November 14, 2003 – Before embarking on the conquest of the planet Mars, man must find a way to effectively protect astronauts against the intense cosmic radiation they will encounter during their three-year journey. Eating a diet rich in antioxidants may be the answer.
Cosmic radiation is made up of highly radioactive subatomic particles that can cause serious damage to the brain and central nervous system. However, a project led jointly by the University of Maryland in Baltimore and the US Department of Agriculture has just established that a diet rich in antioxidants could protect astronauts against these dangers.
The researchers exposed mice to a dose of radiation similar to what astronauts would encounter in space. The mice had previously received a diet fortified with blueberries or strawberries, two foods that contain significant amounts of antioxidants. The control group consisted of mice that had not been exposed to radiation.
The cognitive skills of the mice were then tested. No difference was detected after seven months, but after one year, mice that ate strawberries performed significantly better on the tasks requested than those that ate blueberries. In fact, their performance was just as good as that of the control group. Scientists cannot understand why one small fruit had a more protective effect than the other.
The researchers therefore come to the conclusion that a diet rich in antioxidants appears to offer some protection against the threat of cosmic radiation. They now intend to try to measure how different antioxidants seem to protect different skills and different behaviors.
Frozen strawberries have been served aboard the Space Shuttle since the 1980s. To consume an amount of strawberries comparable to that of the mice in this study, astronauts would need to eat about 500 ml per day.
The results of this study were presented at the annual meeting of the Society for Neuroscience.
Jean-Benoit Legault – PasseportSanté.net
According to eurekalert.org and Nature; November 8-10, 2003.
