Higher levels of vitamin C were linked to healthier brain structure in older adults, suggesting a potential role for nutrition in\u00a0brain aging.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s according to new research from Japan, published in the journal PLOS ONE.<\/p>\n
The observational study included 2,044 participants living in Hirosaki City, Japan, who were originally included in a study exploring\u00a0dementia and heart disease risk. The average age was 69, and 61% of them were female.<\/p>\n
MRI scans are used to calculate the volume of gray matter and white matter in their brains.<\/p>\n
Even after accounting for external factors like age, smoking habits,\u00a0diabetes,\u00a0and other lifestyle behaviors, they found that those with lower vitamin C levels appeared to have lower brain tissue volumes and weaker structural network patterns.<\/p>\n
Those with lower vitamin C levels appeared to have lower brain tissue volumes and weaker structural network patterns. My Ocean studio \u2013 stock.adobe.com<\/p>\n
\u201cOur study demonstrates that older adults with higher blood levels of vitamin C tend to have better-preserved brain structure (gray matter) and stronger connections within the default mode network (DMN), a crucial brain network involved in memory and cognitive function,\u201d Tomohiro Shintaku, MD, PhD, assistant professor in the Department of Radiology Graduate School of Medicine at Hirosaki University, told Fox News Digital.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhile diets rich in vitamin C are known to lower the\u00a0risk of cognitive decline, our study is the very first to demonstrate a direct association between actual blood plasma vitamin C levels and the structural connectivity of the DMN,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n
This network is often affected by conditions such as\u00a0Alzheimer\u2019s disease\u00a0and depression, according to the researchers.<\/p>\n
Higher levels of vitamin C were linked to healthier brain structure in older adults, suggesting a potential role for nutrition in\u00a0brain aging.
KMPZZZ \u2013 stock.adobe.com<\/p>\n
The vitamin C measurement was more accurate than studies that relied on dietary estimates, the researchers noted.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat I found most fascinating is that we could detect such clear associations between a single nutritional factor (vitamin C) and large-scale brain networks in a robust cohort of over 2,000 older adults,\u201d Shintaku said. \u201cIt highlights how significantly our\u00a0everyday dietary habits\u00a0might impact brain structure.\u201d<\/p>\n
The study underscores the importance of obtaining vitamin C from the daily diet, as humans cannot synthesize it on their own, the researchers noted.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur findings suggest that maintaining optimal vitamin C levels through a healthy diet \u2014 rich in citrus fruits, berries, tomatoes, and green leafy vegetables \u2014 could be a simple yet powerful way to support\u00a0brain health as we age,\u201d Shintaku said.<\/p>\n
Maintaining optimal vitamin C levels through a healthy diet could be a simple yet powerful way to support\u00a0brain health as we age. Nicholas Felix\/peopleimages.com \u2013 stock.adobe.com<\/p>\n
The study did have some limitations, the researchers noted.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause our study is observational and cross-sectional, we can only show an association, not a cause-and-effect relationship,\u201d Shintaku told Fox News Digital. \u201cOther limitations include relying on a single blood measurement per participant.\u201d<\/p>\n
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Other external factors, such as dietary intake,\u00a0body mass index,\u00a0and socioeconomic variables, could have played a role in the outcomes.<\/p>\n
Also, the link was relatively modest compared to established risk factors like\u00a0high blood pressure\u00a0and blood sugar, the researchers noted.<\/p>\n
It is best viewed as a signal that vitamin C status may be one piece of a much larger brain-health picture. arinahabich \u2013 stock.adobe.com<\/p>\n
Findings from other, larger studies, including UK Biobank research with more than 9,000 people, suggest that vitamin C is just one of several factors that may influence brain health.<\/p>\n
Because the participants were almost all older Japanese adults, the findings may not be generalized to other populations.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is best viewed as a signal that vitamin C status may be one piece of a much larger brain-health picture.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThis study found an association between higher plasma vitamin C levels and MRI markers of brain health, including gray matter volume and connectivity in the default mode network, which is involved in several cognitive functions,\u201d Dung Trinh, MD, an internal medicine physician and founder of the Healthy Brain Clinic, commented to Medical News Today.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat said, the study does not prove that vitamin C prevents cognitive decline or that taking supplements will improve brain health. It is best viewed as a signal that vitamin C status may be one piece of a much larger\u00a0brain-health picture.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Higher levels of vitamin C were linked to healthier brain structure in older adults, suggesting a potential role…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":709442,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[34],"tags":[18368,1491,1103,97,1728,2668],"class_list":["post-709441","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-health","tag-alzheimers-disease","tag-brains","tag-dementia","tag-health","tag-research","tag-vitamins"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/709441","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=709441"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/709441\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/709442"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=709441"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=709441"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=709441"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}