Habitual Nut Exposure, Assessed by Dietary and Multiple Urinary Metabolomic Markers, and Cognitive Decline in Older Adults: The InCHIANTI Study.

Abstract: Scope: We prospectively evaluated the association between self-reported dietary intake and urinary metabolomic markers of habitual nut exposure with cognitive decline over a 3-year follow-up in an older Italian population. Methods and results: We selected 119 older participants, from the InCHIANTI cohort based on self-referred nut intake: the non-nut consumer (n = 72) and […]

Plant-Based Dietary Patterns, Plant Foods, and Age-Related Cognitive Decline.

The aging population is expanding, as is the prevalence of age-related cognitive decline (ARCD). Of the several risk factors that predict the onset and progression of ARCD, 2 important modifiable risk factors are diet and physical activity. Dietary patterns that emphasize plant foods can exert neuroprotective effects. In this comprehensive review, we examine studies in […]

Effects of almond, dried grape and dried cranberry consumption on endurance exercise performance, recovery and psychomotor speed: protocol of a randomised controlled trial.

BACKGROUND: Foods rich in nutrients, such as nitrate, nitrite, L-arginine and polyphenols, can promote the synthesis of nitric oxide (NO), which may induce ergogenic effects on endurance exercise performance. Thus, consuming foods rich in these components, such as almonds, dried grapes and dried cranberries (AGC), may improve athletic performance. Additionally, the antioxidant properties of these foods may reduce oxidative […]

Nut consumption and cognitive function: a systematic review.

Antioxidant-rich diet patterns could contribute to the prevention and treatment of early stages of dementia. Nuts have an appreciable antioxidant load and there is evidence of their positive effects on several chronic diseases incidence and death rates. Moreover, they are rich in polyunsaturated fatty acids, which might also play a positive role in neurogenesis. The […]

Health Benefits of Nut Consumption in Middle-Aged and Elderly Population.

Aging is considered the major risk factor for most chronic disorders. Oxidative stress and chronic inflammation are two major contributors for cellular senescence, downregulation of stress response pathways with a decrease of protective cellular activity and accumulation of cellular damage, leading in time to age-related diseases. This review investigated the most recent clinical trials and […]

Walnut diets up-regulate the decreased hippocampal neurogenesis and age-related cognitive dysfunction in D-galactose induced aged rats.

Recently, dietary intervention has been considered as a prospective strategy in delaying age-related cognitive dysfunction and brain plasticity degeneration. This study explored the effect of walnut diets (6% and 9%, 8 weeks) on cognitive behavior, hippocampal neurogenesis and the neurotrophic signaling pathway in d-galactose (d-gal) model rats. Behavioral tests showed that walnut diets significantly reversed spatial memory loss in […]

Evaluation of a Self-Administered Computerized Cognitive Battery in an Older Population

Objective: To assess the utility of the Cogstate self-administered computerized neuropsychological battery in a large population of older men. Methods: We invited 7,167 men (mean age: 75 years) from the Health Professionals Follow-up Study, a prospective cohort of male health professionals. We considered individual Cogstate scores and composite scores measuring psychomotor speed and attention, learning […]

A systematic review on the health effects of plums (Prunus domestica and Prunus salicina).

In recent times, plums have been described as foods with health-promoting properties. Research on the health effects of plum continue to show promising results on its antiinflammatory, antioxidant and memory-improving characteristics. The increased interest in plum research has been attributed to its high phenolic content, mostly the anthocyanins, which are known to be natural antioxidants. […]

The Walnuts and Healthy Aging study (WAHA): Protocol for a Nutritional Intervention Trial with Walnuts on Brain Aging.

Introduction: An unwanted consequence of population aging is the growing number of elderly at risk of neurodegenerative disorders, including dementia and macular degeneration. As nutritional and behavioral changes can delay disease progression, we designed the Walnuts and Healthy Aging (WAHA) study, a two-center, randomized, 2-year clinical trial conducted in free-living, cognitively healthy elderly men and […]

Effects of almond consumption on the post-lunch dip and long-term cognitive function in energy-restricted overweight and obese adults.

The post-lunch dip in cognition is a well-established phenomenon of decreased alertness, memory and vigilance after lunch consumption. Lunch composition reportedly influences the post-lunch dip. Moreover, dieting is associated with cognitive function impairments. The negative effects of dieting have been reversed with nut-supplemented diets. The aims of this study were to (1) evaluate the acute […]