Beta Carotene Performs- Are You Sharp as a Carrot?

by GiGi

beta carotene in carrot Ah, the lowly carrot, once again making the headlines. Last time I left the Carrot Discussion, it was all about the carotenoids and macular degeneration.

This time, it’s all about beta-carotene and cognitive decline.

Although we’ve often heard that taking antioxidants can be beneficial in the long-term, there just haven’t been enough definitive studies done – until now. At Harvard University, they did a study of over 4,000 men over the age of 65 who received either a supplement of beta carotene (50 mg) or a placebo for 18 years. That’s quite a long study!

Turns out, the cognitive test scores were significantly higher in the group that got the beta carotene supplement. What were they tested for? General thinking ability, verbal memory (remembering a string of words) and category fluency (the ability to quickly come up with words in a certain category, for instance, “things that are hot”).

This part is interesting: They also tested a group for one year and did not get any significant differences between the beta-carotene group and the placebo group. They concluded that it may take 10 years or longer to begin to see cognitive benefits from supplementation.

Even though the benefits may seem small, even a modest difference in cognition, especially verbal memory can be really helpful in fighting off dementia. Kind of like the turtle – slow but steady wins the race in the end.

Beta Carotene