Vegetables That Boost Your Memory

Studies show that putting more fruits and vegetables in your diet can improve your memory. In fact, 25-year-old study that involved the participation of more than 10,000 women showed that the participants who ate relatively high amounts of vegetables over the years had less age-related decline in memory. Here are some fruits and vegetables that you should include in your diet in order to maintain your sharp memory.

Because they come from the family Brassicaceae which is otherwise known as Cruciferae, these edible plants are coined Cruciferous vegetables. Included in this group are arugula, bok choy, broccoli, brussels sprouts, cabbage, cauliflower, Chinese cabbage, collard greens, Daikon, Kale, Kohlrabi, mustard greens, radishes, rutabaga, turnips and watercress. In a study done by Harvard Researchers, these vegetables caused women in the Nurses' Health Study to perform better in their memory tests. This shows putting a lot of cruciferous vegetables in our diet can stop the decline of cognitive abilities due to aging. Not only do these vegetables contain substances that can sharpen our memory, they also have nutrients like diindolymethane, sulforaphane and selenium which have cancer-fighting properties. They also improve our immune system's antibacterial and antiviral responses.

Leafy green vegetables like spinach, collard, mustard greens, kale and Swiss chard can help in boosting one's memory. Because they are filled with a B vitamin called folate, these vegetables have the power to protect adults from undergoing mental decline as their age increase. Better yet, having the right amount of folate in your diet can prevent strokes which lead to a quarter of the reported dementia cases. And, because folate is needed to lessen the amount of homocysteine, an amino acid that has a detrimental effect on nerve cells, it can also reduce the risk of acquiring Alzeimer's disease.

Anthocyanin, the pigment which gives flowers their dark purple pigmentation, is actually a potent antioxidant that can prevent brain ageing as well macular degradation, which causes people over the age of 65 to become blind. According to the research done by the team of James Joseph of the USDA Human Nutrition Research Center in Boston, adding some blueberries in a person's diet can help in the development of motor skills. It can also stop the occurence of short term memory loss which is a very common sign of ageing. Examples of fruits and vegetables that contain anthocyanin are all types of berries, cherries, black currents, eggplants, red / black / purple grapes, plums, rhubarb, red onion, red apples, red / purple cabbage, and red beets.

Quercetin, the phytochemical that is responsible for the red-coloring in the skins of apples and onions, is a very powerful anti-oxidant that can prevent cancer. It can also help in protecting a your brain cells from oxidative stress which has a detrimental effect on brain tissues and is related to many neurodegenerative disorders like Alzheimer's disease. Fruits and vegetables that contain this substance are red / yellow / white onions, kale, leeks, cherry tomato, broccoli, blueberries, black currants, elderberries, apricots, red apples with skin and red / purple / black grapes.

If having a good memory that would allow you to remember the dates and events that are important to you love ones is not enough to convince you to start including these fruits and vegetables in your diet, then think about lowering your risks of attaining serious diseases like cancer. These fruis and vegetables will not just preserve your memory, they will prolong your life as well.