It is customary in our society to expect mental decline in old age, however, a close look at history tells us that we are wrong in our expectation. As our natural foods have become less and less nourishing because of agribusiness farming practices that increase profits for the farmer with little concern for the consumer along with an enormous increased consumption of man-made/processed/manufactured foods, we as a nation have noticed this increase in mental decline, and I do not believe it is limited to old age.
A big part of this problem is the elimination and/or reduction of naturally occurring B vitamins in our daily intake. The studies have been done that implicate sub-clinical as well as clinical B vitamin deficiency in cases of dementia and cognitive impairment. They show that participants who have the lowest serum levels and tissue levels of B vitamins have the greatest cognitive challenges. A very helpful marker is most often used by Cardiologists to determine cardiovascular disease (CVD), the serum homocysteine test. The higher your serum homocysteine test numbers, the greater your risk of both CVD and cognitive decline.
The B vitamins can be found in healthy quantities in green leafy vegetables, beans, and eggs, especially if they are fresh and organic. Unfortunately, the B vitamin family is water soluble and denatures quickly, so freshness is essential. Here in the Midwest, that’s less critical than in New York City, where produce is usually at least two weeks old by the time it gets to the consumer and a lot of nutrition is lost in those two weeks.
Aging studies continue to be performed which consistently show B vitamin levels drop as we age, and that is definitely a part of the fatigue, depression, and cognitive impairment of old age. As one might expect, the B vitamins tend to be deficient as a group, even though the emphasis has been on B-6 (pyridoxine), B-9 (folic acid), and B-12 (cyanocobalamin), when these are lacking we usually find that the whole B family is less than it should be; so it should come as no surprise that the body of evidence clearly demonstrates that B vitamin nutritional status is critical to both the development and preservation of mental capacities throughout life.
Preventics Glyco Min and Preventics Glyco B are both excellent sources of the B vitamin family in a balanced form. In cases of fatigue and/or cognitive impairment, one per meal can often produce pleasant improvement. I suggest a clinical trial of two bottles of Glyco B. If no changes are forthcoming I consider the trial a failure and discontinue the supplement.
