Antioxidants Keep Elderly People Mentally Strong

3,831 elderly people had their cognitive abilities assessed at the start and then three more times over a seven year study. The people who had a higher intake of vitamin C . . . 

either alone or combined with vitamin E had higher cognitive scores at the beginning of the study. Over the course of the seven years, the ones who got less vitamin C, vitamin E and carotene had a greater decline in cognition than the ones who got more. So antioxidants may delay cognitive decline in old age.

• J Nutr Health Aging 2007;11:2230-237