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Summary: Feel unbalanced?
Boost your diet- and your
coordination - with
blueberries.
 If
you're worried that your
motor skills are waning with
age, try adding blueberries
to your daily diet.
Apparently, this tasty berry
may just counterbalance poor
coordination.
In a 1999 study published in
the Journal of Neuroscience,
James Joseph, Ph.D., of
Tufts University, found that
a diet rich in blueberries
reversed age-related
declines in balance and
coordination. In the study,
Joseph fed four groups of
rats a normal diet, but
three of the groups were
also given either
strawberry, spinach or
blueberry extracts.
Throughout the 18-week
study, the animals were
tested for coordination,
balance, muscle strength and
mental functioning.
Although the groups fed
strawberry and blueberry
extract performed well on
balance and coordination
tests, the rats fed
blueberries showed the most
improvement. Results also
showed that neuron, or nerve
cell, functioning improved
among rats fed blueberry
extract. Joseph suspects the
findings are a result of
blueberries' rich store of
flavonoids--phytochemicals
that affect cell membranes.
These findings offer hope to
those suffering from
age-related declines in
balance and coordination,
which are often difficult to
reverse. They suggest that
nutritional intervention
with fruits and vegetables
may play an important role
in reversing the damaging
effects of aging on nerve
cell function and behavior.
Article courtesy of
www.psychologytoday.com
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