Take a multivitamin to slow memory loss

Taking a multivitamin every day can slow memory loss once you’ve reached the age of 60.

It’s possible the supplements even prevent memory loss, and people who take them every day could experience very little if any cognitive decline, although researchers would need to dig deeper to establish that.

Right now, they know people who take a multivitamin every day for three years have brains that are three years ‘younger’—with better memory and general cognitive abilities—than someone who doesn’t take supplements, which suggests they have a long-term protective effect.

Researchers from Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons gave a group of 3,500 people aged 60 and older a multivitamin or a placebo for three years and tested their cognitive abilities each year. Even after the first year, those taking the supplement were showing an improvement in their memory and cognitive abilities that wasn’t being seen in those taking a placebo.

People with cardiovascular disease could especially benefit from taking a multivitamin every day, and could see big improvements in their cognitive abilities, a separate study has discovered.

Researchers from Brigham & Women’s Hospital gave a multivitamin to 2,200 older people to see if the supplements improved cognition, memory and attention—and although all the participants showed some benefits, the biggest effect was seen in those with heart disease. “People with cardiovascular disease may have lower micronutrient levels that multivitamins may correct,” said Adam Brickman, one of the researchers.

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