Oxidative stress can compromise central nervous system integrity, thereby affecting cognitive ability. Consumption of plant foods rich in antioxidants could thereby protect cognition. We systematically reviewed the literature exploring the effects of antioxidant-rich plant foods on cognition. Thirty-one studies were included: 21 intervention, 4 cross-sectional (one with a cohort in prospective observation as well), and 6 prospective studies. Subjects belonged to various age classes (young, adult, and elderly). Some subjects examined were healthy, some had mild cognitive impairment (MCI), and some others were demented. Despite the different plant foods and the cognitive assessments used, the results can be summarized as follows: 7 studies reported a significant improvement in all cognitive domains examined; 19 found significant improvements only in some cognitive areas, or only for some food subsets; and 5 showed no significant improvement or no effectiveness. The impact of dietary plant antioxidants on cognition appears promising: most of the examined studies showed associations with significant beneficial effects on cognitive functions—in some cases global or only in some specific domains. There was typically an acute, preventive, or therapeutic effect in young, adult, and elderly people, whether they were healthy, demented, or affected by MCI. Their effects, however, are not attributable only to anti-oxidation.

Food consumption is one of the major causes of climate change, resource depletion, loss of biodiversity, and other kinds of environmental impact by modern households. According to evidence, a global change in dietary habits could be the single most effective and rapid intervention to reduce anthropic pressure on the planet, especially with respect to climate change. Our study applied Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) to investigate the total environmental impact of two plant-based diets: the Mediterranean and the Vegan diets, according to relevant Italian nutritional recommendations. The two diets share the same macronutrient rates and cover all the nutritional recommendations. Calculations were made on the basis of a theoretical one-week 2000 kcal/day diet. According to our calculations, the Vegan diet showed about 44% less total environmental impact when compared to the Mediterranean diet, despite the fact that the content of animal products of the latter was low (with 10.6% of the total diet calories). This result clearly supports the concept that meat and dairy consumption plays a critical role, above all, in terms of damage to human health and ecosystems. Our study supports the thesis that even a minimal-to-moderate content of animal foods has a consistent impact on the environmental footprint of a diet, and their reduction can elicit significant ecological benefits.

Epidemiological evidence has linked the consumption of milk and dairy products to an increased risk of developing Parkinson's disease (PD). However, the potential pathogenetic mechanisms remain to date yet to be ascertained.Galactose (D-Gal) is a hexose sugar which, when given orally and by other routes of administration, is picked up by the brain after a few hours. For doses above 100 mg/kg, it appears that galactose can cause biochemical and neuropathological alterations in neurons and astrocytes, similar to those observed in PD. These quantities can be reached and surpassed with the simple daily consumption of two glasses of milk, the main dietary source of D-Gal in humans.It is likely that, relative to other neurons, dopaminergic neurons are more vulnerable to D-Gal induced damage, because of their greater vulnerability to oxidative stress.Mitochondrial dysfunction plays a critical role in both PD and D-Gal toxicity, and mutations of the genes commonly involved in PD and in mitochondrial homeostasis could enhance this mechanism.If this hypothesis were to be confirmed, dietary interventions, such as reducing the sources of galactose in the diet, and/or increasing the intake of protective molecules, could help reduce the occurrence of this disease in the aging population. Glossary of terms AGEadvanced glycation end products AMPA (receptor) ␣-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazolepropionic acid (receptor) AREantioxidant response element ASA acetylsalicylic acid Bax apoptosis regulator (Bcl2 family) BBB blood brain barrier Bcl2 B-cell lymphoma 2 Bcl-xl B-cell lymphoma-extralarge (Bcl2 family) CCL2 C-C Motif Chemokine Ligand 2 CAT catalase cMAF transcription factor, also known as proto-oncogene c-Maf or V-maf musculoaponeurotic fibrosarcoma oncogene homolog c-Myc regulator gene that codes for a transcription factor