Complex Links between Antioxidants and Brain

A study has found no link between stroke and dementia rates and the amount of antioxidants people get from their diets. That’s a different conclusion from some other studies. Researchers suggest that the new results show the source of antioxidants is important. The study included about 5,400 people, age 55 or older. They didn’t have dementia when the study began. Only about 100 had ever had a stroke. People filled out questionnaires about what they usually ate and drank. In the next 14 years, 599 developed dementia and 601 had a stroke. There was no difference in stroke or dementia rates between people who consumed more or fewer antioxidants. Coffee and tea drinking was the main difference in diet for people who consumed the most antioxidants. These drinks contain antioxidants known as flavonoids.