As you may have guessed I am catching up on my nutrition reading today. Since I know at least three of you are concerned about Alzheimer’s I wanted to highlight this abstract. A population based study conducted in Perugia, Italy (great chocolate town) wanted to “evaluate whether higher plasma levels of vitamin E could be protective against Alzheimer’s in advanced age and whether the protective activity could be due to more than just the tocopherol form of the vitamin.”
According to the abstract “The study found that subjects with higher blood levels of all the vitamin E family forms had a reduced risk of developing AD, compared to subjects with lower levels. After adjusting for various confounders, the risk was reduced by 45-54 percent, depending on the vitamin E component,” said the researchers.
Additionally the abstract adds “These findings support the hypothesis that vitamin E’s protective activity seems to be related to the combination of different forms, rather than α-tocopherol alone, they concluded. This, they said, justifies the “protective effect of dietary intake observed in epidemiological studies and the disappointing results observed in clinical trials.”
If I were taking vitamin E for Alzheimer’s prevention I think I would be concentrating instead of foods that are high in the vitamin (almonds, sunflower seeds, peanuts, and hazelnuts to mention a few). You can find a list of those foods here at the NIH (National Institute of Health) site.
As if I didn't need another reason to eat Almonds and sunflower seeds and use Almond milk?
ReplyDeleteHi Ali,
ReplyDeleteWhat is the difference between the tocopherol version of Vitamin E and another version of the vitamin? Very interesting article,
~Jill
This is why I always eat an abundance of almonds!!! I knew there was a good reason. And I agree, definately try to eat your vitamins...
ReplyDeleteLosing Weight,
ReplyDeleteI had a similar thought when I saw this, LOL. We will continue to eat our nuts and seeds. ;-)
Ali
Jill,
ReplyDeleteThe only form I ever read about is alpha tocopherol. It is reported to be the most biologically active form of the vitamin. If I see anything about other forms I will pay attention next time, LOL. Great question though, wish I knew the answer. ;-)
Vitamin E protects cell membrances from the effects of free radicals. Diets high in vitamin E (from food) decrease the risk of cancer as well. Scientists think the food contains other dietary components that interact in the body to provide protection.
I hope that helped,
Ali
Brandi,
ReplyDeleteI usually concentrate on walnuts for the omega 3 but now I will make it a point to add more almonds. Micromanaging our nutrition can be a full time job, LOL.
talk to you later,
Ali
Thanks for the info--I will have to read the article.
ReplyDeleteCourtney
Courtney,
ReplyDeleteI completely forgot about your interest in Alzheimer's. Can you say blonde moment on my part? Sorry! I will make sure to let you know when I see things on this topic when I don't plan to post them.
Ali