eating a portion of salad every day improves the memory of older people by as much as 11 years, a new study has found.
A long-term trial of nearly 1,000 people aged mainly in their 80s revealed those who regularly ate salad lettuce or green leafy vegetables such as spinach had the memory of people significantly younger. Just half a cup or equivalent each day was sufficient to slow the rate of brain ageing, the study suggested.
Scientists do not know for sure which nutrients are responsible for the boost, but they said adding a portion of green vegetables or salad to the daily diet was a simple way of preserving mental faculty in old age. However, only one in four adults eat the recommended portions of fruit and vegetables a day, NHS figures revealed this year.
For 10 years, researchers at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago analysed 960 people with an average age of 81 who did not have…
