Three new studies suggest that taking a daily multivitamin may slow memory loss in older adults.
Over a period of two years, the studies compared the cognitive function of people who took a multivitamin with those who took a placebo pill with no active ingredients. The studies were part of the larger COSMOS Trial, a joint project between Harvard and the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle.
All three studies appeared to show that taking a daily multivitamin does have an effect on preventing normal memory loss from aging. Researchers said that in healthy older adults, the vitamin appeared to help preserve reasoning, attention, and planning, plus to ability to recall memories from everyday life.
But the researchers have yet to pinpoint which components in the multivitamin provided the protective effect, and they don't yet know how vitamins influence cognition.
According to NBC News, geriatric medicine specialists cautioned that the results should be interpreted in the right context, since even healthy people show minor decline in cognitive function over two years. People with vitamin deficiencies — especially in B12, A, and E — may also benefit from a multivitamin, since those vitamins may be linked to cognitive decline.
