Could spicy wasabi boost your brain power?

BOSTON - A condiment served with sushi could boost your brain power, according to new research.

Wasabi is that incredibly spicy green paste that is always served with sushi, and the main component is a biochemical that has both antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties.

Researchers in Japan randomized 72 healthy subjects between the ages of 60 and 80 to receive 100 mg of wasabi extract at bedtime or a placebo. After three months, the wasabi group exhibited significant boosts in both short-term and long-term memory. They now want to study whether the mustard can slow cognitive decline in dementia patients.

Health
Japan

Mallika Marshall, MD

Mallika Marshall, MD is an Emmy-award-winning journalist and physician who has served as the HealthWatch Reporter for CBS Boston/WBZ-TV for over 20 years. A practicing physician Board Certified in both Internal Medicine and Pediatrics, Dr. Marshall serves on staff at Harvard Medical School and practices at Massachusetts General Hospital at the MGH Chelsea Urgent Care and the MGH Revere Health Center, where she is currently working on the frontlines caring for patients with COVID-19. She is also a host and contributing editor for Harvard Health Publications (HHP), the publishing division of Harvard Medical School.

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