让大脑年轻11岁竟这么简单！近日，Neurology期刊发表了芝加哥拉什大学医学中心研究成果（Nutrients and bioactives in green leafy vegetables and cognitive decline: Prospective study）。本项目通过对960名58-99岁的老人研究发现，每天吃一份绿叶蔬菜可以使记忆力和思维能力下降的更慢，表现出和他们年轻11岁的人群表现的认知水平相当（研究原文见https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29263222）。本研究是针对年长、且大多数为白人得到的结果，研究结果是否适合于其他人群或不同人种还有待于进一步研究。

原文报道如下：

OBJECTIVE: To increase understanding of the biological mechanisms underlying the association, we investigated the individual relations to cognitive decline of the primary nutrients and bioactives in green leafy vegetables, including vitamin K (phylloquinone), lutein, β-carotene, nitrate, folate, kaempferol, and α-tocopherol.

METHODS: This was a prospective study of 960 participants of theMemory and Aging Project, ages 58-99 years, who completed a food frequency questionnaire and had ≥2 cognitive assessments over a mean 4.7 years.

RESULTS: In a linear mixed model adjusted for age, sex, education, participation in cognitive activities, physical activities, smoking, and seafood and alcohol consumption, consumption of green leafy vegetables wasassociated with slower cognitive decline; the decline rate for those in the highest quintile of intake (median 1.3 servings/d) was slower by β = 0.05 standardized units (p = 0.0001) or the equivalent of being 11 years younger inage. Higher intakes of each of the nutrients and bioactives except β-carotenewere individually associated with slower cognitive decline. In the adjusted models, the rates for the highest vs the lowest quintiles of intake were β =0.02, p = 0.002 for phylloquinone; β = 0.04, p =0.002 for lutein; β = 0.05, p < 0.001 for folate; β = 0.03, p =0.02 for α-tocopherol; β = 0.04, p = 0.002 for nitrate; β =0.04, p = 0.003 for kaempferol; and β = 0.02, p = 0.08for β-carotene.

CONCLUSIONS: Consumption of approximately 1 serving per day of green leafy vegetables and foods rich in phylloquinone, lutein, nitrate, folate, α-tocopherol, and kaempferol may help to slow cognitive decline with aging.