B Vitamins to Boost Brain Power

B vitamins may help maintain memory in healthy older adults. That’s the conclusion of Australian scientists after they conducted a double-blind, placebo-controlled trial with 700 individuals between 60 and 74 years of age. They gave their subjects a daily dose of 400 micrograms of folic acid and 100 micrograms of vitamin B12 or placebo pills that looked identical to the vitamins. After two years there was a modest but measurable difference in the scores on short-term memory and cognitive function tests.

[American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, Jan. 2012]