< previous page | page_28 | next page >
Page 28
| ginkgo have been published, demonstrating that it works by increasing blood flow throughout the body and brain. Ginkgo increases the production of adenosine triphosphate (ATP, the universal energy molecule). It also improves the brain's ability to metabolize glucose, prevents platelet aggregation inside arterial walls by keeping them flexible, improves the transmission of nerve signals, and acts as a powerful antioxidant. It has been shown to be helpful for short-term memory loss, depression, tinnitus, slow thinking and slow reasoning. |
| Vitamins |
| We need B vitamins primarily for the catalytic functions they fulfill in all our bodily processes, including brain function. Research suggests that low levels of these often-overlooked nutrients may be implicated in subtle slides in mental performance among healthy people. |
| For example, researchers at the Jean Mayer USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging at Tufts University examined blood samples from 70 men age 54 to 81 for concentrations of vitamins B-6, B-12 and folate, as well as for homocysteine, a substance that's a marker for inadequate B vitamin status and a risk factor for vascular disease. They then gave the subjects a battery of mental tests. Low scores on one in particular, which involved copying complex figures, coincided with low concentrations of B-12 and folate and high homocysteine. In addition, higher levels of vitamin B-6 were associated with better performance on two tests of memory. |
| Another study, at the University of New Mexico School of Medicine, generally confirmed the Tufts findings on the effects of low B vitamin status, and found that abstract thinking also suffered when B vitamins were low. The research followed up a much-cited study from 1983 on the adverse impact on healthy older people of comparatively low intake of vitamins like C, thiamin, riboflavin, folic acid, B-12 and B-6. The researcher's conclusion in their 1997 American Journal of Clinical Nutrition article: ''There is a clear trend in the present analyses toward higher cognitive performance among participants taking vitamin supplements compared with those not taking supplements." |
| A vitamin boost may also help younger adults, who presum- |
< previous page | page_28 | next page >

If you like this book, buy it!