Eating walnuts daily could cut down the dementia risk by delaying or slowing the progression of memory stealing Alzheimer's disease, says a new study from New York State Institute.
The study found vitamin E and flavonoids in walnuts assist in minimizing the harmful oxidant chemicals and free radicals that lead to dementia, the researchers said.
The researchers experimented laboratory mice by feeding them walnuts to arrive at this conclusion. Only select mouse was fed with walnut and the others were left to their regular pattern of diet.
The data showed that compared to the group of mice fed walnut, those mice that did not eat walnut underwent a remarkable loss in learning, memory and physical and emotional power. The results of the study also offer an insight to how the brain putrefied in patients suffering from Alzheimer’s disease.
Feeding walnuts to mice with Alzheimer's disease kept their cerebral skills high. Therefore, eating walnuts on a habitual basis can keep one's mental dexterity up, the researchers noted.
"Walnuts may have a beneficial effect in reducing the risk, delaying the onset or slowing progression of Alzheimer's disease”, said the Indian-origin scientist Dr. Abha Chauhan who led the study along with his colleagues at New York State Institute.