As people age, memory problems and other signs of cognitive decline become more common.
Scientists have long been curious to know if the food we eat could play a role in protecting the brain function as we age.
A new study by researchers at TUFTS University suggests that a significant nutrient – vitamin K – can help keep the brain healthy and support memory and learning.
This research was carried out at Jean Mayer USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging (HNRCA) at TUFTS University. The team focused on understanding how a lack of vitamin K in food could affect the brain. They worked with average age mice, nourishing some of them a very low vitamin K diet for six months, while others have eaten a regular diet.
Vitamin K is found in many green vegetables such as kale, spinach, broccoli, Brussels cabbage and green peas. Most people know it like vitamin that helps blood coagulate properly. But researchers learn that it can also help protect the heart, joints and the brain.
Dr. Sarah Booth, the main author of the study and director of HNRCA, explained that although there is already evidence that vitamin K supports brain health, scientists still do not understand how it works. His team wanted to know more about how vitamin K interacts with the brain and why it can help prevent mental decline.
In this study, the researchers examined closely a specific form of vitamin K called Ménaquinone-4, which is common in cerebral tissues. They found that mice in the low vitamin K diet had much lower levels of this nutrient in their brain. These mice also made it possible to do fewer tests on memory and learning tests.
For example, in a test, the mice were placed in an area with two objects – one they had seen before and a new one. Mice with a healthy memory generally spend more time studying the new object. But the deficient vitamin K mice have not shown much interest in the new object, suggesting that they had trouble remembering what object was familiar.
In another test, the mice had to learn the location of a platform hidden in a small swimming pool. Mice without enough vitamin K have taken much more time to learn where the platform was, showing more slow learning signs.
When scientists examined the brain of the mice, they discovered changes in the hippocampus– an important brain zone for memory and learning. In particular, they have seen fewer cerebral cells newly formed in part of the hippocampus called the toothed gyrus.
This process of manufacturing new brain cells is called neurogenesisAnd we think we help the brain to remain flexible and capable of learning new things. The loss of this process could help explain the right memory in mice without enough vitamin K.
The team also found signs of inflammation in the brain of these mice. More specifically, they noticed more microgliawhich are immune cells that help protect the brain. Although certain microglia activities are healthy, too much can cause chronic inflammation.
This type of sustainable inflammation is linked to problems of thinking and memory in the elderly, and even diseases such as Alzheimer’s disease.
Dr. Tong Zheng, the main author of the study, explained that even if these results come from the mouse, they help scientists obtain a clearer image of what could happen in the human brain. Him and Dr.
Booth has taken care to emphasize that people should not rush to take vitamin K supplements. Instead, they recommend getting enough vitamin K thanks to a balanced diet, especially by eating green vegetables.
The Tofts team collaborates with researchers from Rush University in Chicago. While TUFTS focuses on animal studies to explore biological processes, Rush studies the effects of the food for brain health in real people. Together, these efforts help scientists understand how certain foods and nutrients can keep our brain healthier as we age.
In summary, this new study adds to increasing evidence that vitamin K can help protect the brain. Researchers have found that not obtaining enough vitamin K can reduce the number of new brain cells, increase brain inflammation and lead to worse performance in learning and memory tasks.
Although more research is needed to see exactly how it works in humans, a message is already clear: eating your vegetables could be a simple way to help your brain stay live as you age.
If you care about nutrition, please read studies that whole grain foods could help increase longevity and vitamin D supplements greatly reduce the death of cancer.
For more information on nutrition, please consult recent studies on natural coconut sugar that could help reduce blood pressure and stiffness of the arteries, and lactrum and soy proteins can reduce inflammation in the elderly.
Research results can be found in The Journal of Nutrition.
