Blueberries May Help Old Folks Keep Their Smarts
 (New York, Reuters Health, 8/19/02)

Dr. James A. Joseph of the Center on Aging at Tufts University in Boston and USDA Human Nutrition Research reports that fruit may reduce mental decline. Joseph and colleagues found less oxidative damage in 2 distinct areas of the brains of aged rodents that consumed the equivalent of a cup of blueberries daily. The researchers also put mice through a maze to determine the effect of fruit consumption on behavior. For this experiment half of the mice were genetically engineered to develop brain plaque; while the rest were not, and half of each group ate blueberry-based pellets. Of the mice that developed plaque, the performance of those who ate no blueberries got continually worse; whereas, that of the blueberry-eating mice did not decline