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Taking vitamin C and vitamin E supplements may help protect memory
and mental decline as you age. A new study has found that elderly
men who took vitamin E and C supplements at least once a week over
a number of years were protected from dementia and actually showed
improvements in cognitive function -- a catch-all term including
memory, creativity and mental acuity. Although a protective effect
was seen for two different types of dementia in men who took both
vitamins, the supplements did not appear to prevent dementia due
to Alzheimer's disease. The authors note that men who took both
vitamin E and C supplements together for many years showed a substantially
greater improvement, suggesting that long-term use is required to
improve cognitive function in late life. The researchers believe
that vitamin C and E may protect from brain damage because they
are antioxidants and can mop up brain-damaging free radical particles.
Neurology March 2000;54:1265-1272
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