Crunch time for dementia

EATING crunchier and chewier foods could beat dementia, research claims.

Chewing boosts blood flow to the brain and protects neurons, or nerve cells, in the hippocampus – which controls memory.

Mice fed powdered food in tests had weaker jaws and fewer neurons in the hippocampus.

Professor Takashi Ono of Tokyo Medical and Dental University said the findings back “a functional linkage between mastication and cognitive function”.