For my money, and there isn't much of it, you can keep your raw kale and your sauteed blowfish and your coriander-honey pomegranates. I have always felt that the best snack is right in a shell, and now we know that this simple little treat can supercharge blood flow in our brains. You might have guessed, that's a vital function that gets a bit weaker as we get older, which must be happening to me, since almost all of my mail and email seems to be about moving to some Seniorville where life is a pleasant dream of companionship, fine chow, and round-the-clock health care.
And speaking of, the treat I mention here is good for your memory and also for your heart health, so the ticker will keep ticking fine.
Here's the dealio: Researchers at Maastricht University in the Netherlands took (not forcefully, I hope) 31 healthy adults ages 60 to 75 - just a bunch of kids! - and got them to eat just over two ounces of unsalted, skin-roasted peanuts every day for 16 weeks.
Blood tests at the onset, halfway mark, and finish line of the trial showed "a significant improvement in brain vascular responsiveness, or the ability of their blood vessels to widen and constrict to regulate blood flow."
And after the 16 weeks, participants’ global cerebral blood flow (CBF) was up by 3.6%.
“CBF is an important physiological marker of brain vascular function and refers to the amount of blood that flows through the brain, delivering oxygen and nutrients that are essential for maintaining brain health,” Dr. Peter Joris, the study’s author, said in a statement.
(Wouldn't it be great if Dr Joris's nickname were "Peter Pan"?)
So eat your peanuts every day and make friends with an elephant! Don't forget.
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