A glass of orange juice every day 'can improve memory', study finds

Drinking orange juice every day could help to improve brain function in elderly people.

A small study, which saw 37 adults with an average age of 67 consume 500ml of orange juice a day for eight weeks, found they had an 8 per cent overall improvement in cognitive function compared with a group who consumed another drink.

At the start and end of the eight weeks, their memories, reaction times and verbal fluency were measured by eight tests. One of the tests of verbal memory required learning a list of words to be recalled immediately, and after a 30-minute delay.

Researchers said an 8 per cent improvement equated to remembering one more word from a shopping list of 15 items.

While they do not recommend that people drink 500ml of orange juice every day, because of its high sugar content, they said the findings showed that the constituents of orange juice could play an important role in providing brain-boosting nutrients as part of a balanced diet.

More: You've been peeling oranges wrong this whole time