Broccoli: You either love it or hate it.  I, of course, fall into both categories. If it’s baked or steamed and is reasonably tender, I like it a lot. If it’s grilled, I hate it. In fact, I hate ALL grilled veggies. To me, veggies should be eaten either raw or cooked. Grilled is neither, and I’m not afraid to say that in light of all of the kind words nutritionists spout about this cruciferous green vegetable.

Curiously, all of our four kids like broccoli and, for this reason, whenever we have one of our famous birthday dinner parties, that’s the vegetable du jour. Always. Well, occasionally we slip in a large chafing dish of green beans, a reasonably close second choice....

My wife has been kidding me about my memory for as long as I can remember. This could go back more than 17 years, but I can’t be sure. The good news is that I have never had a photographic memory. Not even close. She, on the other hand, remembers things. She always has, always will.

So it is with a great deal of trepidation that I call to everyone’s attention a certain study that we featured at the recent ACS National Meeting & Exposition in Boston. I actually considered not telling my wife about it, but that’s not fair. Before I share the results, though, you need to know this: She eats large quantities of blueberries and strawberries every morning. In fact, she consumes more of these fruits in one breakfast sitting than I consume in six months. This may change for me… Now to the study:

Scientists have reported the first evidence that eating blueberries, strawberries, and acai berries may help the aging brain stay healthy in a crucial but previously unrecognized way. Their study, presented at the 240th National Meeting of the American Chemical Society, concluded that berries, and possibly walnuts, activate the brain’s natural “housekeeper” mechanism, which cleans up and recycles toxic proteins linked to age-related memory loss and other mental decline.

Shibu Poulose, Ph.D., who presented the report, said previous research suggested that one factor involved in aging is a steady decline in the body’s ability to protect itself against inflammation and oxidative damage. This leaves people vulnerable to degenerative brain diseases, heart disease, cancer, and other age-related disorders.

“The good news is that natural compounds called polyphenolics found in fruits, vegetables and nuts have an antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effect that may protect against age-associated decline,” said Poulose, who is with the U. S. Department of Agriculture-Agricultural Research Service (USDA-ARS) Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging in Boston. Poulose did the research with James Joseph, Ph.D., who died June 1. Joseph, who headed the laboratory, pioneered research on the role of antioxidants in fruits and nuts in preventing age-related cognitive decline.

Their past studies, for instance, showed that old laboratory rats fed for two months on diets containing 2 percent high-antioxidant strawberry, blueberry, or blackberry extract showed a reversal of age-related deficits in nerve function and behavior that involves learning and remembering.

To read more, go to berries and the brain.

Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons