Eating an apple (or two) a day or drinking apple juice daily will keep the doctor away, Alzheimer’s away, and may improve memory by preventing the decline of essential neurotransmitters. They are chemicals released by nerve cells to send messages to other nerve cells, which is important for good memory and a healthy brain. Antioxidant-rich foods, such as, apples, blueberries, spinach, and strawberries also reduce problems associated with memory loss.

A study was conducted on normal adult mice, normal “aged” mice, and special mice that were a genetic model for human Alzheimer’s. For one month, they were given a normal diet or a diet lacking in essential nutrients. Regardless of their diets, the normal adults had the same neurotransmitter levels. And the normal adult mice and the genetically-engineered mice on normal diets had the same neurotransmitter levels. The genetically-engineered mice on the nutrient-poor diet had lower neurotransmitter levels, but this decline was prevented when given apple juice. The mice raced through maze memory tests. The mice that drank the apple juice did a much better job than those mice that were not on the supplemented diet.

The amount of apple juice was comparable to drinking about 16 ounces of apple juice or two to three apples per day for humans. Human studies of apple consumption will be conducted in the future.

Source: Warner, Jennifer. “Apple Juice May Boost Memory” (WebMD)