Antioxidants are widely touted as potent disease fighters, capable of supercharging the immune system, enhancing our appearance, and even promoting longevity. But according to one new study, they might not deserve such a glowing health halo after all. Contrary to earlier evidence, eating a diet rich in antioxidants is not associated with a decreased risk of dementia and stroke, concludes a major new study published in the journal Neurology. Researchers tracked the dietary habits of nearly 5,400 older adults over a 13-year period, and divided participants into groups based on the amount of antioxidants each person consumed. The results were surprising: Adults whose overall diet was high in antioxidants were just as likely to develop dementia or suffer a stroke as adults whose diets were lower in antioxidants. If this research sounds like the precise opposite of what you’ve read before (which is that antioxidants are really, really good for your brain) that’s because it is. Until now, the bulk of antioxidant-related research has focused on the role of specific nutrients, like vitamin C or vitamin A. But here’s the thing: Examining these antioxidants individually doesn’t always explain how the myriad nutrients we consume on a daily basis actually interact. But the Neurology study did just that, by trying to evaluate the role of antioxidants in the context of everything that participants consumed. “We wanted to see whether looking at a person’s total level of antioxidants—by examining their total diet instead of their consumption of specific individual antioxidants—would yield a different outcome,” says study author Elizabeth Devore, ScD, an epidemiologist at Harvard Medical School and Brigham and Women’s Hospital. What’s more, these results are consistent with another, larger recent study published in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, which explored total dietary antioxidant intake and cognitive decline in older women. So should you stop loading up on nutritious, antioxidant-rich food? Of course not. Even though a diet high in overall antioxidants might not help your brain, “there’s still convincing evidence that specific antioxidants can make a difference,” Devore says. For instance, the antioxidants in vitamin C-rich fruits and vegetables (as opposed to say, those in coffee or chocolate), are still thought to reduce our risk of stroke. And a higher intake of vitamin E—found in avocados and leafy greens—may help stave off dementia. Plus, the flavonoids in deep blue and purple berries could boost your brain, too. “They’re associated with higher cognitive function, which is predictive of lower dementia risk,” Devore says. More from Prevention: Smart Strategies To Ward Off Dementia Questions? Comments? Contact Prevention’s News Team.
