Vitamin C may help support brain health, study finds

A new medical study has found that Vitamin C plays a highly important role not only in physical health but also in brain health particularly in maintaining cognitive performance with increasing age.

During the research, scientists examined more than 2,000 individuals aged over 64. Researchers compared the participants blood levels of Vitamin C with their brain MRI scans. The results showed that individuals with lower levels of Vitamin C in their blood had relatively reduced levels of gray matter in the brain.

Gray matter is the part of the brain responsible for key functions such as memory, learning, decision-making and processing information. The study also found that people with lower Vitamin C levels had weaker connectivity in the brain’s Default Mode Network.

This network consists of different regions of the brain and plays an important role in memory retention, maintaining attention and focus, processing personal experiences and past memories and organizing mental activities.

Researchers accounted for factors such as age, physical activity, education level and others. However, even after considering these factors, the association between low Vitamin C levels and brain health remained significant.

According to a co-author of the study from a university in Japan, the findings suggest an interesting possibility that a Vitamin C-rich diet may help maintain brain health in older adults and reduce the risk of age-related cognitive decline.

However, experts clarified that the study only shows an association and does not prove that Vitamin C directly improves brain health. Further research is needed to determine whether Vitamin C can truly help prevent cognitive decline with aging.

Vitamin C is naturally found in many fruits and vegetables including oranges, lemons, guava, strawberries, kiwi, bell peppers, broccoli and tomatoes. Experts say that including Vitamin C-rich foods in a balanced diet may be beneficial for both overall health and brain health.