(slash the chance of developing dementia by 14 percent) 것으로 나타났다. 채소와 과일이 풍부한 식단이 치매를 촉발하는(trigger dementia) 생체 메커니즘에 영향을 미쳐 위험성을 저하시킨다는 얘기다. 채소, 과일, 콩과 식물(legume), 생선을 위주로 한 지중해식 식단(Mediterranean diet)은 치매 유발과 관련이 있는 당뇨(diabetes), 비만(obesity), 심장병(heart disease), 고혈압(high blood pressure) 등을 예방해주는 효과도 있다고 한다.

연구팀은 이와 관련, “치매 발병 원인은 워낙 복합적인 데다(be complex) 갖가지 위험 인자들을 포함하고 있어(comprise a variety of risk factors) 식단 관리만 잘한다고 안심할(breathe easy) 수는 없다”고 말한다. 유전자(gene), 생활 방식(lifestyle), 사회·경제적 상태(socio-economic status), 신체 활동(physical activity) 등 다양한 변수가 있기 때문에(owing to diverse variables) 잎줄기 채소와 과일을 위주로 한 식습관과 함께 긍정적인 생활 양식 변화가 병행돼야(be done simultaneously) 치매 발병 위험성을 줄이고 인지 기능을 연장시켜(extend your cognitive function) 건강한 삶을 누릴 수 있다는 것이다.