Vitamin C is able to fight Alzheimer's disease
Last reviewed: 16.10.2021
All iLive content is medically reviewed or fact checked to ensure as much factual accuracy as possible.
We have strict sourcing guidelines and only link to reputable media sites, academic research institutions and, whenever possible, medically peer reviewed studies. Note that the numbers in parentheses ([1], [2], etc.) are clickable links to these studies.
If you feel that any of our content is inaccurate, out-of-date, or otherwise questionable, please select it and press Ctrl + Enter.
Scientists from Lund University (Sweden) discovered a new function of vitamin C: it is able to dissolve the toxic protein accumulations that form in the brain in Alzheimer's disease.
Vitamin C can be absorbed by the body in large quantities in the form of dehydroascorbic acid from the juice, standing for overnight in the refrigerator. (Photo of the food passionates / Corbis.) Vitamin C can be absorbed by the body in large quantities in the form of dehydroascorbic acid from the juice that has stayed overnight in the refrigerator. (Photo of the food passionates / Corbis.)
The brain of those suffering from Alzheimer's disease contains so-called amyloid plaques, which consist of accumulation of prion proteins. These plaques cause the death of nerve cells, and the nerves that are in the brain regions responsible for memory are always the first to strike.
When the researchers treated vitamin C with brain tissue taken from a mouse with Alzheimer's disease, it was found that the toxic protein deposits had dissolved. Another interesting discovery was that ascorbic acid does not have to come from the fresh fruit. Experiments have shown that vitamin C can be absorbed in large quantities in the form of dehydroascorbic acid from juice, which has stood for overnight in the refrigerator.
Antioxidants like vitamin C, having a protective effect from a variety of diseases (from the common cold to heart attacks and dementia), have been studied for a long time. To argue that ascorbic has a beneficial effect on Alzheimer's disease is too early, but the results of this work open up new prospects for studying the neurodegenerative disease and the curative properties of vitamin C.