Researchers in Japan have found that older adults with higher levels of vitamin C in their blood have a higher volume of gray matter in their brains and higher connectivity across brain regions involved in memory and attention. Published in PLOS One, their study raises the possibility of using dietary interventions to protect brain health as we age.
“What I found most fascinating about this research is that we were able to detect these subtle but significant associations between a single nutritional factor and large-scale brain networks by utilizing a robust, community-based cohort of over 2,000 older adults,” said Tomohiro Shintaku, MD, PhD, assistant professor of radiology at the Hirosaki University Graduate School of Medicine. “It truly highlights the potential impact of our everyday dietary habits on our brain structures.”
Previous research had linked diets high in vitamin C with lower risk of developing cognitive impairment in older adults. However, this study is the first to look directly at a potential link between vitamin C levels in blood and changes in brain structure and connectivity within a large participant cohort.
Shintaku and colleagues analyzed magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans and blood levels of vitamin C in 2,044 Japanese adults over the age of 64. They measured the volume of gray and white brain matter in each individual, as well as the connectivity between brain regions belonging to the default mode network, which are associated with important cognitive functions including autobiographical memory, future thinking, self-reference, and attention. Connectivity within the default mode network is also known to play a significant role in brain health, with lower connectivity being linked to cognitive impairment and Alzheimer’s disease, in addition to a number of psychiatric conditions including depression or schizophrenia.
After adjusting for other factors that affect brain structure and connectivity, such as age, physical activity, and education level, results showed that higher levels of vitamin C were associated with a higher volume of gray matter across several brain regions, and with higher connectivity within the default mode network.
“Our study demonstrates that higher plasma vitamin C levels are associated with better preserved structural connectivity of the default mode network, a key brain network involved in cognitive function,” said Shintaku. “This finding generates the exciting hypothesis that a diet rich in vitamin C might play a supportive role in maintaining brain health and mitigating age-related cognitive decline in older adults.”
More research will be needed to uncover the potential biological mechanisms driving this association and confirm whether there is a causal link between blood levels of vitamin C and changes in brain structure and connectivity. Going forward, the researchers plan to conduct studies looking at repeated measurements of vitamin C levels over time, accounting for additional lifestyle and nutritional factors that may influence these effects, and including cohorts with more diverse ethnicities and socioeconomic status.
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