According to a study published in the Archives of Neurology, getting more vitamin E from your diet – not supplements – offers significant protection from Alzheimer’s disease.
In the Rotterdam Study, researchers from the Netherlands followed 5,395 healthy men and women, aged 55 and older, for 10 years to evaluate the link between vitamin E, vitamin C, beta carotene and flavonoids with the long-term risk of dementia.
Participants whose diets provided the most vitamin E were 26 per cent less likely to develop Alzheimer’s compared to those who consumed the least. Vitamin C, beta-carotene and flavonoids were unrelated to Alzheimer’s risk.
Vitamin E is found in vegetable oils, margarine, nuts, seeds, wheat germ and leafy green vegetables.
Vitamin E is a family of eight natural compounds, all of which are found in food: four tocopherols (alpha-, beta-, gamma- and delta-) and four tocotrienols (alpha-, beta-, gamma- and delta-). All act as antioxidants and all have unique functions in the body.
It’s possible, then, that you need all forms of vitamin E to protect from Alzheimer’s, a balance you can only get from your diet.
[source: the Globe and Mail]
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So, the question becomes – what can you eat to increase your vitamin E intake to protect yourself from Alzheimer’s disease?
OILS (Unrefined)
- Wheat germ oil
- Sunflower oil
- Safflower oil
- Corn oil
- Soybean oil
- Extra virgin olive oil
VEGETABLES & FRUITS
- Spinach
- Broccoli
- Asparagus
- Kiwi
- Mango
- Olives
NUTS & NUT PRODUCTS
- Almonds
- Sunflower seeds
- Hazelnuts
- Peanut butter
- Peanuts
- Pecans
- Walnuts
[source: smart-publications.com]
So, have a handful of nuts for a snack, stir-fry some asparagus in olive oil and fresh garlic…
Also, have a Green Smoothie for breakfast – the almonds and spinach will help you reach your Vitamin E goals. Toss in a kiwi, or some mango, for a change of pace.
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