Posted on 12/19/2024 12:35:58 PM PST by ConservativeMind
Researchers have found that incorporating specific nutrients into a regular diet may reduce iron buildup in the brain—a factor associated with cognitive decline in normal aging.
In this project, researchers specifically looked at non-heme iron, which is critical for brain health. This type of iron does not bind with storage proteins and, with age and in excess, can contribute to oxidative stress, potentially affecting neuronal integrity and cognition.
Excessive brain iron has been linked to poor cognitive performance, even in normal aging.
"Despite mounting evidence connecting iron overload to negative cognitive outcomes, there are currently no established methods for reducing brain iron accumulation in older adults," said Valentinos Zachariou, Ph.D.
This study builds on the research team's previous work that found higher intake of antioxidants, vitamins, iron-chelating nutrients and polyunsaturated fatty acids correlated with lower brain iron levels and better working memory performance.
The team reassessed brain iron concentrations approximately three years later in the same cohort of older adults. They measured brain iron levels with a specific MRI technique called quantitative susceptibility mapping.
Researchers also analyzed a month's worth of dietary information and cognitive performance, which was evaluated using neuropsychological tests of episodic memory (memories of specific events) and executive function.
"Our results revealed a broad network of cortical and subcortical brain regions where iron accumulation occurred over the three-year period," said Zachariou. "These regional increases in iron levels were associated with poorer episodic memory and executive function at the follow-up time-point."
"However, participants who had higher baseline intake of antioxidants, vitamins, iron-chelating nutrients, and polyunsaturated fatty acids showed significantly less iron accumulation over the three-year period," said Gold.
Further study of iron accumulation and cognition effects of healthy diets rich in the nutrients examined in this study, such as the Mediterranean or DASH diets, would be highly beneficial.
(Excerpt) Read more at medicalxpress.com ...
Ironically, veggies, fruits, and polyunsaturated fatty acids can help pull this form out of the brain, where as we age, it builds up in unhealthy ways.
“Excessive brain iron has been linked to poor cognitive performance, even in normal aging. “
Not to mention causing major problems in the MRI machine
;-)
It “may” or it may not. Obviously what is needed to be more certain I’d millions more of taxpayer dollars. Science is GREAT!
I wonder, are metal heads at greater risk?
I wonder what the affects are of iron supplements (iron sulfate) for people that are iron deficient.
DRINK YOUR OVALTINE. I read an entire article.for this?!
I believe that the soft, very nutritious, fats in organ meats are good for brain function.
Not sure exactly what they were right about, but hey, let's not get facts in the way of a kick-ass tune
Eat more raisins?
So iron dome can be defeated?
Does it ever say which foods to eat???
Can we get a list of “iron-chelating nutrients”?
Nutrition factor 1 scores (vitamin C, quercetin, β-carotene and β-cryptoxanthin)
Nutrition factor 2 scores (vitamin E, lysine, DHA omega−3 and LA omega−6)
Nutrition factor 3 scores (epigallocatechin 3-gallate)
Various foods have each of these, except the last one, which is EGCG that primarily comes from green tea, followed by white tea, and basically nothing else.
DHA Omega-3 comes from salmon and other ocean-based fatty fish. Omega-6 comes from some plant fat and animal fat.
I will leave the rest as an exercise for others to add to, but there are plenty of websites that tell you foods high in each.
I wonder what the affects are of iron supplements (iron sulfate) for people that are iron deficient.
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My guess is it doesn’t cause problems, other than intestinal irritation, if you don’t have excess.
I believe that the soft, very nutritious, fats in organ meats are good for brain function.
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Consuming liver can cause excess retinol (a type of vitamin a). Excess retinol can cause bone problems.
4.3. Associations between nutrition factor scores and longitudinal QSM
Our results offer evidence that dietary factors may play a role in moderating the accumulation of brain iron. We observed that nutrients typically found in fruits and vegetables (factor 1) may help reduce iron accumulation in the basal ganglia, especially within the pallidum. This contrasts with nutrients categorized under factors 2 and 3—primarily antioxidants, iron chelators, and polyunsaturated fatty acids—which demonstrated a more pronounced effect in cortical areas, including frontal cortex, and the hippocampus.
Interestingly, factor 2 nutrients exhibited the most widespread associations, with lower iron accumulation in seven cortical regions. Factor 1, while showing the strongest negative association with iron accumulation, had its impact confined mostly to the right pallidum. Factor 3 nutrients, had a more limited and weaker association with brain iron levels, affecting only two cortical regions and with substantially lesser effect sizes compared to factors 1 and 2.
Our finding that higher dietary intake of antioxidants, polyunsaturated fatty acids, and iron chelators moderates age-related brain iron accumulation, align with the background literature on the importance of exogenous antioxidants in aging. This literature indicates that oxidative stress caused by excess non-heme iron impairs mitochondrial function, which prompts the additional release of iron from ferritin as the cells attempt to restore normal mitochondrial operation and maintain iron balance (Ward et al., 2014). This vicious cycle is particularly important in aging where endogenous defense mechanisms, specifically ones that depend on nonenzymatic antioxidants (e.g., glutathione, melatonin, vitamins A, C and E and flavonoids; Jovanovic, 2014), become less effective (Harman, 1998; Jovanovic, 2014; Molinari et al., 2019). Therefore, increased intake of exogenous antioxidants (such as vitamin E and lysine) could become more important at reducing brain iron accumulation with increasing age. PUFAs such as omega-3 fatty acids also have antioxidant properties and are also linked to the prevention of age-related ferroptosis, a cell death mechanism triggered by iron-induced oxidative stress (Ogłuszka et al., 2020). Lastly, iron chelators can enter cells, bind with free iron and effectively reduce its concentration (Entezari et al., 2022).
I take the following anti-oxidants daily:
Quercetin
C
EGCG
NAC (leads to glutathione)
Turmeric
Grape Seed Extract
Berberine
Spirulina
Since I started a year ago, I don’t have a constant incipient headache, light mental stress, or nagging worries. My brain feels like someone cleaned it out with a mop. I’m so damned energized I feel like I must be on cocaine (or so I hear!)
I have also been exercising 2 hours a day for 2 years. The first year was exercise without the anti-oxidants, and I didn’t get these effects. Adding them did.
YMMV.
Do you take them all separately? Or is there an all-in-one capsule / tablet that you take?
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