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 brain-boosting power of good old vitamin E.
In fact, one Swedish study concluded that when it comes to fighting off the cognitive decline that occurs as we age, vitamin E could be your new best friend.
The study, published in 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 had Alzheimer’s disease (AD).
Significantly slash Alzheimer’s risk
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 concluded that folks who had higher blood levels of vitamin E at the start of the study had an incredible 45 percent to 54 percent less risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease!
Of course, this doesn’t mean you should prepare for your golden years by popping any old vitamin E supplement as if they’re 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).
Make sure you get the RIGHT kind of vitamin E
Look for a gel capsule that says it comes from 100 percent natural sources and contains a mixture of the three tocopherols: beta, delta and gamma.
Or better yet, raise your levels, and get the more complete form of the vitamin, by eating more vitamin E rich foods including…
- almonds
- sunflower seeds
- hazelnuts
- peanuts
- turnip greens
- pine nuts
- avocados
- almond and peanut butters
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.
While it’s true that we can’t stop the forward march of time, it turns out that we can help our brains grow older gracefully.
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