A nanny-state U.S. senator just launched an investigation into dietary supplements that make claims about helping dementia. And that’s just a shame.
The mainstream has nothing to offer for the modern-day epidemic of dementia and cognitive disorders. But, as I often report, ongoing research proves you can boost your brain health and lower your dementia risk by taking B vitamins, vitamin D and vitamin E. In addition, many beneficial herbs–including berberine and curcumin–support brain health. And now, we can add blueberry to the list too, as I’ll explain in a moment.
But supplement makers and blueberry farmers can’t tell you about all that important dementia research.
You see, the twisted laws and FDA regulations forbid manufacturers and farmers to make any health claims about dietary supplements or natural foods. Even when they are simply reporting the scientific facts!
These pathetic, political antics from anti-supplement senators are entirely misleading. Plus, they’re a huge disservice to the suffering public, which pays their bloated salaries and benefits. And then pays again for these sleight-of-hand investigations.
But neither politicians nor the FDA can stop me from reporting the scientific truth to you in the Daily Dispatch. It’s called editorial privilege.
And the facts about vitamins and dementia are incredible.
In one recent study, 2,000 IU of vitamin E per day reversed the symptoms of dementia. It completely beat out the drug tested in the same study. And when researchers gave the drug and the vitamin together, the drug appeared to cancel out the benefits of vitamin E.
And if you really want to give your brain a boost, eat some nuts–which contain lots of vitamin E–and blueberries.
It’s actually not surprising blueberries would have so many health benefits when you know a little about plant science.
Blueberry bushes thrive in the rough, rocky, and sandy soil of New England and other post-glacial environments of North America. The plants produce antioxidants and biologically active pigments to protect themselves from environmental stresses and strains–such as heat, dehydration, and solar radiation. Plants can’t just get up and move into the shade–they are the shade!
A blueberry’s dark color protects it against solar radiation. Indeed, many beneficial plant compounds are colored–such as anthocyanins (blues, purples and deep reds) and carotenoids (yellows, oranges and bright reds).
Plants are full of these pigments and you can see them in their fruits. They are also present in plant leaves–which appear green due to the predominance of chlorophyll to carry out photosynthesis. In the fall, when plants stop producing chlorophyll, we see the colors of the other pigments come through.
All plants have a lot of biologically active compounds to protect their cells. Traditional cultures learned this rule of Nature thousands of years before modern science did. Today, modern science finally understands more about how these compounds protect human cells.
Now–let’s get back to the recent research about blueberries and memory.
For this study, researchers recruited nine adults in their 70s with early memory impairment. The participants drank the equivalent of 2 to 2-l/2 cups of a commercially available blueberry juice every day for two months.
After just 12 weeks, the adults experienced statistically significant improvement in learning and word list recall assessments of memory function in a cross-over, before-and-after clinical trial. In addition, the data showed trends toward reduced depressive symptoms and lower glucose levels.
Of course, as I pointed out, this study followed a relatively small number of adults with memory problems. But consider this point…
It’s actually very hard to show strong statistical trends in one direction or another with such a small sample. So the fact that this analysis showed highly significant improvements on such as small sample, is a testament to the potency of blueberries to improve memory. By contrast, well-funded drug studies require large numbers of study subjects to detect the often relatively minuscule benefits of new drug therapies.
You can learn about all the benefits of blueberries in the July 2015 issue of my Insiders’ Cures newsletter. If you’re already a newsletter subscriber, you can access current and past issues by logging into my website at www.drmicozzi.com with your username and password. If you’re not yet a subscriber, now is the perfect time to get started and access this exciting new report on the power of blueberries.
The researcher is clear: Blueberries benefit your brain. So go out and get some fresh blueberries this summer while they’re still in season.
You can also find blueberry powder supplements, which you add to water or juice. This is an ideal way to supplement, since it’s closer to the whole-food form and comes in dosages more likely to benefit your brain.
Either way, keep the blueberries in your diet year-round. And then you can sing along with Fats Domino (and many other artists), “I got my thrill on blueberry hill.” Plus, the blueberries will help you actually remember the words of that signature song. Or–if that music is too dated for you, go out and pick some blueberries this month and get “tangled up in blue…” as Bob Dylan did in 1975.
Source:
“Blueberry Supplementation Improves Memory in Older Adults,” Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, 2010; (58(7): 3996-4000