Older adults who get plenty of vitamin E in their diets may have a somewhat lower risk of developing dementia than those who consume less of the nutrient.
Older adults who get plenty of vitamin E in their diets may have a somewhat lower risk of developing dementia than those who consume less of the nutrient.
Food sources of vitamin E include wheat germ, nuts such as almonds and hazelnuts, vegetable oils such as sunflower and safflower oils, and some green vegetables, such as spinach and broccoli. Antioxidants neutralise unstable forms of oxygen called reactive oxygen species that can damage cells throughout the body. Reactive oxygen species are produced naturally in the body as byproducts of metabolism. As the brain is an area of high metabolic activity, it is thought to be particularly vulnerable to accumulating oxidative damage over a lifetime.
Past studies have found that increased dietary intakes of vitamin C and E are related to lower risk of dementia and Alzheimer's disease. But studies so far have come to conflicting conclusions as to whether vitamin E or other antioxidants may influence older adults' risk of dementia. To clarify this, researchers studied 5,395 Dutch adults age 55 and older who were free from dementia to find out whether antioxidants like vitamins E and C and beta-carotene and flavonoids might help stave off dementia. Data regarding the dietary intake was collected from all the participants.
It was found that one-third participants who reported the highest vitamin E intake from food were 25 percent less likely to develop dementia, including Alzheimer's disease, over the next decade than the third with the lowest intakes. Over the next decade, 465 study participants were diagnosed with dementia, including 365 with Alzheimer's. Among the one-third of men and women with the highest vitamin E intakes from food, 120 developed dementia. Of the third with the lowest intakes, 164 were diagnosed with dementia.
The findings do not prove that vitamin E itself protects the aging brain. But it supports findings from some previous research that increased intake of foods rich in vitamin E, but not vitamin C or beta-carotene, modestly reduces the long-term risk of developing dementia and Alzheimer's disease.
Food sources of vitamin E include wheat germ, nuts such as almonds and hazelnuts, vegetable oils such as sunflower and safflower oils, and some green vegetables, such as spinach and broccoli. Antioxidants neutralise unstable forms of oxygen called reactive oxygen species that can damage cells throughout the body. Reactive oxygen species are produced naturally in the body as byproducts of metabolism. As the brain is an area of high metabolic activity, it is thought to be particularly vulnerable to accumulating oxidative damage over a lifetime.
Past studies have found that increased dietary intakes of vitamin C and E are related to lower risk of dementia and Alzheimer's disease. But studies so far have come to conflicting conclusions as to whether vitamin E or other antioxidants may influence older adults' risk of dementia. To clarify this, researchers studied 5,395 Dutch adults age 55 and older who were free from dementia to find out whether antioxidants like vitamins E and C and beta-carotene and flavonoids might help stave off dementia. Data regarding the dietary intake was collected from all the participants.
It was found that one-third participants who reported the highest vitamin E intake from food were 25 percent less likely to develop dementia, including Alzheimer's disease, over the next decade than the third with the lowest intakes. Over the next decade, 465 study participants were diagnosed with dementia, including 365 with Alzheimer's. Among the one-third of men and women with the highest vitamin E intakes from food, 120 developed dementia. Of the third with the lowest intakes, 164 were diagnosed with dementia.
The findings do not prove that vitamin E itself protects the aging brain. But it supports findings from some previous research that increased intake of foods rich in vitamin E, but not vitamin C or beta-carotene, modestly reduces the long-term risk of developing dementia and Alzheimer's disease.
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