Old-school vitamin keeps your brain young

Sure, it’s not the sexy new nutrient on the block. And it doesn’t have the exotic appeal of some hard-to-pronounce herb from the jungles of South America. But don’t let its comparative lack of glamour cause you to underestimate the power of good old vitamin E.

In fact, a new Swedish study has concluded that when it comes to fighting off the cognitive deterioration that occurs as we age, vitamin E could be your new best friend.

The study, published in the recent issue of the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease, followed a group of 232 dementia-free seniors, ages 80 and above, over six years. At the end of the six years 57 of the volunteers were diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease (AD).

Researchers wanted to find out if vitamin E, which is actually a family of eight natural components, has any kind of a protective effect against AD. They found that those who had higher blood levels of vitamin E at the start of the study had a staggering 45% to 54% smaller chance—depending on the vitamin E component—in their risk of developing the disease!

Of course this doesn’t mean you should start preparing for your golden years by popping any old vitamin E supplement like they are Tic-Tacs.

As I mentioned earlier, vitamin E is actually a family of eight molecules. Unfortunately many supplements on the market only contain the one component alpha-tocopherol (sometimes called D-alpha or d-alpha- tocopherol). Look for a gel capsule that says it’s from 100% natural sources and contains a mixture of the three tocopherols: beta, delta, and gamma.

Keep in mind that vitamin E is a natural anti-coagulant. So if you’re already on a blood thinner you should avoid adding the supplement to your routine. You can also include more vitamin E rich foods in your diet to get the more complete form of the vitamin. Vitamin E packed foods include:

•                almonds

•                sunflower seeds

•                hazelnuts

•                peanuts

•                turnip greens

•                pine nuts

•                avocados

•                almond and peanut butters