Smart food …vegetables may be smarter than we think: A word about multisite near-infrared spectroscopy

Kahn and Anyanwu1 recently published an observational nonblinded study comparing cerebral near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) values of cardiothoracic surgeons and anesthesiologists with vegetables: yams, courgettes, and butternut squash. They reported that the butternut squash had NIRS values similar to the human brains in their population.1 Smart food generally refers to foods such as blueberries and leafy greens, which confer neuroprotection by scavenging free radicals. However, the study by Kahn and Anyanwu1 is a somewhat whimsical reminder that we must be wary that diagnostic testing may sometimes lack clinical correlation.
Source: The Journal of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery - Category: Cardiovascular & Thoracic Surgery Authors: Tags: Editorial Commentary Source Type: research