Recent evidence shows that lutein can help save your brain tissue from degradation and in fact boost learning and memory. All this while ,we knew that lutein is beneficial for maintaining good vision. But, study at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign among middle-aged participants showed that those with higher levels of lutein had neural responses more comparable with younger individuals than with their peers.
What is lutein?
Lutein is a compound found in fruits and vegetables as a part of their colourful pigments. It is a type of carotenoid pigment that cannot be synthesized by the body and needs to be supplied externally. Maize has been found to be the most significant source of lutein, and other colourful fruits and vegetables such as avocados, spinach, kale , kiwi fruit, grapes, orange juice, zucchini (or vegetable marrow), and different kinds of squash also contain substantial amounts (30–50%). Even egg yolks are rich in lutein.
The intake of lutein can be directly associated with cognitive function because it is the predominant carotenoid in human brain tissue. Decline in cognition starts much earlier than expected, as early as in the 30’s. So emphasizing on lutein rich foods right from youth can help save more brain cells.
The above study gives us more reasons to add more colour to our plate as well palate with a variety of fruits and vegetables.
References:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5465972/
http://bjo.bmj.com/content/82/8/907
http://www.nutritionnews.abbott/science-quality/lutein–a-super-nutrient-that-improves-memory.html
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