Taking vitamin C and vitamin E supplements may help protect memory and mental decline as you age. A new study has found that elderly men who took vitamin E and C supplements at least once a week over a number of years were protected from dementia and actually showed improvements in cognitive function -- a catch-all term including memory, creativity and mental acuity. Although a protective effect was seen for two different types of dementia in men who took both vitamins, the supplements did not appear to prevent dementia due to Alzheimer's disease. The authors note that men who took both vitamin E and C supplements together for many years showed a substantially greater improvement, suggesting that long-term use is required to improve cognitive function in late life. The researchers believe that vitamin C and E may protect from brain damage because they are antioxidants and can mop up brain-damaging free radical particles.
Neurology March 2000;54:1265-1272
A good tie in with the folic acid article this week. It is important to recognize the difference though. Folic acid from food appears to prevent Alzheimer's disease, while vitamins C and E appear to prevent senility or dementia that is caused from oxidative stress. These are two different problems. So it would seem reasonable to eat whole, nutritious organic foods and also consider regular vitamin E and C supplementation.