Sharper Minds

Nutrients protect brain function and help slow mental decline

Chromium improved memory

Recent research has linked Alzheimer’s disease to glucose metabolism in the brain, doctors in this study said. Twenty-six older men and women with early signs of memory decline took 1,000 mcg of chromium picolinate, or a placebo. After 12 weeks, while the placebo group had not changed, the chromium group had improved learning, recall, and performed better in memory recognition tasks and had fewer memory errors than at the start of the study. Using a magnetic resonance brain scan, researchers also found the chromium group had greater activity in several parts of the brain.

Vitamin E may reduce chances of dementia

Doctors in this study said that in dementias such as Alzheimer’s disease, beta amyloid plaques build up in the brain, stimulating inflammatory free radicals. Researchers thought that vitamin E, a fat-soluble antioxidant, might inhibit this disease process. Scientists measured the diets of 5,395 people who were disease-free at the start of the study. After 10 years of follow up, compared to those who consumed the least vitamin E, those who consumed the most vitamin E were 25 percent less likely to have developed dementia.

Vitamin E reduced chances of Alzheimer’s disease

There are eight naturally occurring forms of vitamin E, and in this study, researchers measured all eight forms in 232 people over age 80 that were dementia-free. After six years of follow up, compared to those with lower levels, doctors found that those with the highest levels of all forms of vitamin E were about half as likely to develop Alzheimer’s disease. Researchers concluded that a balanced presence of the eight forms of vitamin E can protect the brain.

Reference: Nutritional Neuroscience; 2010, Vol. 13, No. 3, 116-22

From the January 2011 newsletter

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