If you are tired of all the latest recommendations for healthy foods—such as nuts or blueberries or oily fish—then go suck on a penny. No, we’re not just being flippant: a new study, conducted by researchers at Hebei Medical University in China, looked at diet and health data from 2,420 adults aged 60 or over in the US, and found a link between more copper in diets and better cognitive function.
“The current study indicates a potential association between dietary copper intake and enhanced cognitive function in American older adults, particularly among those with a history of stroke” the researchers noted. Participants who consumed more copper scored higher on tests measuring attention, memory, language, executive function, and processing speed.
It's long been well known that copper is crucial for the activity of numerous enzymes involved in energy production, iron metabolism, nerve function, and connective tissue formation, but the latest research suggests it may also play a positive role in cognitive function among older adults. Excessive consumption of copper, we hasten to note, can also be toxic—though instances of it are rare.
You don’t actually have to suck on a penny though. Copper is found naturally in foods such as mushrooms, dark chocolate, wheat bran, potatoes, and oysters, all of which, we assure you, taste better than loose change.
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