Study Links Essential Nutrients to Slow Brain Aging

By | May 28, 2024
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A new study highlights the critical role of certain nutrients found in the Mediterranean diet in promoting brain health and slowing cognitive decline, laying a foundation for future nutritional interventions.

The nutritional profile of participants whose brains aged more slowly was similar to the Mediterranean diet.

Scientists are extensively studying the brain to promote healthier aging. Although there is significant knowledge about risk factors that accelerate brain aging, there is less understanding of how to prevent cognitive decline.

There’s evidence that nutrition matters, according to a new study published May 21 in the journal Health Sciences. Aging of Naturefrom the University of Nebraska-Lincoln Center for Brain, Biology and Behavior and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

The team of scientists led by Aron Barbey, director of the Center for Brain, Biology, and Behavior, Nebraska doctoral student Jisheng Wu, and UIUC research scientist Christopher Zwilling, conducted the multimodal study. – cutting-edge innovations in neuroscience and nutritional science – and identified a specific nutrient profile in participants who performed better cognitively.

Study Design and Findings

The cross-sectional study included 100 cognitively healthy participants aged between 65 and 75 years. These participants completed a survey that included demographic information, body measurements, and physical activity. Blood Aron Barbey and Jisheng Wu

Principal investigator Aron Barbey, professor of psychology and director of the Center for Brain, Biology and Behavior at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, along with doctoral student Jisheng Wu. Credits: Craig Chandler/University Communications and Marketing/University of Nebraska–Lincoln

Useful nutritional blood biomarkers were a combination of fatty acids (vaccenic, gondoic, alpha-linolenic, eicosapentaenoic, eicosadienoic, and lignoceric acids); antioxidants and carotenoids, including cis-lutein, trans-lutein, and zeaxanthin; Two forms of vitamin E and choline. This profile is associated with nutrients found in the Mediterranean diet, which previous research has linked to healthy brain aging.

“We investigated specific nutritional biomarkers such as fat Christopher Zwilling

Christopher Zwilling is a research scientist at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Credit: University of Nebraska-Lincoln

Barbey noted that previous research on nutrition and brain aging relied mostly on food frequency surveys that relied on participants’ own recall. This study is one of the first and largest to combine brain imaging, blood biomarkers, and validated cognitive assessments.

“The unique aspect of our study lies in its comprehensive approach, integrating data on nutrition, cognitive function and neuroimaging,” Barbey said. “This allows us to gain a more robust understanding of the relationship between these factors. We go beyond simply measuring cognitive performance with traditional neuropsychological tests. Instead, we simultaneously examine brain structure, function, and metabolism, revealing a direct link between these brain characteristics and cognitive abilities.” “We also show that these brain features are directly linked to diet and nutrition, as revealed by observed patterns in nutritional biomarkers.”

Future Research and Implications

Researchers will continue to explore this nutrient profile as it relates to healthy brain aging. Barbey said it’s possible the findings could help develop treatments and interventions to improve brain health in the future.

“The next important step involves conducting randomized controlled trials. In these trials, we will isolate specific nutrients that have positive associations with cognitive function and brain health and administer them in the form of nutraceuticals,” Barbey said. “This will allow us to precisely assess whether increasing levels of these specific nutrient profiles reliably leads to improvements in cognitive test performance and measures of brain structure, function, and metabolism.”

Barbey is also co-editing a forthcoming special collection for the Journal of Nutrition titled “Nutrition and the Brain – Exploring Pathways to Optimal Brain Health Through Nutrition”; This collection is currently awaiting submissions for review, and articles will begin to be published next year.

“There is tremendous scientific and medical interest in understanding the profound impact of nutrition on brain health,” Barbey said. “Being aware of this,