NOW Foods - Beta-Carotene Found to Help Maintain Mental Health as We Age

Beta-Carotene Found to Help Maintain Mental Health as We Age

By Greg Arnold, DC, CSCS, December 5, 2006, abstracted from Association Between Serum Beta-Carotene Levels and Decline of Cognitive Function in High-Functioning Older Persons With or Without Apolipoprotein E 4 Alleles: MacArthur Studies of Successful Aging” in the June 2006 issue of the Journals of Gerontology Series A

Beta-carotene is a member of a class of antioxidants called carotenoids that produce the red, orange, yellow and green colors of vegetables and fruits¹ and joins lycopene,²lutein,³ and zeaxanthin⁴ as the main dietary carotenoids.

Research has found that carotenoids produce a number of health benefits, including helping maintain heart,⁵ eye,⁶ and cell⁷ health. Now a new study⁸ has found that beta-carotene may help maintain mental health as we age.

Study participants included 455 patients aged 65 years or older from the the MacArthur Research Network Study.⁹ They completed a mental status questionnaire¹⁰ and had blood drawn to measure for antioxidant levels as well as the presence of a gene called APOE 4. Research has found the presence of this gene increases the risk for cognitive decline as we age.¹¹

The researchers confirmed previous findings¹² showing patients with the APOE 4 gene had lower cognitive scores than those without the APOE 4 gene. They also found that high blood levels of beta-carotene levels elicited a 89% reduction in the risk of cognitive decline in people with at least some expression of the APOE 4 gene. For those with no APOE 4 gene expression, high beta-carotene levels produced an 11% reduction in the risk of cognitive decline.

For the researchers, “antioxidants and beta-carotene in particular may offer protection from cognitive decline in persons with…the presence of the APOE 4 [gene].”

No recommendations or estimates of beta-carotene intake were made by the researchers. However, current recommendations for beta-carotene intake by the National Institutes of health range from 1,000 IU for children to 4,300 IU for lactating women.¹³

Greg Arnold is a Chiropractic Physician practicing in Danville, CA. You can contact Dr. Arnold directly by emailing him at mailto:ChiroDocPSUalum@msn.com or visiting his web site www.CompleteChiropracticHealthcare.com

Reference:

¹ “Beta Carotene” posted on the PDR Health website

² Limpens J. Combined Lycopene and Vitamin E Treatment Suppresses the Growth of PC-346C Human Prostate Cancer Cells in Nude Mice J. Nutr. 2006 136: 1287-1293

³ Wang M. Antioxidant activity, mutagenicity/anti-mutagenicity, and clastogenicity/anti-clastogenicity of lutein from marigold flowers. Food Chem Toxicol 2006; 44(9): 1522-1529

⁴ Lidebjer C. Low plasma levels of oxygenated carotenoids in patients with coronary artery disease. Nutr Metab Cardio Dis 2006. In Press, Corrected Proof, Available online 30 June 2006

⁵ Nurmi T. Carotenoids and cardiovascular health. Am J Clin Nutr. 2006 Jun;83(6):1265-71

⁶ Stahl W. Macular carotenoids: lutein and zeaxanthin. Dev Ophthalmol. 2005;38:70-88

⁷ Bertram JS. Cancer prevention by retinoids and carotenoids: independent action on a common target. Biochim Biophys Acta. 2005 May 30;1740(2):170-8. Epub 2005 Jan 25

⁸ Seeman TE. Association Between Serum Beta-Carotene Levels and Decline of Cognitive Function in High-Functioning Older Persons With or Without Apolipoprotein E 4 Alleles: MacArthur Studies of Successful Aging. J. Gerontol. A Biol. Sci. Med. Sci. 2006 61: 616-620

⁹ Albert M. el ul. High, usual, and impaired functioning in community-dwelling older men and women: findings from the MacArthur Foundation Research Network on Successful Aging. J Clin Epidemiol. 1993;46:1129-1140

¹⁰ Pleiffer F.. A short portable mental status questionnaire for the assessment of organic brain deficit in elderly patients. J Am Geriatr Soc. 1973;23:433-441

¹¹ Ashford JW. ApoE genotype accounts for the vast majority of AD risk and AD pathology. Neurohiol Aging. 2004:25: 641-650

¹² Limner L. et al. The role of APOE4 in longitudinal cognitive decline: MacArthur Studies of Successful Aging. Neurology. 2003;60:1077-1081

¹³ “Vitamin A and Carotenoids” posted on the Office of Dietary Supplements website