Oil dressing, beet juice, giblets may reduce Alzheimer's risk

GLENDALE, Calif., Dec. 28 (UPI) -- A U.S. website on successful aging suggests three foods may help prevent the onset of Alzheimer's by enhancing brain function and keeping the mind sharp.

MySilverAge.com said certain lifestyle changes may help prevent cognitive decline and memory. It recommends three foods may help prevent or delay the onset of Alzheimer's:

-- Oil-based salad dressings drizzled on salads may help support healthy brain function. The vitamin E found in oil-based salad dressings is a powerful antioxidant. Antioxidants are thought to guard neurons -- the nerve cells that relay information between the brain and the rest of the body -- from oxidation, thus preventing or slowing brain damage. Vitamin E has been credited with delaying the advancement of memory loss in moderate to severe cases of Alzheimer's disease.

-- Beet juice may not be the favorite beverage of many but recent studies show beet juice could help fend off Alzheimer's. Nitrates found in beet roots help blood and oxygen flow within the body by dilating blood vessels. In particular, they boost blood flow to the frontal lobes, which helps to prevent dementia. Other nitrate-packed foods include spinach, celery and cabbage.

-- Chicken giblets used to be used by many to make gravy for Sunday's roast chicken dinner, but today many throw out the bag of giblets found inside a raw whole chicken. Chicken giblets -- the neck, heart, gizzards, kidneys or liver -- are vitamin- and flavor-packed. The vitamin B-12 found in giblets may help keep the brain sharp a 2010 study published in the journal Neurology suggests.