Researchers have found that Vitamin C and Vitamin E protect the aging brain - but only if taken together and at a sufficient strength. Researchers at Johns Hopkins University in Maryland examined data on 4,740 people at or over the age of 65. The researchers found that taking a daily supplement of Vitamin C at 500mg a day or greater along with Vitamin E at 400 IU a day or greater, when taken in combination, decreased the likelihood of developing signs of Alzheimer's disease by 78% in the general public.

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is incurable. In AD there is degeneration and then death of large areas of nerve tissue in key regions of the brain. In the early stage there is a loss of short term memory, groping for words during a conversation, minor problems with arithmetic and small errors of judgement.

Researchers from the Arizona State University performed a double-blind, placebo-controlled study of obese men and women. At the beginning of the trial the people with the lowest blood levels of Vitamin C had the highest levels of body fat. The participants were placed on a low-fat diet that supplied just 67%of the US RDA for Vitamin C.

There is a strong relationship between increasing levels of serum vitamin D and an increasingly lower risk of developing breast cancer (the relationship is linear). In a study performed at Mount Sinai Hospital in Toronto it was found that women who have the highest intake of Vitamin D between the ages of 10 and 29 have an estimated life-long reduced risk of developing breast cancer by 40%. In the second study from the University of California, San Diego, it was found that women who had a serum vitamin D (25-hydroxy Vitamin D) level of 52 nanograms per ml.

It has been known for some time that Omega-3 fatty acids can inhibit certain cancer cells. In this study researchers from the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine tested the effects of the two Omega-3 fatty acids found in fish oils (EPA and DHA) and also the Omega-6 fatty acid arachadonic acid on liver cancer cells. The risk of liver cancer increases with age, with hepatitis B or C infection, and with cirrhosis.