According to new Columbia University research, multivitamin supplementation can safely and easily preserve cognitive health in older adults.
The study's chief researcher, Columbia University Professor Adam Brickman, says cognitive aging is a major health issue for older persons. This study suggests a cost-effective and simple way to slow memory deterioration in older persons.
Many older people use vitamins or other drugs for health. However, memory and brain systems research is scarce. 3,500 non-Hispanic white 60-year-olds were studied. Participants received a multivitamin or placebo every day for three years. Each year, participants took online cognitive tests to check their hippocampal memory, which declines with age. After a year, multivitamins improved memory more than placebos.
Researchers say the three-year increase is comparable to aging-related cognitive deterioration. Cardiac patients were hardest hit. Professor Brickman said heart disease patients may have lower vitamin levels. Multivitamins may help. The findings add to the growing body of evidence that a nutritious diet helps preserve cognitive abilities as we age. Our study's principal author, Columbia University's Dr. Lok-Kin Yeung, suggests that the aging brain may be more nutritionally responsive than previously thought. Determining which vitamin mitigates age-related cognitive loss may not be crucial.
In two cognitive trials, a daily multivitamin improved memory in the COSMOS randomized trial, according to Brigham and Women's Hospital co-author Dr. JoAnn Manson. Multivitamins may be a safe, simple, and cost-effective way to protect elderly people's cognitive health. Supplements should not replace natural micronutrients. Multivitamins are harmless, although doctors advise against using them. The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition published the findings.