Red cabbage keeps Alzheimer's at bay

A healthy intake of red cabbage could help reduce the risk of developing Alzheimer's disease say leading researchers.

NutraIngredients.com reports that scientists from Cornell University claim in the LWT – Food Science and Technology journal that red cabbage can help reduce the build up of plaques in the brain that may cause the disease.

Tests on red and white cabbages found the red variety had four times as much polyphenol in them as white ones and significantly higher numbers of anthocyanins, both of which are believed to offer a degree of protection against oxidative stress that is linked with plaque build up.

"Additional consumption of vegetables such as red cabbages may be beneficial to increase chemopreventive effects in neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's," the researchers concluded in the journal.

New Zealand scientists have also found high anthocyanin levels in blackcurrants, which they too are putting forward as a preventative measure for Alzheimer's.