] Vitamin E, vegetables better at preventing cognitive decline than fruit?

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>> CHICAGO, Oct. 24 -- Vegetables help older patients keep their wits about

>> them, but fruit appears to have no effect on preventing cognitive

>> decline,

>> according to researchers here.

>>

>> Those who ate at least 2.8 servings of vegetables a day effectively

>> slowed

>> their rate of cognitive change by about 40% compared with those who

>> consumed less than one serving a day (slower by 0.019 standardized units

>> per year, P=0.01), the investigators wrote.

>>

>>

>> For fruit, the cognitive decline rate difference between the higher and

>> lower intake quintile groups " fluctuated around zero and became even

>> smaller with further control for all other potential confounding

>> variables, " they wrote.

>>

>>

>> The difference in effect between vegetables and fruit may be the higher

>> vitamin E content of vegetables, they added. Green leafy vegetables,

>> which

>> have the most vitamin E and were the most consumed category of

>> vegetables,

>> had the strongest linear association with lower rates of cognitive

>> decline

>> (P=0.03 for linear trend). After controlling for vitamin E, the

>> difference

>> in decline rate between participants who ate the most vegetables and

>> those

>> who ate the least was no longer significant.

>>

>>

>> " Vegetables, but not fruits, are also typically consumed with added fats

>> [such as] salad dressings, mayonnaise, margarine or butter, and fats

>> increase the absorption of vitamin E and other fat soluble antioxidant

>> nutrients, " Dr. and colleagues wrote.

>>

>>

>>

>> After adjusting for age, sex, race and education, the researchers

>> reported:

>>

>> The association with vegetables was stronger among older participants.

>> For

>> each additional year of age, cognitive decline was more than 0.002

>> SU/year

>> slower with vegetable intake of 2.1 servings per day or more (all

>> P<0.03).

>> Separate analyses showed statistically significant inverse associations,

>> for zucchini, summer squash, eggplant, broccoli, lettuce or tossed salad,

>> and kale or collards.

>>

>>

>> The average daily fruit intake averaged 2.2 servings. The cognitive

>> decline rates did not differ significantly among the five fruit intake

>> quintiles.

>>

>>

>> The researchers said their findings were consistent with those of the

>> Nurses' Health Study, which followed cognitive decline for two years. .

>>

>>

>> Previous studies have indicated relationships between individual dietary

>> components, such as vitamin E, and age-related cognitive change.

>>

>> The study was supported by the National Institute on Aging.

>>

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