Eat Your Peas and Carrots, Or At Least Your Carrots

Eat Your Peas and Carrots, Or At Least Your Carrots
A new study published in the Archives of Internal Medicine
links intake of beta-carotene (a pre-form of vitamin A
found in carrots) to improved cognitive performance in
later life. We have appreciated the benefits of vitamin A
in brain development for a long time. But until now, the
beneficial role in the adult brain has been less obvious.

The power of the new study is that it followed participants
in a controlled study for 18 years, from about 55 to 73
years old on average. This provides the ability to really
look at long-term affect.

Time is Too Short

The difficulty with many nutrition studies, especially
those looking at cognitive health, is that they are too
short. Many vitamins probably help maintain brain health
due to their anti-oxidant properties, allowing them to
prevent or slow age-related decline of the brain. These
affects may take many years or even decades to be become
apparent because your brain doesn't go belly-up overnight.

Several studies in the past have failed to show the
cognitive benefits of vitamin supplements, but most of them
were only a few years long. Grodstein et al., who authored
the new study, actually looked at groups that participated
anywhere from 1 to 18 years.

Although they found no observable cognitive benefit of
vitamin A supplementation after 5 years, the benefit was
clear by 15 years. Most other controlled studies have been
much shorter, with a few making it to the 9-year mark at
best. This may be a reason for lack of positive results in
the past.

There are many 'observational' studies that support the
cognitive benefits of taking vitamins, but these are
typically plagued with other possible explanations. For
example, people who take vitamins also exercise more, smoke
and drink less, eat better, and generally limit their vices
to a number they can count on one hand.

Control Freaks (make good scientists) The new study by
Grodstein et al. is exciting because it presents some of
the first data with a controlled study, large groups of
people, and a long time course. The researchers looked at
about 1,000 people per group for the short-term study (1-3
years) and about 2,000 people per group for the long-term
study (up to 18 years).

Although the authors did not directly link vitamin
supplementation to reducing Alzheimer's disease, the
cognitive skills they measured are relevant to those that
decline in dementia. Also, previous studies in animals have
shown that vitamin A may help prevent some of the problems
in the brain that are associated with Alzheimer's disease
progression.

Too Much of a Good Thing

There is no magic bullet for preventing disease, but the
new study suggests that vitamin A is beneficial for
life-long brain health. This doesn't mean you should dose
up on vitamin A, however, because it is toxic at high
levels. A safe form found in quality nutritional
supplements is beta-carotene, which the body converts to
vitamin A as it is needed.

Still, no nutrients work all by themselves. A good quality
multi-vitamin that contains optimal levels of beta-carotene
along with all the other essential vitamins is a good way
to go.

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