Antioxidants Prevent Fuzzy Thinking in People with Diabetes

Elevated blood sugar levels reduce alertness and interfere with normal thinking processes. They can also lead to abnormalities in brain structure. But a new study shows that taking vitamin C and E supplements can block the cognitive impairment - that is, fuzzy thinking – that often follows meals high in both fat and carbohydrates.

Carol E. Greenwood, PhD, of the University of Toronto, asked 16 men and women, all diagnosed with type 2 diabetes, to participate in the study. On one day, the subjects’ memories were tested before and after consuming a glass of water. On another day, they underwent memory tests before and after consuming a meal consisting of a Danish pastry, cheddar cheese, and yogurt with whipped cream. On yet another day, the men and women had memory tests before and after eating the same meal, but with the addition of 1,000 mg of vitamin C and 800 IU of vitamin E.

The meal provided about 50 grams of fat, 63 grams of carbohydrate and 25 grams of protein.

About an hour and a half after eating the Danish pastry, cheddar cheese, and yogurt with whipped cream, the subjects experienced a significant decline in their ability to remember information. However, the vitamin supplements blunted the post-meal memory impairment.

Greenwood wrote that “ingestion of a high-fat high-glycemic-index carbohydrate meal acutely impairs memory performance in adults with type 2 diabetes mellitus. These deficits were minimized or masked when the meal was taken together with vitamins C and E.”

Reference: Chui MH, Greenwood CE. Antioxidant vitamins reduce acute meal-induced memory deficits in adults with type 2 diabetes. Nutrition Research, 2008;28:423-429.