Consumption of orange juice helps cognitive function in the elderly

A recent piece of research on the consumption of orange juice has added to the story about the ‘goodness’ of drinking juices. In this case, drinking orange juice in moderate amounts helps improve brain function in elderly people. Albeit a small study involving 37 adults with an average age of 67, they consumed 500ml which is less than a pint, of orange juice daily for eight weeks. The researchers found an overall improvement in cognitive function by 8% compared with a group who consumed a control drink (placebo).

At the beginning and end of the eight weeks their memory, reaction time and verbal fluency was measured by performing eight tests. One of the tests on verbal memory required learning a list of words to be recalled immediately, and then again after a 30-minute delay.

It may seem a relatively small increase in cognitive function in the elderly population, but it adds to the already weighty body of evidence that actives in fruits can help improve health generally.  The research team said an 8% improvement equates to remembering one more word from a shopping list of 15 items. Small improvements such as this over an eight-week period could translate into substantial improvements over the lifespan.

While the researchers are not recommending that people drink 500ml of orange juice every day, due to its high sugar content, they said their findings show that the constituents of orange juice could play an important role in providing brain-boosting nutrients as part of a healthy, balanced diet.

Fruit and vegetables, red wine, tea and chocolate are all natural sources of different types of flavonoids but oranges have a certain beneficial type called flavonones which according to the authors are more easily absorbed. It is one of the first studies to explicitly examine this sub-class of such components in oranges.

Recent studies have shown that flavonoids may improve memory through the activation of signalling pathways in the hippocampus, a part of the brain that is associated with learning and memory.

The co-author Dr Daniel Lamport, at the University of Reading’s School of Psychology and Clinical Language Sciences, stated that with a rapidly ageing population and estimations that the number of people aged 60 or over could triple by 2100, it is “imperative” that simple, cost-effective ways to improve cognitive function in old age are explored.

“Small, easily administered changes to the daily diet, such as eating more flavonoid-rich fruits and vegetables, have the potential to substantially benefit brain health,” he stated.

“We know that people find it difficult to sustain big changes to their diet but simple alterations are much easier to maintain permanently.”

“More research on the positive effects of flavonoids on cognition is still needed. However, this is an important discovery which strengthens the growing body of evidence that flavonoid-rich foodstuffs could play a big role in tackling cognition decline in old age.”

The researchers are wary of recommending that people drink 500ml of orange juice every day, due to its high sugar content, but they said their findings show that the constituents of orange juice could play an important role in providing brain-boosting nutrients as part of a healthy, balanced diet. Dietitians and the UK’s health tsar advises us not to drink too much fruit juice generally to minimise weight gain. Sian Porter, spokesperson for the British Dietetic Association, added: ‘Fruit juice does contain sugar and it is not calorie-free. If you are going to drink fruit juice do so at meal times because it is better for your health.’

The mechanisms by which flavonones as indeed other flavonoids exert their influence on cognition continues to be researched,but these early studies do seem to suggest that consumption of orange juice could help cognitive function in the elderly.

Reference

Kean, R. J., Lamport, D. J., Dodd, G. F., Freeman, J. E., Williams, C. M., Ellis, J. A., … & Spencer, J. P. (2015). Chronic consumption of flavanone-rich orange juice is associated with cognitive benefits: an 8-wk, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial in healthy older adults. Am. J. Clin. Nutr., ajcn-088518. doi: 10.3945/​ajcn.114.088518