Can these foods lower your dementia risk?

You get more than a tasty treat when you bite into juicy berries or sunny yellow peppers. You also get flavonoids — powerful plant chemicals found in many fruits and vegetables. A large study published online Sept. 18, 2024, by JAMA Network Open links flavonoid consumption to reduced dementia risk. Researchers identified more than 121,000 people without dementia (ages 40 to 70) in the United Kingdom and followed them for about nine years. The scientists analyzed participants' health and diet information, including how many types of flavonoid-rich foods and drinks they said they consumed daily, such as black or green tea, apples, berries, grapes, oranges, onions, peppers, dark chocolate, and red wine. People who ate the most flavonoid-rich foods — six servings per day — had a 28% lower risk of developing dementia during the study period, compared to those who ate the least. The link was especially strong among people with high blood pressure, depression, or a high genetic risk for dementia, as well as people who consumed at least two of the following each day: half a serving of berries, five cups of tea, or a glass of red wine. While the study is observational and can't prove definitively that flavonoid-rich foods keep your thinking and memory sharp, the evidence reinforces a similar finding reported by Harvard researchers in 2021.

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