Scientists from Xi’an Jiaotong-Liverpool University and elsewhere found that eating a diet containing the sea organisms Ascidiacea, also known as sea squirts, reverses some of the main signs of aging.
The leader of the study is so convinced by the results of this study that he takes a supplement each day.
The research is published in Frontiers in Molecular Biosciences and was conducted by Professor Lei Fu et al.
Sea squirts can be eaten raw and are found in dishes from Korea (where it is known as meongge, or 멍게) and Japan (hoya, or ホヤ).
These sea organisms contain substances called plasmalogens, which are vital to our body processes.
Plasmalogens are found all over our bodies naturally, particularly in the heart, brain and immune cells, but as we get older, the amount in our body decreases.
This loss is also a characteristic of several neurodegenerative diseases, including Alzheimer’s disease and Parkinson’s disease.
In the study, the team found that the supplements had profound effects on the learning abilities and physical symptoms of aged mice.
The finding suggests that plasmalogens may not just stop cognitive decline, but may reverse cognitive impairments in the aging brain.
Additionally, aged mice fed with the plasmalogens grow new black hair that is thicker and glossier than aged mice not fed the supplement.
The researchers took a closer look at changes happening within the brain.
They found that mice that were fed the plasmalogen supplement had a higher number and quality of synapses—the connections between neurons—than the aged mice not given the supplements.
Synapses are a fundamental part of our neural networks and, therefore, crucial for learning and memory.
Our synapses tend to be very plastic as children, but they decrease in number and deteriorate with age and in neurogenerative diseases, resulting in cognitive impairments.
Accordingly, in this study, the aged mice fed with plasmalogen supplements showed greater potential for learning new skills and creating new neural networks than the aged mice whose diet was not supplemented.
This suggests that dietary plasmalogens can halt the age-related deterioration of synapses.
The team also found the inflammation in aged mice was greatly decreased in those given plasmalogen supplements compared to those on a normal diet, providing some insight as to why they performed better in learning and memory tasks.
Although it is still unclear how dietary plasmalogen supplements seem to cause such significant changes in learning and memory, the team hypothesized that plasmalogens can promote neuroregeneration.
If you care about wellness, please read studies about diet that could boost healthy aging in women, and these fruits could slow down brain aging, cognitive decline.
For more information about wellness, please see recent studies that people with COVID-19 infections may age much faster, and results showing this stuff in cannabis may protect aging brain, treat Alzheimer’s.
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