Researchers from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, in United States have confirmed that eating foods rich in fiber might help delay age-related brain inflammation, which usually degenerates to memory loss.
The findings which was published in the journal Frontiers in Immunology and reported on Medical News Today, explains how fiber reduces aged-related brain inflammation by triggering the production of a short-chain fatty acid that has anti-inflammatory properties.
According to the American researchers: “microglia, a major type of immune cell in the brain tends to become hyperactive and chronically inflamed with age. This inflammation of the microglia is one of the main causes of memory and cognitive decline in old age”.
Thus, to arrive at their findings, the lead author, Rodney Johnson, a professor and the head of the Department of Animal Sciences at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and his team members, conducted a test, using mice.
They fed young and aging mice with diets high and low in fiber. Then, the scientists measured the mice's blood levels of butyrate and their levels of pro-inflammatory substances in their intestines.
While stating the result of their experiment, Prof. Johnson disclosed that “The high-fiber diet elevated butyrate and other [short-chain fatty acids] in the blood both for young and old mice.”
Another benefit of fiber consumption to the brain as unveiled by the findings is that it reduces intestinal inflammation in aging mice, but young mice didn’t experience intestinal inflammation.
The takeaway from the study is that people from the age of 60 and above, should eat more foods rich in fiber to retain their cognitive ability. Below are some of the foods rich in fiber:
EXAMPLES OF FOODS THAT ARE RICH IN FIBER
- Apples
- pears
- Avocado
- Strawberries
- Carrots
- Broccoli
- Kidney Beans
- Dark Chocolate
- Sweet Potatoes
- Almonds
