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Early intervention in cognitive aging with strawberry supplementation
An increasing public health problem is late-life dementia, which currently has no proven cure. Beginning in midlife, neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s disease (AD) develop during a protracted preclinical phase. Middle age also sees an increase in the incidence of insulin resistance, a major risk factor for dementia in later life. Eating berry fruits, such as strawberries, has been demonstrated to affect metabolism and cognitive function, which may reduce the incidence of dementia. In this controlled trial by Krikorian, Shidler & Summer (2023), overweight, middle-aged subjects with insulin resistance and subjective cognitive impairment were recruited and participated in a 12-week intervention consisting of daily whole-fruit strawberry powder administration. Dietary data revealed that both groups’ members followed the advised break from consuming berries outside of the research. For the patients receiving strawberry treatment, the authors noted reduced memory interference and depressed symptoms; these improvements were associated with increased executive function. Nevertheless, the intervention did not affect metabolic parameters, which may have been due to the short intervention duration, small sample size, or low anthocyanin dosage. The primary mechanism of action of anthocyanins was thought to be their anti-inflammatory properties. The authors comment that their results provide credence to the idea that taking supplements of strawberries in middle age may help lower the incidence of dementia. Nevertheless, more research using varied doses, extended intervention durations, and increased sample sizes will be necessary to evaluate the advantages of strawberry consumption concerning metabolic processes and cognitive abilities within the aging framework. [NPID: Strawberries, anthocyanins, insulin resistance, aging, cognition, dementia risk reduction]
Year: 2023
