Discovering an important link between nutritional elements and slowing down brain aging, What are these elements?

A new study has revealed an important link between how quickly the brain ages and the nutrients in our daily meals.

Researchers at the University of Illinois and Nebraska-Lincoln mapped brain scans against the nutritional intake of 100 volunteers between the ages of 65 and 75, looking for links between certain diets and slower brain aging.

It turns out that slower aging was associated with eating nutrients similar to what you would get from the Mediterranean diet, which previous studies have shown to be one of the best diets for our bodies.

“We investigated specific nutrient biomarkers, such as fatty acids, which are known in nutritional science to provide potential health benefits,” says neuroscientist Aaron Barbee, from the University of Illinois. “This is consistent with a wide range of studies in this area, which demonstrate positive health effects of the diet.” The Mediterranean diet, which focuses on foods rich in these beneficial nutrients.”

The researchers analyzed the participants' blood samples to look for nutrient biomarkers (serving as solid scientific evidence of what these elderly individuals were eating and drinking).

The team identified a range of beneficial biomarkers, including fatty acids (such as those found in fish and olive oil) and antioxidants such as vitamin E (found in spinach and almonds), as well as carotenoids and plant pigments found in carrots and pumpkin, which have previously been found to reduce Inflammation in the body and protects cells from damage. In addition to choline, which is found in high concentrations in egg yolks, red meat and raw soybeans.

Evidence is now mounting that nutrition plays an important role in how the brain ages, and each new study helps provide more knowledge about how our brains are intimately connected to every other part and function in the body.

The team aims to conduct clinical trials over a long period of time, to find out how diet and nutrition can affect brain aging.

The study was published in the journal npj Aging.