Study Finds People Who Always Follow This Traditional Breakfast Routine Have Stronger Brains In Their 60s And Beyond
Xavier Lorenzo | Shutterstock According to a new study out of Japan, it’s not enough to just make sure you squeeze in the most important meal of the day, although that definitely has health benefits. There’s also something specific you should include with breakfast every day.
The research, published in PLOS One, was conducted by a team from Hirosaki University and examined the link between certain nutrients and cognitive function, especially in people over the age of 60. They discovered that there’s one vitamin you can never get enough of, and it’s easy to make it part of your breakfast routine.
The study concluded that higher levels of vitamin C are essential for strong brain health.
Researchers studied the amount of vitamin C that 2,044 Japanese adults over 64 had in their blood plasma, and were able to definitively say that those with low vitamin C did not have brains that were functioning at their optimal capacity, per Talker News.
Participants with less vitamin C in their plasma also had less gray matter in their brains and less activity in the default mode network of the brain, which is responsible for things like attention. This puts these older adults at a much greater risk for developing cognitive issues.
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Dr. Haruka Nagaya, one of the authors of the study, said, “These findings suggest the possibility that optimal levels of vitamin C in blood plasma could potentially support cognitive function and counteract cognitive decline.”
One of the other authors, Dr. Tomohiro Shintaku, was interested in how just one nutrient could have such a big effect on the brain. He noted, “It truly highlights the potential impact of our everyday dietary habits on our brain structures.”
People need to fit vitamin C into their diet every day, and drinking orange juice is a great way to do so.
Unlike some other nutrients, excess vitamin C doesn’t just stay in your body until it’s needed, meaning that you have to get a dose every single day through what you eat. A lot of foods contain vitamin C, but citrus fruits are probably the most well-known source.
Unless you’re a big fan of eating oranges and lemons, the simplest way to get the vitamin C you need is to drink a glass of orange juice every morning. An eight-ounce serving has 71.2 milligrams of the vitamin in it.
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That is slightly less than the 82.7 milligrams found in a whole navel orange, but many people would probably agree that it’s easier to sip a glass of orange juice with the breakfast of your choice than it is to eat a whole orange on a daily basis.
Orange juice is also known for decreasing the inflammation in the body and promoting heart health. It can even prevent the formation of kidney stones, which will save you from a lot of pain and discomfort.
A healthy brain is important for everyone, especially as you grow older.
In a 2020 article published in The BMJ, scientists acknowledged that there is currently “no universally recognized definition of brain health.” However, we do know that the brain plays a role in virtually everything the human body does, from thoughts to emotions.
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Neurological diseases are the top cause of disability in the world, and the risk of acquiring one increases with age. Of course, there are some diseases that occur no matter how healthy someone is, and you can’t prevent every bad thing from happening. Taking care of your brain can put you in a better position to fight off certain illnesses and cope with the ones that do come up, though.
Adding in a glass of orange juice with your breakfast every morning is a small step you can take that could have big advantages later in life. It might feel like an inconvenience now, but you never know how grateful you’ll be for it one day.
Mary-Faith Martinez is a writer with a bachelor’s degree in English and Journalism who covers news, psychology, lifestyle, and human interest topics.
