Are Leafy Greens Enough To Prevent Alzheimer’s Disease?
This conclusion was based on information gathered from 960 people between the ages of 58 and 99, none of whom were suffering from cognitive decline at the beginning of the study. The participants completed questionnaires about their dietary habits over an average of 4.7 years. They also had their thinking and memory skills tested annually. The tests charted their rate of cognitive decline, and the questionnaires specifically assessed how often they ate half-cup servings of spinach, kale, collards or other greens, or one cup servings of lettuce or salad.
Those who consumed the most ate an average of 1.3 servings per day, and those who had the least ate only 0.1 servings a day. The researchers divided the participants into five levels of leafy green vegetable consumption, and then compared the cognitive test results of those groups.
Over ten years of follow-up, those in the greenest-eating group experienced cognitive decline at a slower rate than those who ate the fewest greens. The difference was the equivalent of being 11 years younger in brain function.1
The health blogs saw this and proclaimed in their headlines that you could prevent Alzheimer’s by eating spinach every day. A casual read of the information above might lead you to agree, but it’s not actually that simple.
By focusing in so tightly on how many greens each participant ate, the researchers missed all of the other health and life choices that these people were making. It’s very likely that those who ate the most servings of kale every week were making a conscious health choice, so they were probably making other choices that also supported their cognitive health.
This isn’t to say that the leafy greens weren’t contributing to their mental function. In fact, everything we eat and do has an impact, so looking exclusively at one input isn’t enough to understand the whole picture. Those people may well have been eating other healthy foods every day, exercising regularly, and caring for their health. The researchers even admit this hole in their research:
“The study results do not prove that eating green, leafy vegetables slows brain aging, but it does show an association…The study cannot rule out other possible reasons for the link.”1
This clear statement undermines the reductionist conclusion that the study is otherwise making. And while it’s certainly good to eat leafy greens every day (more on that later!), this alone will not keep you in good health.
This study is based on the same sort of reductionist thinking that created the nightmare of osteoporosis drugs and osteopenia scare-tactics. By focusing on one detail of the bone remodeling process and ignoring its relationship to the body and how it works, pharmaceutical companies are able to convince doctors (who in turn convince patients) that a quick-fix prescription drug can solve a complex problem without significant drawbacks. Fortunately, Savers know that this is simply not true.
When you adjust one part of a big equation, the whole equation changes. You can’t pretend that changing out a number here or a variable there won’t affect the whole. If the equation is bone health, you’ve got to look at everything: the liver’s work to balance pH, weight-bearing exercise to build bone, the nutrients provided by diett, sleep habits, hydration, production of Vitamin D in the skin from sun exposure, osteoblasts and osteoclasts, the thyroid gland, oxidation levels; and the the list goes on and on…
If the equation is brain health, how many cups of spinach you eat per day is definitely not the only factor. Don’t be fooled by headline-snatching studies.
But Leafy Greens ARE Incredible!
At the same time, the leafy greens lauded by those researchers are certainly deserving of attention. The nutrients in those veggies, such as phylloquinone, lutein, folate, tocopherols, and kaempferol, make sense as mental health boosters and should be paired with other healthy dietary and lifestyle choices.
That’s not all that these greens can do either. Here’s a partial list of their incredible powers:
- Facilitating cell differentiation and maintaining healthy skin and bones with vitamin A precursors
- Boosting the immune system and forming collagen with vitamin C
- Regulating osteoclast production to improve bone remodelling with vitamin K
- Building strong muscles with vitamin E
- Providing calcium, which is, of course, important for bone health as the primary mineral in the bone matrix
- Providing the equally bone-essential mineral magnesium
- Offsetting sodium in the body by supplying potassium
- Building tissue with manganese (including bones!)
- Regulating digestion and managing weight with fiber
Greens such as kale, arugula, spinach or collards contain nutrients your bones need, packed with whole-body health building minerals and vitamins. They should absolutely be a part of a diet that prioritizes the well being of your body and your bones. Here’s a recipe for a delicious, dark green, 100% alkalizing salad to get you started.
1 or more servings (the salad size is up to you, so select the amount of ingredients based on how much you wish to eat)
- Swiss chard or Romaine lettuce
- Red bell peppers
- Pumpkin seeds
- Your favorite pH-balanced dressing
- Chop or shred the kale, lettuce, and chard, celery, tomatoes, asparagus, and peppers, and place in a bowl.
- Add to the greens, slice the avocado, and mix in, or arrange on top.
- Toss with your favorite pH-balanced dressing, and top with the almonds and pumpkin seeds.