Two everyday vitamins can slash your risk of dementia

If you want to do everything you can to keep your mind and memories intact, some new research has found a very easy way to tip the odds in your favor.

It’s not a drug, and it doesn’t require doing “mind exercises,” playing some kind of video game or any other crazy thing.

In fact, it’s about as simple – and cheap – as it gets!

Forget about ‘senior moments’

Last week I told you about a new study from the University of Iowa that pinpointed exactly how high dose IV vitamin C works to destroy cancer cells.

Well, it turns out that’s not all this humble vitamin can do!

A new study from a group of Canadian researchers discovered that simply taking vitamin C combined with vitamin E can slash your risk of cognitive impairment, dementia and even Alzheimer’s disease.

And these were just your typical C supplements that you might take after breakfast every day, not the high-dose amounts used in the cancer studies I told you about.

Researchers from the Quebec Center of Excellence for Aging analyzed data on 5,000 Canadian seniors and found that those who took C and E supplements had a whopping 40 percent reduced risk of dementia – and, even better, a 42 percent lower risk of developing Alzheimer’s!

Along with that, it looks like your run-of-the-mill “senior moments” can also be helped by taking these two powerhouse vitamins, since the Canadians also discovered that low blood levels of these two antioxidants are associated with memory problems in seniors who don’t have dementia.

The researchers said that the way these two antioxidants protect the brain is by reducing the damage and death to neurons caused by oxidative stress – what’s been called one of the leading causes of diseases and aging.

Certainly vitamin C is the most studied and best known antioxidant out there. But vitamin E is a different story.

You may remember that back in the 1990s, it was considered to be a top nutrient to help prevent heart disease and cancer and promote longevity. It was even said to be a libido-booster for guys. But along the way a bunch of seriously flawed studies came along that gave it a bad rap.

Much of that research, however, used the synthetic form of vitamin E (called dl-alpha tocopherol) — something HSI panel member Dr. Allan Spreen has said many times that “no one should be taking.”

Instead, it’s better to take the natural form, the very similar-sounding d-alpha tocopherol – or, as Dr. Spreen advises, it’s even better to take mixed tocopherols.

Good amounts of vitamin E are also found in foods — the top ones being sunflower seeds, almonds, spinach, avocados and peanuts. And while you’ll get some vitamin C from oranges, they’re actually way down on the list of high C foods, beat out by papayas, bell peppers, broccoli, and Brussels sprouts.

And this new Canadian study wasn’t even the first to discover the connection between brain health and these two antioxidants. Another, published almost 17 years ago called the Honolulu-Asia Aging Study, found pretty much the same results.

Following over 3,000 men from 71 to 93 who took both C and E, the researchers said that those supplements appear to “protect against vascular dementia” and improved their “cognitive function” as they aged.

Finding a way to prevent dementia and Alzheimer’s is certainly the Holy Grail of the pharmaceutical industry.

But maybe, despite all the billions being spent on research, the answer has been here all along in the form of two easy-to-find nutrients.

“Vitamin C & E supplements may protect against age-related brain declines: Study” Stephen Daniells, January 9, 2017, Nutra Ingredients, nutraingredients-usa.com