Multivitamins May Improve Memory, Study Shows

Multivitamins have long been controversial. Studies exploring what, if any, benefit they provide for overall health have been mixed; some show a slight benefit in lowering the risk of cancer and other diseases, while others show that vitamins don’t do much for keeping the heart and brain healthy. Some experts dismiss them as good for little else than making expensive urine. But in the latest study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, a group of scientists from Harvard Medical School and Columbia University report that a daily multivitamin can improve memory and even slow some of the cognitive decline that comes with aging. And it didn’t take massive doses of vitamins or special formulations. In the trial, participants took the brand Centrum Silver, sold in nearly every supermarket and pharmacy around the country. [time-brightcove not-tgx=”true”] Along with a grant from the National Institutes of Health, the study was financially supported by Mars Edge, which provided the technology infrastructure for the web-based cognitive evaluations, and Pfizer Consumer Healthcare (now Haleon), the maker of Centrum Silver, which provided the multivitamin and placebo pills. Neither company was involved with collecting or analyzing the data, according to the study authors. In the trial, 3,500 people over age 60 were randomly assigned to take a daily multivitamin or a placebo for three years. The researchers then evaluated their brain function after...
Source: TIME: Health - Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Tags: Uncategorized healthscienceclimate Research Source Type: news