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.

    將彩色的水果和蔬菜搭配著吃，可以預防衰老和老年癡呆癥。

    凱蒂？吉爾伯特在2006年3月8日公布--2009年6月30號審核通過

    下一次，當你在果蔬市場閑逛時，請留意身形嬌小且不為人知的食品超級英雄--黑草莓。

    研究發現：只要在日常飲食中加入雜交草莓和黑加侖就可以抗衰老。這樣做可以保護身體各部分，甚至可以延緩阿耳茨海默早老性癡呆癥和老年癡呆的進一步惡化。

    漿果與其它各種顏色的水果和蔬菜都富含多酚這種抗氧化劑。多酚可使細胞遠離外界充滿壓力的自然環境和細胞老化，從而達到預防疾病的效果。綠茶、橄欖油、黑巧克力和石榴也富含這種能保持細胞活力的化學成分。

    怎樣才能獲得這些抗老化物質？研究人員提出一個十分簡單的建議：吃各種顏色！這篇研究性論文在《食物與農業科學》雜志上發表。

    植物呈現什么顏色很多時候是由其所含的多酚決定的。選擇不同顏色的蔬菜水果，如藍莓、草莓、小紅梅、紫葡萄和石榴，就可以讓身體吸收到不同的抗氧化劑。也就是說，吃的色彩越多就越健康。

    美國塔夫斯大學的農業部老年營養研究中心的神經科學家詹姆斯？約瑟夫博士指出："人們也許還沒認識到五彩繽紛的飲食其實就是使心臟健康的飲食。"抗氧化劑可以軟化和強化動脈。動脈的健康不僅意味著心血管系統的健康，而且也是大腦的健康。約瑟夫表示："對心臟有益的食物，同時也對大腦有益。"

    約瑟夫指出，或許有一天，我們會用漿果中的化學物質來加工食品，但他認為，吃新鮮漿果的好處最大。他表示，在加工漿果時，重要的化學物質很容易損失。事實上，在水果和蔬菜中可能還有沒被發現的化合物。

    飲食中加入不同顏色的食物并不是一蹴而就的事情。約瑟夫指出："如果你重視心臟和大腦的健康，你就要將它作為一種生活習慣。"健康的生活方式是飲食、身體鍛練和思維鍛練的三合一。

    鍛練身體對大腦的保健作用與多酚類似。佛羅里達州大學麥克奈特大腦研究院的研究員發現：籠子里，運動車輪上的老鼠的大腦的老化信號比久坐的同齡老鼠要少，在比較老人組的實驗中也得出了同樣的結論。

    "三合一"中的最后一個--思維鍛練指的是閱讀書本、玩字謎游戲、拼圖和其它鍛練大腦的方法。它預防阿耳茨海默早老性癡呆癥的功效與黑加侖和雜交草莓相同。

    知道是成功的一半。現在，我們知道在對抗疾病的戰爭中，食物與身體鍛練都是強有力的武器。