Older adults who took a multivitamin each day for three years found a mild improvement in their memory after one year compared with people taking a placebo, or sugar pill, a new study found.
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Retested at the end of the first year, the study found people who continued to take a daily multivitamin were able to remember, on average, nearly one extra word compared with those who took a placebo. While the effect was small, it was statistically significant, according to the study published [May 24] in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.
The improvement in memory remained for the duration of the study and was stronger for people with a history of cardiovascular disease, said lead study author Adam Brickman.
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The researchers found that three years of taking the multivitamin appeared to have slowed cognitive aging by 1.8 years, or 60%, compared with the placebo. Daily cocoa extract supplementation for three years did not affect cognitive function, the researchers wrote.
The study – supported by the National Institute on Aging of the National Institutes of Health – also found that multivitamins were most beneficial for older adults who had a history of cardiovascular disease.
This is an excerpt. Read the full article here
