The United States Supreme Court is an institution shrouded in mystery. No reporter has ever witnessed the justices deliberate and really the only time one can hear directly from a Supreme Court justice is through the rare interview they occasionally grant.

But former associate justice Sandra Day O’Connor recently broke away from the Court’s shroud of mystery, revealing something deeply personal, and far more impactful than the inner workings of the high court: how Alzheimer’s disease has taken over her husband’s life.

“It’s so devastating to see someone you love disappear before your eyes, in every way, both mentally and physically,” said O’Connor in an interview with ABC’s Good Morning America. O’Connor’s husband has been afflicted with Alzheimer’s for several years now, joining the five million Americans burdened by the degenerative disease.

“You’ll never meet an Alzheimer’s survivor – there are none,” said former House Speaker Newt Gingrich before the Senate Special Committee on aging recently. Gingrich and O’Connor are among a group of scientists and politicians who’ve recently come together to help draw greater attention to Alzheimer’s and the search for a cure.

While a cure may seem distant to those of us with family members who suffer from Alzheimer’s, there’s reason to believe the cure may not be far away. For according to research published in the September 2008 issue of The American Journal of Medicine, those who drink three or more glasses of fruit or vegetable juice per week were at a 76 percent reduced risk for Alzheimer’s than those who drink one glass per week.

To determine this, researchers followed the diets of 2,000 people over 10 years, all of whom had no indications of Alzheimer’s at the study’s outset. After controlling for certain factors that are believed to contribute to the onset of Alzheimer’s disease (i.e. fat intake and the kinds of fat eaten, educational backgrounds and exercise regimens), those who drank vegetable or fruit juices at least three times per week were 76 percent less likely to develop Alzheimer’s and its symptoms!

The $64,000 question, of course, is what is it about juice that’s so beneficial to the brain? Well, Dr. Qi Dai, the study’s primary researcher, believes it has something to do with the polyphenols in juice. Polyphenols are chemical compounds found primarily in the skins of fruits and vegetables like pomegranates, berries, grapes and tomatoes. Not only has the consumption of polyphenols been shown to reduce the risk of cancer, but it’s also been shown to help stave off the side effects that come with aging – such as diminished mental capacity.

Though the study was explicit that juice was the common denominator for avoiding Alzheimer’s, it was unclear as to what juices specifically were most beneficial. Future research will help identify that. Future research will also help determine whether Dai’s theory that polyphenols are linked to the evasion of Alzheimer’s.

Dai says it’s too early to say definitively that drinking juice helps prevent Alzheimer’s. But whether or not it is linked to Alzheimer’s prevention, drinking at least three servings of 100 percent juice a week is a good habit to form.