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You can put up a good fight against aging and dementia just by eating colorful fruits and vegetables.
By Katie Gilbert, published on March 08, 2006 - last reviewed on June 30, 2009
Next time you're ambling down the produce aisle, keep an eye out for some of the smallest and little-known food superheroes-dark berries.
A study finds that adding boysenberries and black currants to your diet can give you an anti-aging boost that can protect all parts of your body and even postpone the development of Alzheimer's disease and dementia.
Berries and other colorful fruits and veggies are chock full of polyphenols, a type of antioxidant that buffers against disease by protecting even the tiniest of bodily cells from the natural stresses of the environment and aging. These helpful chemicals-also found in green tea, olive oil, dark chocolate and pomegranates-keep your cells （and you） vibrant and active.
How can you reap the benefits of these mighty little age-fighters? One author of the study, in the Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture, offers some refreshingly simple advice: Eat your colors.
Since polyphenols are largely responsible for providing plants their hues, choosing a varied color palate translates into treating your body to a vast array of the antioxidants. Include blueberries, strawberries, cranberries, purple grape juice, pomegranates on your plate. The more closely your diet resembles a rainbow, the better.
People may not realize a colorful diet is actually a heart-healthy diet, says James Joseph, a neuroscientist and director of the Neuroscience Lab at the USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging at Tufts University. Antioxidants protect arteries by keeping them supple and strong. Healthy arteries not only mean a healthy cardiovascular system but healthy gray matter as well. Says Joseph: "What's good for your heart is also good for your brain."
It's possible that someday we'll use berry extracts in supplements or processed foods, says Joseph, but he believes that the eating fresh berries provides the most bang for your buck. Important compounds can easily be lost in processing berries, he says. Indeed, there may be chemicals in fruits and veggies that haven't even been identified.
Still, adding color to your diet isn't a quick fix. If you're serious about heart and brain health, "you want to make this a lifestyle," Joseph says. Healthy living means the triad of behavior: diet, physical and mental exercise.
Exercise affects brain in a way that's similar to polyphenols. Researchers from the McKnight Brain Institute of the University of Florida find that rats with exercise wheels in their cages show fewer signs of aging in their brains than their sedentary peers, and the same conclusions have been drawn by comparing elderly humans who exercise with those who do not.
That leaves mental exercise as the last leg in the triad. Reading books, tackling crossword puzzles and other kinds of brain workouts may be as powerful in Alzheimer's prevention as black currants and boysenberries.
Knowing is half the battle. Now that we know food and exercise are potent weapons in the battle against disease, we have one less excuse not to put up a superhero-worthy fight.
将彩色的水果和蔬菜搭配着吃，可以预防衰老和老年痴呆症。
凯蒂？吉尔伯特在2006年3月8日公布--2009年6月30号审核通过
下一次，当你在果蔬市场闲逛时，请留意身形娇小且不为人知的食品超级英雄--黑草莓。
研究发现：只要在日常饮食中加入杂交草莓和黑加仑就可以抗衰老。这样做可以�；ど硖甯鞑糠�，甚至可以延缓阿耳茨海默早老性痴呆症和老年痴呆的进一步恶化。
浆果与其它各种颜色的水果和蔬菜都富含多酚这种抗氧化剂。多酚可使细胞远离外界充满压力的自然环境和细胞老化，从而达到预防疾病的效果。绿茶、橄榄油、黑巧克力和石榴也富含这种能保持细胞活力的化学成分。
怎样才能获得这些抗老化物质？研究人员提出一个十分简单的建议：吃各种颜色！这篇研究性论文在《食物与农业科学》杂志上发表。
植物呈现什么颜色很多时候是由其所含的多酚决定的。选择不同颜色的蔬菜水果，如蓝莓、草莓、小红梅、紫葡萄和石榴，就可以让身体吸收到不同的抗氧化剂。也就是说，吃的色彩越多就越健康。
美国塔夫斯大学的农业部老年营养研究中心的神经科学家詹姆斯？约瑟夫博士指出："人们也许还没认识到五彩缤纷的饮食其实就是使心脏健康的饮食。"抗氧化剂可以软化和强化动脉。动脉的健康不仅意味着心血管系统的健康，而且也是大脑的健康。约瑟夫表示："对心脏有益的食物，同时也对大脑有益。"
约瑟夫指出，或许有一天，我们会用浆果中的化学物质来加工食品，但他认为，吃新鲜浆果的好处最大。他表示，在加工浆果时，重要的化学物质很容易损失。事实上，在水果和蔬菜中可能还有没被发现的化合物。
饮食中加入不同颜色的食物并不是一蹴而就的事情。约瑟夫指出："如果你重视心脏和大脑的健康，你就要将它作为一种生活习惯。"健康的生活方式是饮食、身体锻练和思维锻练的三合一。
锻练身体对大脑的保健作用与多酚类似。佛罗里达州大学麦克奈特大脑研究院的研究员发现：笼子里，运动车轮上的老鼠的大脑的老化信号比久坐的同龄老鼠要少，在比较老人组的实验中也得出了同样的结论。
"三合一"中的最后一个--思维锻练指的是阅读书本、玩字谜游戏、拼图和其它锻练大脑的方法。它预防阿耳茨海默早老性痴呆症的功效与黑加仑和杂交草莓相同。
知道是成功的一半。现在，我们知道在对抗疾病的战争中，食物与身体锻练都是强有力的武器。
