What's orange and green and boosts brain power?
An ongoing debate rages over whether or not taking antioxidants can protect you against Alzheimer's disease.
The debate has centered on the results of multiple studies, which are sometimes conflicting. However, there has been one long-term trial that a lot of mainstream and alternative doctors alike lend credence t the Physicians Health Study.
And that research is showing that it's the length of time that you take antioxidants, such as beta-carotene, that makes the difference.
The study, which has been going on for 25 years, shows that those who take antioxidants for a long time reduce the decline in cognitive ability that is the hallmark of Alzheimer's.
Participants included 4,052 men at the start of the study in 1982. Every other day, they took their dose: Either 50 milligrams of beta-carotene or placebo. Between 1998 and 2002, an additional 1,904 men joined the study and were placed randomly in one group or the other.
The participants filled out a questionnaire every year about their health and how well they were sticking to their program. They also took part in a telephone interview after approximately 15 years had passed on the program. These interviews were used to assess their cognitive ability.
These assessments quickly highlighted a difference between the men who had been with the study since its very beginning and those who arrived later. Specifically, the guys in the study longer-term had higher scores on the "thinking tests."
Their memory skills were on average a year younger than their actual age.
Out of the woodwork come the naysayers, not convinced by this study and actually saying they would want to see results from even longer trials.
While they sit around scratching their heads and waiting for signs, portents, the coming of the New Age and little green men from outer space, you can take care of your own brain. After all, the study is showing us that you want to start as early as possible.
I recommend food sources first and foremost. Think orange: Carrots are packed with beta-carotene, as are sweet potatoes and cantaloupe.
You can also go green. Spinach and those dark-green, leafy vegetables such as kale, collards and turnip greens are also great options. Remember that beta carotene in its food form is the way the human body has been used to seeing it since the beginning of time. Present with all of its important synergistic cofactor "helpers," beta carotene in food is many time more effective than the isolated beta carotene you take in supplement form.
