Nutrients for the Sharp Memory

The University of Oxford, United Kingdom, has studied the relationship between total plasma homocystine level and memory loss in the elderly. The study was population-based and conducted in 1992 and 1993 with a re-evaluation after six years examining the relationship between the total plasma homocystine level, level of vitamin B12, folic acid and memory loss. A follow-up of over 2000 subjects have been studied. The risk of memory loss has increased with the elevation of the homocystine level. The result of this study has suggested that a higher plasma homocystine level was an independent risk factor for memory loss. In other words, better memory performance was associated with increased levels of folic level and decreased levels of homocystine concentration.

The relationship among vitamin E, memory loss and vascular protection was studied and published in the nutritional review in April, 2000. It is a well known fact that the brain as an organ has a high requirement for oxygen. Increasing the anti-oxidant defense mechanism seems to be an important strategy to prevent or slow down the progression of age-related cognitive decline and general degeneration of the central nervous system. There are multiple studies being conducted reviewing vitamin E levels and memory loss in the elderly population. This particular study reviewed close to 5000 participants over 60 years of age. The results revealed that poor memory was linked with low levels of vitamin E in the blood. Vascular disease may be implicated in the mechanism of cognitive decline and memory loss. In this study, it was determined that individuals with lower vitamin E levels had more advanced vascular changes with and without Alzheimer’s disease. This provides the biological basis for understanding how vitamin E may benefit memory performance since it may help prevent oxidation of LDL bad cholesterol and possibly prevent or slow down the vascular component of dementia.

Another study, connecting low serum levels of vitamin E and increased risk of memory loss was conducted in the New England Research Institute at Massachusetts. This study had involved over 500 participants. The results have indicated that low levels of vitamin E in the form of alpha-tocopherol may be associated with an elevated risk of cognitive impairment and memory loss. The American National Adult Reading Test score was used to assess the level of cognition. The lowest level group of alpha-tocopherol showed a two-fold increase in the risk of memory loss and two-fold increased risk of cognitive impairment. The conclusion of the study was that the association between low levels of vitamin E, memory and cognitive impairment deserves further exploration.

In 2002, a study was conducted to determine the relation between folate, vitamin B12 and B6, along with supplementation for memory and mood in females of various ages. Participants took either 15 mcg of vitamin B12, 75 mg of B6 or 750 mcg of folic acid as compared to a placebo for 35 days. The distribution of the participants was as follows: 56 female participants between the age of 20 and 30 and 80 females between the age of 45 and 55 as well as 75 older women between the age of 65 and 92. A significant positive effect was found in memory performance, but not mood. This study found an association between vitamin B intake and cognitive performance especially in younger females. Folic acid intake was positively linked with performance on a variety of cognition indexes including speech, memory and fluency. Vitamin B6 and vitamin B12 were positively associated with memory performance as well.