Multivitamins May Improve Short-Term Memory in Healthy Adults

Posted By: Heather Woods

The days of forgetting where you put your car keys could be gone with supplementation with a quality multivitamin like Isagenix Essentials for Men or Women, Australian researchers suggest.

Taking a multivitamin may be more than a dietary insurance policy; it might improve short-term memory, according to the researchers’ meta-analysis published in the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease.

Researchers from Monash University in Australia pooled data from 10 randomized, placebo-controlled trials that included nearly 3,200 participants and lasted from four weeks to more than four years. To be included, the trials had to report on the effects of supplementation after at least one month of multivitamin use on cognitive performance in “cognitively intact” adults over the age of 18.

The researchers found that multivitamins improved short-term memory. Although memory was the most investigated cognitive area in this meta-analysis—and showed the greatest significance in beneficial effect from multivitamin use—improvements were also found in verbal fluency and mathematical problems.

While this meta-analysis found improvements to areas of cognitive function, all the ways in which multivitamin supplements work within the brain are not known. The authors recommend future randomized controlled studies that look at the effects of vitamin supplements in nutrient-deficient populations, or individuals with a poor diet.

The researchers suggest that multivitamins may help by protecting brain cells against the harms of oxidative stress. Antioxidant vitamins include vitamins C, E, and A. In addition, vitamin B12 and folic acid have shown to support lower levels of homocysteine, an amino acid in the bloodstream that adds oxidative stress when at high levels.

Multivitamin and mineral supplements are already the most common form of supplements consumed by adults. As Americans age, the knowledge that multivitamins may help preserve brain function could fuel their popularity.

The researchers point out that without strategies for proper brain nutrition, the incidence of problematic cognitive decline will rapidly increase in aging populations.

Isagenix Essentials for Men or Women can help ensure consumers get all the necessary vitamins and minerals needed for optimal health. And now it looks as though healthy functioning brains are sure to agree—supplementation is key for aging well.

Reference: Grima NA et al. The Effects of Multivitamins on Cognitive Performance: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease 2012; 30:1-9. DOI: 10.3233/JAD-2011-111751