Women who eat strawberries and blueberries have slower rates of memory decline as they age, according to results of a new study.
 
The study looked at measurements of memory in 16,010 female registered nurses over six years. Women who had higher berry intake had delayed memory decline by 2.5 years, said researchers at the Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston.
 
Strawberries and blueberries are high in flavonoids, which have been associated with reduced memory decline.

“We provide the first epidemiologic evidence that berries appear to slow progression of memory decline in elderly women,” said Elizabeth Devore, Sc.D. “Our findings have significant public health implications as increasing berry intake is a fairly simple dietary modification to reduce memory decline in older adults.”

The study was published by Annals of Neurology on Thursday. It was funded by grants from the National Institutes of Health and the California Strawberry Commission.