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FITNESS TIPS : A Big Squeeze for Your Brain
You see 'em on those late night infomercials -- juicers that promise to save you time and transform your life. All hype?

Topic: Menu Planning
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The juicer might be, but the juice isn't. Drinking pure juice regularly -- be it apple, tomato, or orange -- may help ward off Alzheimer's. How, you ask? It's probably the polyphenols, the antioxidant-like substances that protect the brain from the damage that leads to Alzheimer's plaques. But you don't need a $100 gizmo to get the benefits. Drinking pure juice from a carton a few mornings each week works just as well.

The recent study on the Alzheimer's-thwarting benefits of juice did not specify which kind of juice provides the most protection -- just that study participants who drank fruit or vegetable juice three times a week were less likely to develop Alzheimer's than people who drank juice less often (fewer than once a week). So you may get the benefits from any kind of juice.

However, other Alzheimer's research has shown that quercetin, a polyphenol found in abundance in apple juice, may be particularly protective of the brain. Still, many different polyphenols are found in many different kinds of juice, and they all have anti-inflammatory properties, which also may be key in explaining how the juices preserve your cognitive powers. Then again, there could be another yet-to-be-discovered quality in fruit and vegetable juices that makes them so wonderful for your brain. Whatever the reason, bottoms up! Just make sure it's 100% pure juice -- no juice "cocktails," no fruit "drinks." Check the label to see that you're getting the real deal.

SOURCES: Fruit and vegetable juices and Alzheimer's disease: the Kame project. Dai, Q., Borenstein, A. R., Wu, Y., Jackson, J. C., Larson, E. B., American Journal of Medicine 2006 Sep;119(9):751-759.

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