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Researchers have found that hiking up your antioxidant intake won’t
necessarily help keep your mind sharp as you age. It was discovered
that men who took a large amount of beta carotene, flavonoids and
vitamins E and C during their middle years of life appeared no more
protected against the risk of developing age-related diseases such
as dementia later in life.
Despite these findings, researchers have continued to encourage
individuals to eat a diet rich in fruits and vegetables, as these
types of foods contain antioxidants that have been proven to provide
many other health benefits. They also claimed that the creation
of free radicals, of which antioxidants inhibited, might be related
to the development of Alzheimer’s disease.
Two studies were performed to determine whether or not antioxidants
provided protection against Alzheimer’s disease. Both studies
found antioxidants to be beneficial when they were received from
foods, however the results weren’t as positive when the individuals
received antioxidants from supplements.
Study on Antioxidants:
- Information on individual diets was evaluated on approximately
2,500 Japanese-American men between the ages of 45 and 68 who
lived in Hawaii.
- The study was conducted between the years of 1965 and 1968.
- Measurements of antioxidants were taken by calculating all of
the antioxidants the men had eaten over the prior 24 hours.
- Participants of the study received most of their antioxidants
from tea, sweet potatoes, taro, bok choy, turnips, macadamia nuts
and mango.
Results of the Study:
- About 30 years after the study was performed, 235 of the men
had developed dementia.
- The amount of antioxidants didn’t seem to be a factor in
the risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease.
- Sociodemographic lifestyle factors, cardiovascular risk factors
and other dietary constituents were taken into consideration and
were found not to be related to the risk of Alzheimer’s disease.
- The study concluded that taking antioxidants during midlife
didn’t cut the risk of developing dementia later in life.
American
Journal of Epidemiology May 15, 2004;159(10):959-67
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