Multivitamins are a staple in many kitchens or medicine cabinets, as they’re an easy way to feel you’re doing all you can to hit your daily vitamin and mineral requirements. However, it hasn’t been clear that a multivitamin will boost your brain health or provide any cognitive benefit.
But a January study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition strengthened evidence there may be such a benefit, at least for older adults. Compared with a placebo, older adults ages 60 and up who took a multivitamin daily (Centrum Silver) scored a little better when tested for overall cognitive ability and noticeably better in episodic memory, or the ability to recall events or experiences. This gives some weight to the idea that for older adults looking to maintain their cognitive health, taking a multivitamin could be a pretty approachable step to take.
Recommendations for or against vitamins and supplements are notoriously murky because neither are regulated by the US Food and Drug Administration, meaning it’s up to the company to fulfill their promise of whatever’s on the label. Also, it’s typically easier for our bodies to absorb nutrients from food than it is to absorb them in vitamin form, which is why doctors and dietitians harp on the importance of a well-rounded diet full of colorful plants, lean proteins and healthy fats.
While some vitamin companies do third-party testing of their products to help assure consumers, and vitamin recommendations for some populations are standard (such as prenatal vitamins for pregnancy), it’s left to you and your doctor to decide whether adding a supplement or vitamin makes sense.
“Whenever I think of brain health, which is really what memory falls under, I link that directly to general wellness,” said Dr. Alexa Mieses Malchuk, a board-certified family physician with One Medical. She added that it’s important to start habits that support your overall health before you start specifically considering brain health or vitamins. This includes doing what you can to stave off cardiovascular disease, being active, sleeping well and eating well, she said.
Aside from the general limitations of the vitamin and supplement world, another caveat for the latest study is that it looked only at older adults, and the same results can’t be used to state a benefit for other people, Malchuk said. But one of the study’s strengths is the fact that the researchers used a formal neurocognitive test to compare results. (Previous research in the same group also found a cognitive benefit, but researchers tested cognitive abilities in a more limiting way, like through phone interviews.)
And while there isn’t enough evidence to “create a recommendation for the general population,” Malchuk said, multivitamins are generally low risk, meaning most people will be able to add one to their routine without issues.
Here’s more on multivitamins and aging.
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