Dear Reader,
You spent a half hour looking for your keys.
When you finally got to the supermarket, you realized your list was sitting by the door at home.
You tried to remember everything, but it turns out you forgot a few things on the list — including everything you needed to make dinner tonight.
Does this sound like a typical trip to the store for you? Do you feel like your memory just isn't what it used to be?
It's a fact of life, though, right? The older we get, the worse our memories are. Sure — but that doesn't mean we can't slow it down.
And the first step could be as easy as adding a couple of supplements to your daily routine.
Research at Oxford University recently showed that daily supplementation with high doses of certain B vitamins can cut the rate of brain shrinkage in half for older people who have mild memory problems.
In fact, this is the largest study that's been conducted on the effect of B vitamins on mild cognitive impairment. About half of people with mild cognitive impairment go on to develop dementia within five years of diagnosis of the initial impairment.
What are those certain vitamins? Folic acid, B6 and B12. They're known to control levels of homocysteine, high levels of which are associated with an increased risk of Alzheimer's.
Over the course of the 2-year study, 168 volunteers over 70 years old took either a high-dose vitamin B complex or a placebo tablet every day. People with the highest levels of homocysteine showed the most benefit from the Bs. Overall, those taking the B vitamins showed a brain-shrinkage rate that was half that of people taking the placebo.
Researchers also conducted memory tests that confirmed stronger scores were related to slower brain shrinkage.
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Nutritional changes could relieve Parkinson's symptoms
Q: My father has Parkinson's, and I've been trying to convince him of the power of nutrition in fighting the disease. Can you help me?
Dr. Jonathan V. Wright: Several years ago, researchers in Brazil examined a group of 31 Parkinson's patients and found that every single one had a riboflavin deficiency — even though their dietary sources (like liver, almonds, and spinach) were adequate. The researchers asked the patients to stop eating all red meat and to take 30 milligrams of riboflavin every eight hours.
After six months, the patients' functional motor capacity increased nearly 30 percent. Tests for riboflavin deficiency had also normalized in all the patients, and there were no side effects.
The researchers didn't explain why they felt it was necessary for the patients to eliminate red meat in addition to correcting the riboflavin deficiency. But I've found that nearly all individuals with Parkinson's have trouble digesting animal protein, especially red meat, so perhaps this has something to do with it.
Six months without a steak might sound like a lot. But given the possibility of very significant improvement in motor function, it's worth eliminating it for a six-month trial. And keep in mind that the elimination is usually only temporary: If you do get positive results, you can probably add red meat back into your diet eventually and increase your riboflavin dosage to maintain the improvement. If you decide to try this approach, don't forget to "back up" the riboflavin with the entire B-complex.
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