Spinach plus Apple – A Perfect Combination for Cognitive Health
Certain combinations of healthy foods appear to promote brain health in significant ways. In a new study, scientists have found that consuming apples and spinach together substantially increases the amount of nitric oxide (NO) status, an important molecule that boosts blood flow and blood vessel function, which in turn promote cardiovascular and cognitive health.
According to Dr Catherine Bondonno, UWA School of Medicine and Pharmacology and the lead author of the study, an imbalance of NO has been found in cardiovascular disorders and certain pathological conditions such as cardiovascular disorders and certain pathological conditions in the brain, and a diet rich in fruits and vegetables is associated with improved cognitive and cardiovascular health.
"Flavonoids and nitrate, two components of a fruit and vegetable diet, are currently generating interest as research shows they could improve health by increasing NO in the body." she said.
For the study, Bondonno and colleagues recruited 30 healthy female and male volunteers, screened through a medical history questionnaire, electrocardiography, BMI, height and weight, blood pressure, and fasting blood samples. Volunteers were randomly assigned into one of four interventions—a) apple: high flavonoid low nitrate; b) spinach: low flavonoid high nitrate; c) apple + spinach: high flavonoid high nitrate; d) control: low flavonoid low nitrate.
The combinations of apples and spinach involved consuming 200g of Pink Lady apple skins homogenised with the flesh, 200g of spinach, or both, at lunch respectively.
Researchers found that compared with the control, apple plus spinach increased markers of NO in the plasma.
While they did not observe any improvement or deterioration in cognitive function or mood, the study utilised healthy volunteers with normal cognitive function, and the researchers were only assessing short-term effects.
"It doesn’t rule out the possibility of an improvement with long-term intake of spinach and apples, an effect in a group of volunteers with a lower cognitive performance, or an improvement with harder cognitive tasks," she says.
Dr Bondonno now plans to further examine the long-term benefits of apples and spinach on NO status and cognitive function.
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