Multivitamin supplements boost brain function, say UK researchers

Multivitamin supplements boost brain
function, say UK researchers
By Barbara Diggs, 17-Apr-2012

Taking a multivitamin supplement daily can improve cognitive performance in both children and adults, say UK researchers.

In a series of studies published in the British Journal of Nutrition, Psychopharmacology, and Human Psychopharmacology, teams of British neuroscientists investigated the effects of multivitamin supplementation on mood and cognitive function.
The researchers monitored groups of healthy children, men and women who took commercially-available vitamins and mineral supplements daily for 4 to 12 weeks, and tested their cognitive performance through tasks requiring attention, memory, accuracy and/or multitasking ability. The mood or stress levels of participants were also assessed.
Their findings indicated that vitamin and mineral supplementation improved cognitive performance after only a few weeks of supplementation.
Men taking high dose B-complex vitamins showed improved performance on cognitive tasks, were less mentally tired and showed improved vigor. Women taking multivitamin/mineral supplements were demonstrated to have increased accuracy and speed on multitasking batteries. Children, aged 8 – 14, showed increased accuracy in attention-based tasks.
“There’s been a huge research effort into the effects of one or two vitamins on cognitive function, not the effects of many,” said professor David Kennedy of the Brain, Performance and Nutrition Research Center at Northumbria University, and co-author of the studies.

Bridging the vitamin gap
These findings add to solid evidence indicating that multivitamin supplements offer significant and varied benefits. According to the UK’s National Diet and Nutrition Survey, the general population in the UK has vitamin deficiencies or insufficiencies across most vitamin groups.
“A vitamin deficiency predisposes you to diseases related to having too little of that vitamin,” said Dr Kennedy.
“The optimum level of a vitamin must be way above what you need to avoid disease. [The survey indicates that] there are people out there deficient in each vitamin group.But since most people don’t know which vitamins they’re missing...you should take multivitamins to bridge the gap and patch up whatever you’re deficient in.”

Omega-3s & cerebral blood flow, function
Multivitamin supplements aren’t the only nutrients to impact brain activity. In a study, published in Biological Psychology, Dr Kennedy and his colleagues studied whether omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids have impact on cognitive function. The research team found that healthy adults supplementing their diet daily with 1 -2 grams of fish oil containing docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) did not have improved cognitive functioning.
Nonetheless, through brain imaging techniques, they discovered that daily supplementation with the fish oil was associated with increased cerebral blood flow while subjects were engaged in cognitive tasks. “These results lend support to an emerging body of evidence which suggests that dietary DHA is influencing brain function in physiological terms,” Kennedy and his colleagues wrote.
That DHA may effect changes in blood flow that has implications for aging healthily and dementia, added Kennedy.

Professor Kennedy will be speaking about these findings and other issues relating to essential nutrients and cognitive function at the Vitafoods Europe expo and conference in Geneva on May 23.
To see the research and more associated with this article click here

Ten Tips to to avoid holiday weight gain

Research shows most adults gain 5-10 pounds over the holidays.  But don't despair, because this year can be different. How can you try to maintain your weight during such a tempting time? 

Here are a few tips to serve to surviving the holidays.

1. Get moving. Though it's tempting around the holidays, you shouldn't skip your workout. Exercise is a great way to burn those extra calories you may be taking in this time of year.

2. Curb those cravings. Controlling even the slightest chance of coming in contact with tempting foods is one way to effectively reduce your intake. Mentally planned out Halley you will avoid tempting situations.

3. Fruits and veggies. Not cookies and milk. Try to eat seven or more servings of fruits and vegetables each day. Not only is it healthier, it will fill you up faster than traditional snack foods.

4. Limit the sweets. It's okay to allow yourself a cookie or piece of candy doing the holly season. Just remember to compensate for it later in the day by reducing your total caloric intake Wortby bring a few extra calories by exercising.

5. Never go to a party hungry. Before you go, eat a healthy snack Britchen fiber. That way, you won't be creating appetizers and finger foods when you arrive.

6. Small plates, please. Smaller plates will stop you from taking too much food and reduce the risk of
over eating. And try to stick with one serving, not three or four trips.

7. Keep desserts healthy. There are plenty of options the best low-calorie choice is or fruit, Jell-O, putting, unfrosted mini muffin or angel food cake. But remember to get the good stuff in parentheses lean protein, veggies and water in the parentheses before the junk parentheses drinks and desserts.

8. Watch the Alcohol. If you plan to consume an adult beverage, have a light beer or wine instead of a heavy eggnog. After that, stick with Callery free drinks such as unsweetened iced tea, hot tea or coffee. And remember: drink at least eight glasses of water per day.

9. Say no politely. You might feel forced to eat because people keep putting me in front of you. As long as you're polite, you'll find saying no isn't so hard.

10. Focus on socializing. Focus your energy on making conversation with others instead of focusing on foods. Conversation is Callery free.

Take a look what the A4M (www.WorldHealth.net the leading portal for anti-aging and longevity) had to say for Diet Rich in Fruit and Vegetables Can Modify Heart Disease Risk Genes