Regular consumption of fruit juices and vegetables may reduce the risk of Alzheimer's disease

The consumption of fruit juices and vegetables rich in antioxidants, for the elderly may help prevent or delay the risk of developing Alzheimer's disease, suggests an epidemiological study presented at the Congress of Washington Alzheimer's Association, a American organization dedicated to finding ways to prevent and possibly cure this neurodegenerative disease.
Some researchers have suggested that chronic accumulation of oxidative free radicals in the brain could exhaust its antioxidant capacity, which could induce the development of Alzheimer's disease or promote its progression, remember Amy Borenstein, University of Florida Tampa, and colleagues.

In this context, it seems reasonable to assume that antioxidants exert a protective effect against the disease. For now, this hypothesis has not found confirmation in studies evaluating supplementation, including vitamin E, but it remained to observe the effect of antioxidants from fruits and vegetables.

U.S. researchers have studied a cohort of 1836 older than 70 people. Participants not suffering from dementia at the time of inclusion in the study were then asked about their eating habits. During the more than six years of follow 81 cases of Alzheimer's disease have been identified. The subjects had originally been asked about their eating habits.

While previous studies have failed to observe any association between the risk of Alzheimer's disease and vitamin supplementation, the estimated consumption of vitamin E, vitamin C and beta-carotene, this study allowed us to found a link between the overall consumption of fruit juices and vegetables and the risk of developing this disease.

Thus, compared to those drinking less than one fruit or vegetable juice per week, those who consumed one or two per week showed a risk of Alzheimer's disease decreased by 33% (a nonsignificant reduction) and those who consumed at least 3 per week had a reduced risk of 73% (the difference is proving significant).

"Some abundant polyphenols in fruit juices and vegetables may play an important role in delaying the development of Alzheimer's disease," the researchers consider referring to animal studies, which also showed a neuroprotective effect scored for these polyphenols as vitamins E and C.

These findings may open new avenues for prevention of Alzheimer's disease, they say.