To date, there has been little research to collectively look at nutrition and ageing, brain health, cognition and nutrition, and this latest study set out to further the understanding in this area.

The Research

The study was led by Aron Barbey, a professor of psychology, bioengineering and neuroscience at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and studied the links between nutrients, our brain structure and reasoning and understanding to further comprehend the role nutrition plays in health and ageing.

While it is known that the links between nutrients, brain structure and cognition can forecast healthy ageing and this latest study adds to the evidence of how they combine to contribute to brain health as we age.

Researchers found that blood markers of two saturated fatty acids and certain omega 6, 7 and 9 fatty acids were linked to better scores on memory tests.

What the findings show

The findings show that nutrient biomarkers, cognitive tests, and MRI measures of brain structure can be used to explain the variation in healthy ageing, allowing a better understanding how nutrition contributes to health, ageing and disease.

The team analysed data from 111 healthy adults with MRI scans, biomarkers of 52 nutrients, and the results of memory and intelligence tests. They combined the measures and found links between elements that seem to work together to support brain and cognitive health.

The growing evidence

The research does not conclusively prove that diet directly promotes brain health, but it does add to growing evidence that what you eat plays a significant role in healthy ageing. (Source: diabetes.co.uk)

Conclusion

Ageing is inevitable. We're born, we grow, we age. But how we age is important. Nutrition plays its biggest part, it's important to think about, block out the noise, and keep ourselves healthy as we age through nutrition.