04/11/2026
We need to remember to use food to feed and enhance our bodies, not just because it tastes good!
Special antioxidant pigments in berries and dark green leafy vegetables may make them the brain foods of the fruit and vegetable kingdom.
🍓🫐 Berries are packed with polyphenols, which have powerful anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties. Anthocyanidins, the natural blue-purple pigments in plants, are a type of polyphenol that can cross the blood-brain barrier and may provide neuroprotective effects.
🥬 Dark green leafy vegetables, including kale, collards, and arugula, are packed with the antioxidant lutein. Levels of lutein in the retina of our eyes correspond to levels in the rest of our brain, so our eyes can be a window into our mind. Significant correlations exist between cognitive test scores and the amount of macular pigment in our eyes—plant pigments like lutein.
➡️ Increasing our intake of greens like kale can be a beneficial way to improve and maintain the health of our brain and our eyes.
What about a plant-based diet in general?
The MIND diet emphasizes natural plant foods, including berries, the healthiest fruits, and greens, the healthiest vegetables, while limiting the intakes of animal products and foods high in saturated fats, like meat and dairy. Stricter adherence to the MIND diet was associated with a 53% reduction in risk for Alzheimer’s disease. In fact, even moderate adherence appeared to cut risk by a third. Overall, researchers found that participants who showed "high adherence to the diet had cognitive functioning equivalent to a person who was 7.5 years younger."
📚 The revised and updated tenth anniversary edition of How Not to Die is out now. Learn more at https://see.nf/3RtYuWK.
Watch the videos “The Best Diet for Healthy Aging” at https://see.nf/antiaging and “Advanced Glycation End Products (AGEs) and Cognitive Decline” at https://bit.ly/3Ca6d4D to learn more.
PMID: 22475317, 23053547, 25109868, 25752849, 26566524, 25681666, 31523210
