Articles about Vitamins

Low niacin intake causes Alzheimer's, research shows

If you want to support healthy cognitive function and avoid Alzheimer's disease, be sure to take your B vitamins, says new research. Study subjects with low niacin intake showed an 80% increased risk of Alzheimer's.

Niacin is relatively easy to get by eating nuts, superfoods and various whole food nutritional supplements.

Overview:

Niacin offers potent protection against age-related cognitive decline and associated diseases such as Alzheimer's, suggests a large new study of the B vitamin.

The study, carried out by Martha Morris and colleagues at the Rush Institute for Healthy Aging in Chicago, Illinois, shows that niacin intake strongly correlates with cognitive health in people 65 and older.

"We observed a protective association of niacin against the development of AD and cognitive decline within normal levels of dietary intake, which could have substantial public health implications for disease prevention if confirmed by further research," say the researchers.

For their study, the researchers examined the correlation between niacin intake and cognitive decline in a random sample of 815 people age 65 or and older from a larger group of 3,718 who had the necessary dietary and cognitive assessment data.

Nutrient intake was determined by a food questionnaire and participants were examined for signs of cognitive decline three and six years after the start of the study.

Overall, the researchers found that those with the lowest food intake of niacin were 80% more likely to be diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease.

Source: http://www.betterhumans.com/News/news.aspx?
articleID=2004-07-15-3