Scientists Discover Nutrient Combination That Could Slow Cognitive Decline

A unique nutrient profile is associated with healthier brain structure and function in older adults, according to new study.

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While there is no way to halt brain aging or cure dementia, your dinner plate might hold the key to keeping your mind sharp well into your golden years.

A recent study suggests that specific nutrients abundant in the Mediterranean diet could be nature’s own anti-aging elixir for the brain, offering a potential new way, aside from medication, to combat age-related cognitive decline.

Nutrient Profile Linked to Slower Brain Aging

Published in npj Aging in May, the study combined advanced neuroscience and nutritional science techniques to pinpoint nutrient biomarkers associated with healthy brain aging.

It focused on 100 cognitively healthy people aged 65 to 75 and examined the effects of fatty acids, vitamins, antioxidants, and carotenoids on brain health.

The researchers identified a specific combination of nutrients linked to slower brain aging and improved cognitive performance. These included:

• Fatty acids: vaccenic acid, gondoic acid, alpha-linolenic acid (ALA), eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), eicosadienoic acid, and lignoceric acid, found in foods such as fatty fish and nuts
• Carotenoids: lutein, lutein, and zeaxanthin, found in fruits, vegetables, and egg yolks
• Vitamin E: found in peanuts, avocado, and fish
• Choline: found in eggs, meat, fish, and dairy

The emerging field of nutritional cognitive neuroscience aims to identify specific foods and nutrients that promote lifelong brain health, Aron Barbey, director of the Center for Brain, Biology and Behavior at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln and lead researcher, told The Epoch Times. Discovering targetable nutrient profiles is central to developing effective nutritional interventions for enhancing brain health, he noted.

“Our study contributes to this effort, identifying a key nutrient profile that may slow cognitive decline in older adults,” Mr. Barbey said.

Researchers used a comprehensive approach combining cognitive assessments, MRI scans, and blood plasma analysis.

The research team also identified two distinct types of brain aging: accelerated and delayed. Participants in the delayed aging group exhibited greater brain volume, higher white matter integrity, higher concentrations of brain metabolites, and superior functional connectivity compared to those in the accelerated aging group. These findings suggest that delayed aging is associated with healthier brain structure and function.

Study Limitations

The identified nutrients are found in the Mediterranean diet, previously linked to maintaining a healthy brain. Mr. Barbey said his study builds on prior work by going beyond traditional cognitive tests and employing multimodal neuroimaging measures.

“This provides a more complete picture of brain health, encompassing measures of brain structure, function, and metabolism,” he said. “The study goes beyond focusing on single nutrients and identifies a specific nutrient profile associated with slower brain aging.”

While the research offers insights into how diet could affect cognitive health as we age, it does have limitations.

This was a cross-sectional study, so it only provides data from a single point in time. Mr. Barbey pointed out that longitudinal studies should be conducted to understand how dietary nutrients influence brain aging over time and “to assess the long-term effects of dietary interventions based on this [nutrient] profile.”

Furthermore, researchers relied on a small sample size of primarily white participants, which may limit the findings’ generalizability to other groups.

The University of Nebraska researchers plan to conduct further studies to determine if increasing levels of these specific nutrients through supplements or dietary changes can improve cognitive function and brain health.