Pop some pills for good memory and heart health

“Popping pills may pave way to good memory”

When I came across that headline I thought, “Oh brother– what now? Statins for memory? Aspirin? Prozac?”

Surprisingly, however, the headline refers to folic acid and vitamin B-12 supplement pills. Much better!

In a large two-year study, more than 900 seniors diagnosed with various levels of mental distress were given placebo or 400 micrograms of folic acid along with 100 micrograms of vitamin B-12 daily.

In tests that examined memory and mental processing speed, subjects in the B-12/folic acid group improved significantly compared to the placebo group.

Of course, these two supplements are known to be beneficial for heart health because they reduce homocysteine–the amino acid that promotes artery plaque build up. And that same benefit is most likely behind the memory advantages.

A few years ago, Oxford researchers took blood samples and gave memory performance tests to more than 2,100 seniors.

The results: Subjects who tested poorly generally had higher homocysteine and lower folate levels than subjects who scored higher on memory tests. Also, higher test scores were associated with a decline in homocysteine over a six- year follow up period.

So go ahead and pop those memory pills. The most pronounced side effect will be a healthier heart.

Source:
“Popping pills may pave way to good memory” Adam Cresswell, The Australian, 12/9/10, theaustralian.com