Polyphenol-Rich Berries Activate “Housekeeping” Cells In Aging Brain

Eating blueberries, strawberries, and acai berries may keep the aging brain healthy in an important way that had gone unnoticed before, according to U.S. animal research. Previous research found that one factor involved in aging is a steady decline in the body’s ability to protect itself against inflammation and oxidative damage, leaving people vulnerable to degenerative brain diseases, heart disease, cancer, and other age-related disorders. In the aging brain “housekeeping” cells called microglia fail to do their work, and debris builds up. But the polyphenols in berries, and possibly walnuts, re-activate the microglia to clean up and recycle toxic proteins linked to age-related memory loss and other mental decline. Other fruits and vegetables contain polyphenols, especially those with red, orange, or blue colors from antioxidant pigments termed anthocyanins.