|
Silver
Bulletin
e-News
Magazine
Section 1: Archives
________________________
________________________
Folic Acid Sets
Back Aging, Study Says
By Jeremy Laurance, Health Editor
Published: 19 January 2007
Folic acid, the vitamin prescribed to pregnant women, could be
a brain saver, a study has found.
People who took high dose supplements
of folic acid did significantly better in tests of memory and
cognitive performance than those given a placebo, researchers
report.
The vitamin is found in green leafy
vegetables, beans and liver but few people in the UK and northern
Europe obtain high enough levels from diet alone. Average intake
is around 200 micrograms a day, half the recommended amount.
Folic acid plays a crucial role in
the development of the embryo and some countries such as the US
now fortify flour with the vitamin. As a result the incidence
of spina bifida and similar birth defects has declined. Low folate
levels have also been linked with poor cognitive performance,
but research has failed to show a benefit among people given supplements.
Now scientists from the University
of Wageningen in the Netherlands have demonstrated with the use
of more sensitive tests of cognitive performance that high dose
folic acid supplements taken over a long period slow the effect
of ageing on the brain.
A group of 818 participants, aged
50 to 70, were given a daily dose of 800 micrograms of folic acid,
equivalent to four times the average daily intake, for three years.
Tests showed their performance on memory and speed of thinking
tasks was comparable to that of people five years younger. The
results are published in The Lancet.
All the participants had raised levels
of homocysteine, a naturally occurring enzyme which is over-produced
in response to low folate levels. High concentrations of homocysteine
increase the risk of heart disease and have been associated with
atrophy of the hippocampus, an area of the brain important for
memory consolidation.
Other cognitive functions, such as
word fluency, were unaffected by the supplements, suggesting that
the effect of folic acid might be restricted to basic aspects
of speed and information processing.
The researchers say: "We
have shown that three-year folic acid supplementation improves
performance on tests that measure information processing speed
and memory, domains that are known to decline with age... Trials
similar to our own should be repeated in other populations to
provide greater insight into the clinical relevance of folic acid
supplementation."
Investigation
of the Potters for Peace
Colloidal Silver Impregnated Ceramic Filter (.pdf file)
MIT Colloidal Silver Filter Pictures (.pdf file)
Journalist Legal Notice & Warning
|
