Posts Tagged “cognitive health”
Researchers investigated whether consuming one avocado per day for six months could affect cognitive function in adults with central obesity.
The study was conducted as an ancillary project of the multicenter Habitual Diet and Avocado Trial (HAT), which examined the effects of avocado consumption on visceral adiposity. Cognitive outcomes were assessed among participants at the Loma Linda University study center.
A total of 251 participants with elevated waist circumference were randomly assigned either to consume one avocado per day (AVO) or avoid avocado consumption (CON) for six months. No additional dietary guidance was provided. Cognitive function was assessed at baseline and after the intervention period, including measures of memory, processing speed, executive function, simple reaction time, and working memory reaction time.
A total of 241 participants completed the trial. Participants were 69.7% female and 53.1% white, with a mean body mass index of 33.4 ± 5.7. Ages ranged from 25 to 84 years, with a mean age of 49.6 ± 13.3 years.
The results showed that working memory reaction time improved over the six-month period for all participants. However, researchers found no differences between the avocado and control groups across any of the cognitive domains measured.
The study also found no interaction between age and the intervention. Two-way interactions involving age and time, as well as the three-way interaction between age, time, and intervention group, were not statistically significant.
Researchers noted that avocados contain fiber, carotenoids, antioxidants, polyphenols, and monounsaturated fat, nutrients that have previously been associated with cognitive health.
However, the findings indicate that consuming one avocado per day for six months, without additional lifestyle modifications, did not alter cognitive function in adults with central obesity across the age groups included in the study.
The researchers concluded that further work is needed to determine whether avocados may contribute to healthy cognitive aging when incorporated into broader dietary strategies, particularly among normal-weight individuals and metabolically vulnerable populations.
Regular consumption of red raspberries may help protect and enhance brain function and metabolic processes.
A study conducted by researchers at Tufts University and the Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT), shows that eating 25 grams of freeze-dried red raspberries can improve post-meal blood sugar responses and benefit brain processes and digestion within hours.
Raspberries are rich in polyphenols, a plant compound known for its antioxidant and anti-inflammatory benefits, and promoting cellular homeostasis. The data show that, thanks to these nutrients, the fruit aids digestive and brain processes after a carb- and fat-heavy meal.
Published in January 2026 in the British Journal of Nutrition and funded by the Washington Red Raspberry Commission, the study looked into the effects of adding 25 grams of freeze-dried red raspberry powder to the diets of 36 adults aged 50 to 70. The goal was to see if a single serving could spark improvements in metabolism and brainpower after meals.
Blood tests confirmed that including red raspberries made a noticeable impact. The group that consumed the fruit experienced an eight percent reduction in peak glucose and a lower insulin response than the control group.
The cohort also performed better on standardized cognitive tests within hours of consuming the raspberry powder, and blood samples showed reduced neuroinflammatory responses. The latter suggests a potential protective effect on the brain, which could have a positive effect later in life as the risk of dementia, Alzheimer’s, and other neurodegenerative diseases increases.
Britt Burton-Freeman, the study’s lead researcher and Director of the Center for Nutrition Research at the IIT, says consuming these berries regularly may have a long-lasting positive effect in health and wellbeing.
“As we age, maintaining healthy blood sugar and cognitive function becomes increasingly important,” she explains. “These results show that adding red raspberries into your daily diet may have some metabolic and cognitive benefits that are important to all of us as we age.”
Remarkably, the study also shows that benefits are immediate, kicking in only after one raspberry-infused meal.
In a press release announcing the findings, the Washington Red Raspberry Commission recognized that, given the size of the studied cohort, further research and longer-term trials are needed to confirm these results. However, the organization celebrated the results, as they add to growing knowledge on raspberry benefits and how incorporating the fruit can help support consumers’ health.
Daily strawberry consumption was linked to improved cognitive function, lower blood pressure and higher antioxidant capacity in a randomized clinical trial presented at Nutrition 2023, the annual meeting of the American Society of Nutrition (ASN).
The study, conducted at San Diego State University, builds on previous research demonstrating the cardiovascular, metabolic and cognitive health benefits of strawberries.
The double-blind, placebo-controlled study was conducted in 35 healthy men and women, aged 66 to 78. Participants consumed 26 grams of freeze-dried strawberry powder, equivalent to two servings of strawberries daily, or a control powder for eight weeks each.
Following strawberry consumption, cognitive processing speed increased by 5.2%, systolic blood pressure decreased by 3.6% and total antioxidant capacity significantly increased by 10.2%. Waist circumference decreased by 1.1% during both the control and intervention arms of the trial. While consuming the control powder, participants experienced increased serum triglycerides.
“This study demonstrates that consuming strawberries may promote cognitive function and improve cardiovascular risk factors like hypertension,” said Shirin Hooshmand, professor in the School of Exercise and Nutrition Sciences at San Diego State and principal investigator on the study. “We’re encouraged that a simple dietary change, like adding strawberries to the daily diet, may improve these outcomes in older adults.”
Strawberries are a source of many bioactive compounds. In addition to providing 100% of our daily vitamin C needs, strawberries contain heart-healthy nutrients like folate, potassium, fiber, phytosterols and polyphenols.
Previous clinical trials have connected strawberry consumption to improvements in several markers for cardiovascular disease, including reduced total and LDL cholesterol (TC) and lower blood pressure.
The link between strawberry consumption and brain health has also been well explored in both clinical and population-based studies. Strawberries and pelargonidin, a biochemical primarily found in strawberries, were associated with a reduced risk of Alzheimer’s dementia in studies conducted at Rush University. Long-term observational studies, including the Health Professionals Study and the Nurses’ Health Study, found that strawberry consumers had lower rates of cognitive decline.