More Than an Immune Booster: Is Vitamin C Vital to Your Cognition Too?

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We all know about the benefits of vitamin C for immune health.

All the empty shelves where vitamin C used to be when the coronavirus hit are evidence of that.

But are there other benefits that make vitamin C a super-vitamin of the highest order?

It might be the case!

Case in point, a study published in the April 2019 edition of the journal Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience points toward vitamin C’s potential to improve our cognition.

The researchers out of Australia set out to examine whether blood plasma vitamin C levels were associated with cognitive performance, using three cognitive exams (one computerized, two hand written) on which to judge.

Most previous studies did not evaluate actual plasma concentrations, but rather relied on questionnaires to determine vitamin C intake, so this study marks an improvement in that area.

With this in mind, the results were quite encouraging.

They found that those with adequate levels of vitamin C (≥28 μmol/L) performed significantly better than those who were deficient.

On the computerized test, those with adequate vitamin C levels had a significantly higher performance ratio (accuracy:reaction time).

On the first of the two handwritten tests (HVLT-R), those with adequate vitamin C levels achieved significantly higher scores in immediate recall, delayed recall, and total recall.

Those with adequate vitamin C levels also performed significantly better on the second of the two handwritten tests, the Symbol-Digits-Modalities-Test (SDMT).

This told the researchers that there is a significant association between having adequate levels of vitamin C and performance involving cognitive duties such as attention, focus, working memory, decision speed, delayed and total recall, and recognition.

What’s more, for all you supplement-takers out there, they did not find that obtaining vitamin C through supplements affected performance differently than obtaining vitamin C through diet.

Of course, that opens a new can of worms in terms of supplement quality. Here, we believe that whole food based supplements are superior to synthetic vitamin supplements, but that does not mean the synthetic ones are ineffective, or in all cases ineffective.

It appears benefits may be derived from either and some brands may be better than others, but here we believe it is best to go with a whole food based supplement to increase bioavailability.

My personal favorite is Super-C Plus by Dr. Richard Schulze. It is an amazing formulation of wild-harvested and organic foods and herbs, delivering a potent, bioavailable “super” dose of vitamin C.

I have taken it for years in an attempt to boost my own immunity and, as it turns out apparently, my cognition too!

You can check it out on Amazon here or purchase from another retailer if you prefer.

Below are a handful of whole food-based vitamin C options as well as some liposomal, which can help aid absorption.

(There are more higher quality vitamin options available to us than ever before, so take a look around!)

Should vitamin C become a greater focus of your health and dietary plan?

Every day it looks more and more like the answer may be yes, so talk to your doctor to see if it’s right for you.

Thank you for being here today and here’s to your health!

Reference: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31001107/

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There are some great vitamin C options on the market at great prices!

Here is a sampling of high quality vitamin C on the market. There are many, so shop around, but these are either whole food-based or liposomal, which helps aid absorption.

I have personally used Dr. Schulze’s and Vitamin Code for years but there are many great products on the market, so take a look around!

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