Flavonoids

There’s an old adage stating that “You are what you eat.” We could revise that statement to “You aren’t what you eat”…if you don’t want to be someone who’s afflicted with Alzheimer's disease. According to the Centers for Disease Control. Speaker2: Right now, 5.8 million Americans over age 65 live with Alzheimer's disease. Speaker1: And that number could double by 2050. This from Kansas State University extension food scientist Karen Blakeslee. However, she says there are things many of us can do to delay, reduce or even help prevent the effects of Alzheimer's and dementia. At Tufts University, researchers followed the diets and medical happenings of almost 3000 people for 20 years. And the remarkable result. Speaker2: Those that did consume fruits and vegetables that were high in flavonoid compounds were at least 50% less likely to get dementia or show the signs of it. Flavonoids are compounds mainly with the dark pigments of foods like peaches, berries, tomatoes, red cabbage, onions, kale, dark green vegetables like broccoli and also tea, red wine and dark chocolate. They were already known to help reduce risks of cancer and heart disease. Now we can add Alzheimer's to that list. And if you’re a producer, looking for a crop to grow, you might want to think about any of the aforementioned specialty crops. They may provide so much more than a profit.