Vital Vitamins for Protecting yourself from Alzheimer's Disease and Dementia - Part 1

Vital Vitamins for Protecting yourself from Alzheimer's Disease and Dementia (Part 1).

The Vitamin C and E Combination

An article published in the International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry showed that all Alzheimer's sufferers had low blood plasma concentrations of vitamin C no matter how good their diet was. It also showed and that the lower the concentrations the worse their thinking or cognition was but they were unable to explain why this was. It maybe due to problems with absorption, or the vitamin C is being used up more quickly amongst those suffering with dementia but regardless of the reason they knew it was important.

This study supports the theory that vitamin C is vital in reducing the damage done by free radicals within the body and the brain itself. Vitamin C is a powerful anti-oxidant and coupled with vitamin E the results are even far more impressive (but I will cover that in just a moment).

Researchers have also discovered that vitamin C enhances the effect of medications used to treat dementia allowing the drugs to pass more easily into the brain and therefore have a greater effect. A study published in the Journal of Medicinal Chemistry in 2002 showed that certain drugs were prevented from entering the brain by the blood-brain barrier (a control filter that prevents harmful materials entering the brain and central nervous system) but with the addition of vitamin C this filtering mechanism was overcome.

As well as being a powerful anti-oxidant and removing free radicals from the body, vitamin C is also involved in over 300 hundred metabolic processes that are vital for health. Some of these processes are extremely important in the prevention of dementia and Alzheimer's. For example, vitamin C lowers your level of bad cholesterol whilst raising your level of good cholesterol, helps your body detox heavy metals, helps in the metabolisms of carbohydrates, lowers blood pressure and reduces atherosclerosis or hardening of the arteries.

So, regardless of how good your diet is a supplementation of vitamin C may prove very beneficial. If you are going to try a supplement you may as well add vitamin E to – you'll be glad that you did (as I will show you now)...

A study in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition showed that vitamin E intake was inversely proportional to the incidence of Alzheimer's disease – i.e. the more you took the less likely you were to suffer from the condition. The study also showed that increased levels of vitamin E could reverse the symptoms of Alzheimer's.

Vitamin E also acts as a powerful antioxidant by neutralizing free radicals in the body that cause tissue and cell damage. As well as this vitamin E also contributes to a healthy circulatory system and aids in proper blood clotting and may decrease the risk of Coronary Artery Disease (CAD) by slowing the development of atherosclerosis.
It therefore makes sense to take a supplement of vitamins C and E – but it makes even more sense to take them together! In fact, a study in 2006 by the Johns Hopkins University showed that those who took a combination of vitamin C and E supplements over a six-year period had a significantly lower risk of developing Alzheimer's.

Look out for my future articles or grab your copy of The Alzheimer’s Alternative for more information on supplements that are beneficial in the fight against and the protection from Alzheimer’s.