“Eat Right, Bite by Bite”

March is National Nutrition Month®, the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics celebrates this annually. As part of their campaign, they invite the public to focus on the importance of making informed food choices and developing sound eating and physical activity habits. National Nutrition Month 2020 is themed “Eat Right, Bite by Bite” and the overall message is that quality nutrition isn’t restrictive, but that small changes to diet can have a cumulative effect on health over time. Every healthy nutritional choice is a choice in the right direction!

A new study published January 29, 2020 in Neurology suggests that antioxidant flavonols found in most fresh fruits and vegetables may lower the risk for developing Alzheimer’s disease. The researchers were from Rush University in Chicago. According to the lead author, Dr. Thomas M. Holland, eating more fruits, vegetables and drinking tea has the potential to be an easy and inexpensive way to help prevent or delay the onset of dementia.

Flavonols

Flavonols are the largest and most well-known subgroup of flavonoids. Flavonols, especially quercetin, have been studied extensively for their role as an antioxidant.

Oxidative damage to the body is responsible for neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer's and Parkinson's and many cancers and flavonols can help protect the body against this type of damage, according to an extensive July 2016 review study published in Pharmacognosy Review. What's more, people who enjoyed more foods with flavonols (like the ones below!) were observed to have a lower risk of developing Alzheimer's disease years later, per a January 2020 study in Neurology.

Foods rich in flavonols include: