Your brain needs vitamin B-12 protection

Bulk up that hippocampus!

In the e-Alert “Muscle Head” (8/12/08), I told you about a study in which older subjects who were physically fit were found to have greater volume of the hippocampus – the part of the brain where memory is stored. (The hippocampus is the primary area of the brain that deteriorates in Alzheimer’s patients.)

A study from the University of Oxford shows that vitamin B12 might also play a role in maintaining brain volume.

Researchers recruited more than 100 healthy subjects over the age of 60. B12 levels were checked with blood tests, and brain volume changes were tracked with one MRI per year for five years. Results showed that subjects with the highest B12 levels were six times more likely to avoid brain volume reduction compared to subjects with the lowest levels of the vitamin.

This study didn’t measure dementia levels, but a 2007 study (also from the University of Oxford) showed that risk of cognitive decline and dementia might be lowered by as much as 30 percent by increasing B12 levels.

B12 is most abundant in meat, fish, and eggs.

In previous e-Alerts, HSI Panelist Allan Spreen, M.D., has recommended 1,000 micrograms of B12 daily, taken in sublingual form (dissolved under the tongue).

Source:
“Vitamin B12 May Protect Against Brain Shrinkage” Stephen Daniells, NutraIngredients-USA, 9/9/08, nutraingredients-usa.com