Blueberry-Based Formula Boosts Brain Skills

A persistent and common fear among aging adults is the decline and/or loss of the abilities to think, remember, and learn.  Paula C Bickford, from the University of South Florida (Florida, USA), and colleagues have developed a formulation containing extracts from blueberries and green tea combined with vitamin D3 and amino acids – notably carnosine.  The researchers enrolled 105 healthy men and women, ages 65 to 85 years, for a two-month study, during which half of the subjects received the formulation as a dietary supplement, and the other half served as controls.  Those subjects who received the formulation demonstrated improvements in cognitive processing speeds, whereas those who did not receive the supplement showed no changes.  Well tolerated without adverse symptoms, the study authors submit that: “Overall, the results of the current study were promising and suggest the potential for interventions like these to improve the cognitive health of older adults.”