Eating walnuts could make your memory better, study finds
If you're feeling a bit sluggish then have you thought about eating walnuts for breakfast?A Hampshire academic designed the testing procedure for a study in which adults were asked to eat a walnut-rich breakfast or a calorie-matched meal.Psychology lecturer Dr Adrian Whyte, who worked at the University of Reading when he did the work, contributed to the study which found 50g of walnuts mixed into muesli and yoghurt led to fast reaction times and better memory than the alternative.Prof Claire Williams, from the University of Reading, who led the research, said it "helps strengthen the case for walnuts as brain food."
The study, published in the Food & Function journal, used 32 adults between 18 and 30 who were tested four times a day over the course of the work.They were asked to wear an EEG (electroencephalogram) cap fitted with electrodes to measure brain activity and were tested before breakfast and then two, four and six hours afterwards.Dr Whyte, who now works at the University of Winchester, said walnuts offer a rare combination of chemicals to help boost brain function.They contain Omega 3 fatty acids and carry protein/peptides and flavonoids, which are known to boost memory and cognitive function."Other foods, notably fruits like blueberries, contain flavonoids but the particular array of chemicals in walnuts may work in a particularly synergistic fashion whereby the protein/peptides regulate the absorption of the Omega 3s which, in turn, regulate the absorption of the flavonoids," said Dr Whyte.He's now studying the effect of cocoa on memory performance.
You can follow BBC Berkshire on Facebook, X (Twitter), or Instagram.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
BBC News
13 hours ago
- BBC News
Social prescribing growing in popularity in the South
Tucked away behind Forton medical centre in Gosport is a community garden, which was once a former wasteland but now is filled with beautiful flower beds, fruit trees and raised vegetable has been created by volunteers and patients, with many of them having been "socially prescribed" the patient, Neil was told to come to help him lose weight. Digging out a patch of hard soil with a hoe, he said: "If I'm at home bored, I think of food all the time and when I come here, I'm happy being here and working hard. And I'm burning calories." His sister Marie is also a regular at the Willow Wellies group."It's just socialising, it's quiet and a sense of doing something useful and they're here to help you if you have any other problems," she said. There are now 90 social prescribers working in GP practices in Hampshire and the Isle of Wight. They use local services, groups and activities to help people avoid medicine for conditions like diabetes, anxiety, stress or Jackson is a social prescriber working in Eastleigh. She said they had databases of social groups and discounted gym and swim memberships to help people with all sorts of conditions and limitations."It could be Tai-Chi, knitting, painting or a walking group," she said. "Whatever suits the individual we will find and the social prescriber often goes along for the first session to help them get through the door and settle in." It can be hard to quantify the benefit the groups have, but primary care lead Ingrida Lelyte-Merrell said she had seen improvements in said these included people who had reversed their type two diabetes, and others who had stopped needing statins, taken to reduce cholesterol. "There is almost always something that can be done, before people become reliant on medicine," she said. "And tackling stress and loneliness can stop conditions developing." You can follow BBC Hampshire & Isle of Wight on Facebook, X (Twitter), or Instagram.
BBC News
a day ago
- BBC News
Olympic champion takes part in Portsmouth sports bra research
A reigning Olympic champion has joined a study investigating how sports bras can work for different body types during physical University of Portsmouth research project is designed to assess how the underwear supports women of different bra sizes through practical rower Lola Anderson said: "A correctly fitted sports bra is the most important piece of kit for any female athlete."Researchers have urged more women to come forward and take part in the Hampshire-based study, which aims to enhance sports bra design with a more accurate understanding of women's needs. Ms Anderson, who won gold in the women's quadruple sculls at the Paris Olympics last year, said: "I didn't know how important they were until I was about 23 or 24, and I've felt a huge difference in having a correctly fitted, supportive bra since then."To see that backed up with the data during my visit to Portsmouth, was really reaffirming."A correctly fitted sports bra is the most important piece of kit for any female athlete and finding a bra that fits comfortably as well as helps my performance is invaluable." In addition to the testing, participants in the study will take part in a bra fitting, complete a series of questionnaires and have their breasts scanned to gather additional women aged between 18 and 39 who have not had breast surgery, are not pregnant and have not breastfed in the past 12 months are eligible to take Nichola Renwick, from the University of Portsmouth, said: "We frequently hear from women with larger breasts who feel there aren't supportive options available to them."Our aim is to identify what good breast support really means for larger sizes and to help create better options for everyone." You can follow BBC Hampshire & Isle of Wight on Facebook, X (Twitter), or Instagram.
Daily Mail
4 days ago
- Daily Mail
EXCLUSIVE The terrifying side-effects of the drug used by thousands of men to battle hair loss - as doctors warn the symptoms are permanent and there is 'no cure'
Robb Dixon often sees posts on social media from men desperate to try anything for thicker hair – and finds it difficult not to directly message them saying: it isn't worth it. For Robb, 33, a music producer from Winchester, Hampshire, says he was left with erectile dysfunction, depression, anxiety and a host of other problems, as a result of taking the medication finasteride for six months when his hair started thinning in his 20s.
