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Category: Nutrition
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The Vitamin Deficiency Linked To Brain Damage
Brain shrinkage was six times more likely in those with low levels of this vitamin.
Brain shrinkage was six times more likely in those with low levels of this vitamin.
Vitamin B12 may protect against brain shrinkage with age, research finds.
People with higher vitamin B12 levels were six times less likely to suffer brain shrinkage.
Vitamin B12 levels can be boosted through supplementation or by eating foods such as dairy, liver, salmon and eggs.
Fortified breakfast cereals also contain vitamin B12.
Around one-in-four people may have a vitamin B12 deficiency — however none of the people in the study were deficient.
People who may have difficult getting enough vitamin B12 include vegetarians, older people and those with some digestive disorders, such as Crohn’s disease.
The study included 107 older people who had brain scans, memory testing and their blood levels were checked for vitamin B12 levels.
Dr Anna Vogiatzoglou, the study’s first author, said:
“Many factors that affect brain health are thought to be out of our control, but this study suggests that simply adjusting our diets to consume more vitamin B12 through eating meat, fish, fortified cereals or milk may be something we can easily adjust to prevent brain shrinkage and so perhaps save our memory.
Research shows that vitamin B12 deficiency is a public health problem, especially among the elderly, so more vitamin B12 intake could help reverse this problem.
Without carrying out a clinical trial, we acknowledge that it is still not known whether B12 supplementation would actually make a difference in elderly persons at risk for brain shrinkage.”
Vitamin B12 is involved in the production of red blood cells.
A deficiency — which is more frequent in those over 60 — can cause anemia, which is a lack of red blood cells.
Dr Vogiatzoglou continued:
“Previous research on the vitamin has had mixed results and few studies have been done specifically with brain scans in elderly populations.
We tested for vitamin B12 levels in a unique, more accurate way by looking at two certain markers for it in the blood.”
The study was published in the journal Neurology (Vogiatzoglou, et al., 2008).
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A Mental Sign Of Vitamin B12 Deficiency (M)
B12 deficiency is relatively easy to correct with a change in diet or supplementation.
A Worrying Mental Sign Of Vitamin D Deficiency
Vitamin D may be linked to critical neurotransmitters and inflammatory markers.
Vitamin D may be linked to critical neurotransmitters and inflammatory markers.
Feeling low can be a sign of vitamin D deficiency, research suggests.
Vitamin D may be linked to critical neurotransmitters and inflammatory markers that can cause depression.
Along with low mood, the most important symptoms of depression are:
- Decreased interest in life or pleasure.
- Energy loss.
- Concentration problems.
The conclusions come from a study of 12,600 people whose symptoms of depression and vitamin D levels were examined.
It emerged that people with low vitamin D levels were more likely to be depressed.
The study cannot tell us if low vitamin D is a cause of depression or the result.
The study’s authors explain:
“We found that low vitamin D levels are associated with depressive symptoms, especially in persons with a history of depression.
These findings suggest that primary care patients with a history of depression may be an important target for assessment of vitamin D levels.”
Foods that are rich in vitamin D include oily fish and eggs, but most people get their vitamin D from the action of sunlight on the skin.
That is why levels are typically lower in the body through the winter months in more Northern climes.
Up to 50% of young women may be deficient in this vitamin, other research has shown.
Professor E. Sherwood Brown, study co-author, said:
“Our findings suggest that screening for vitamin D levels in depressed patients — and perhaps screening for depression in people with low vitamin D levels — might be useful.
But we don’t have enough information yet to recommend going out and taking supplements.”
Vitamin D levels are now routinely tested during physical exams as deficiencies are linked to other health problems, such as obesity, diabetes and general cognitive decline.
The study was published in the journal Mayo Clinic Proceedings (Hoang et al., 2011).
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A Proven Sign Of Vitamin B12 Deficiency
Around one-quarter of people may have a vitamin B12 deficiency.
Around one-quarter of people may have a vitamin B12 deficiency.
Memory and thinking problems can be a sign of vitamin B12 deficiency, research finds.
Similarly, people experiencing a mood disorder, like depression, can also be deficient in vitamin B12.
The body uses vitamin B12 to make red blood cells and to keep the nervous system healthy.
Around one-quarter of people may have a vitamin B12 deficiency
Other, more common signs of vitamin B12 deficiency include feeling tired, experiencing muscle weakness and being constipated.
Memory and thinking problems can strike from an early age.
One study of Colombian children found that children deficient in vitamin B12 were at more than twice the risk of repeating a grade.
Deficient children were also almost twice as likely to be absent from school as those who were not.
The study included 3,156 students aged 5-12 who were attending primary schools in Bogotá, Colombia.
They were tested for a range of nutritional markers, including B12, folate, zinc and vitamin A.
The results showed that 15 percent were marginally deficient in vitamin B12.
Only a deficiency in vitamin B12 was linked to a child having to repeat a grade.
Dr Eduardo Villamor, who led the study, said:
“Vitamin B12 is necessary for adequate brain development.
Deficiency very early in life or in old age has been linked to cognitive and behavioral problems, but it was not known whether it could be related to academic difficulties during school age.
Grade repetition and school absenteeism are important outcomes because they predict school dropout and impair children’s options for educational advancement and development.”
Vitamin B12 deficiency is easy to rectify with supplements or by dietary changes.
Vitamin B12 levels can be boosted through supplementation or by eating foods such as dairy, liver, salmon and eggs.
The study was published in The Journal of Nutrition (Duong et al., 2015).
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