Can Vitamin B12 Help Prevent Alzheimer’s Disease?
An October 2010 issue of Neurology, from the American Academy of Neurology, published findings from a small, preliminary study conducted by the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, Sweden.
According to researchers, “vitamin B12 and related metabolites may have a role in Alzheimer’s disease” – an important finding since a vitamin B12 deficiency is a “common condition” in the elderly.
Investigating homocysteine levels (if elevated, associated with strokes) and levels of an active protein in B12 (holotranscobalamin) that can reduce homocysteine blood level. Their seven-year follow-up revealed that with every small increase of homocysteine, the risk for Alzheimer’s shot up 16%.
More study is needed, yet a case is being made for a diet rich in vitamin B12 to ward off neurodegenerative disease.
Top Food Sources of Vitamin B-12, Per 100g Serving:
- fish (mackerel, herring, salmon, tuna, cod,sardines, trout, bluefish) – 317% RDA (mackerel)
- beef – 103% RDA (lean, fat-trimmed chuck)
- lamb – 62% RDA (shoulder cut)
- cheese – 56% RDA (swiss cheese), 40% RDA (gjetost), 39% RDA (mozzarella), 38% RDA (parmesan), 35% RDA (tilsit)
- eggs – 33% (chicken, raw yellow), 122% RDA (goose egg), 63% (duck egg)
From: http://www.cenegenics.com/pdf_files/newsletter_dec.pdf
Learn more about brain health:
The Profound Mood-Boosting Benefits of Glucoronolactone
ATP: the Overlooked Brain Energy Nutrient We Need in Prodigious Daily Quantities
Methylcobalamin: the Crucial Nutrient Your Brain Can’t Think Without
