Antioxidants are what give fruits and vegetables their bright colors. Plants produce these chemicals to protect themselves from environmental insults, such as pollution, and when humans eat plants, they also reap the protective benefits.
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In a study involving about 70 beagles, Dr. Carl Cotman, director of the Institute for Brain Aging and Dementia at the University of California, Irvine, found that older dogs fed a diet rich in antioxidants over several years were able to perform tasks — and learn new tricks — far better than fellow canines fed a normal diet.
“We rejuvenated a capacity in the aging brain which wasn’t there in the beginning and wasn’t coming back on its own," says Cotman. "It indicated the brain has a capacity to recover some age-related loss of cognitive function."
Moreover, MRI scans later revealed structural changes in the brains of the dogs on the antioxidant diet, most notably a decrease in the buildup of amyloid plaque.
