This Way to Memory Lane

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" HSI - Jenny Thompson " <HSIResearch

HSI e-Alert - This Way to Memory Lane

Tue, 09 Aug 2005 07:00:00 -0400

HSI e-Alert - This Way to Memory Lane

 

Health Sciences Institute e-Alert

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August 09, 2005

 

 

 

 

Dear Reader,

 

The other day a colleague of mine mentioned an e-Alert he'd read last

week, and for a few moments I couldn't remember a thing about it.

Nothing. Blank slate. Clear blue sky. Then, like switching on a light,

the memory suddenly bounced bank and all the details were right there.

 

This type of brief memory lapse is no big deal as long as it doesn't

occur frequently. Nevertheless, a new study reveals that if I boost my

folate intake it might help the cause in the long run.

 

Folate is a B complex vitamin, probably best well known to the general

public as a nutrient taken by pregnant women to help prevent neural

tube defects in unborn children. To a lesser extent, folate is known

for reducing levels of homocysteine (an amino acid that promotes the

buildup of plaque on blood vessel walls).

 

I would guess that folate is least well known for helping maintain

cognitive performance. But that may change if Jane Durga has her way.

Ms. Durga is a nutritionist at Wageningen University in the

Netherlands. As part of her Ph.D. research on the effects of folic

acid (synthetic folate) among the elderly, she lead a folic acid

intervention study that offers promising results for those who want to

help preserve their memory as they age.

 

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Folate flying solo

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The Durga study was presented in June 2005 at the Alzheimer's

Association International Conference on Prevention of Dementia. Ms.

Durga and her team enlisted more than 800 men and postmenopausal women

between the ages of 50 and 70 years. Subjects were randomly selected

to receive either 800 micrograms (mcg) of folic acid per day or a

placebo. The trial period lasted three years.

 

The results:

 

* In the folic acid group, blood tests revealed that average

folate levels were five times higher than they were at baseline.

* Homocysteine levels dropped an average of 25 percent in this group.

* Subjects in the folic acid group performed significantly better

than placebo subjects in cognitive tests that assessed memory,

information processing speed, word fluency, cognitive flexibility and

eye-hand coordination speed.

 

Ms. Durga told NutraIngredients-USA that this is the first study that

convincingly demonstrates folic acid's effectiveness in slowing

cognitive decline, even when the vitamin is not mixed with other B

vitamins.

 

NutraIngredients-USA also reports that next winter the National

Institutes of Health will release a new study that examines the effect

of high doses of folic acid and other B vitamins on cognitive decline

in Alzheimer's patients.

 

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You must remember this...

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The best dietary sources of folic acid include spinach and other dark

green vegetables, brewers yeast, lima beans, cantaloupe, watermelon,

wheat germ, and liver from organically raised animals.

 

Even though this vitamin is easy to incorporate in the diet,

alternative medicine pioneer, Jonathan V. Wright, M.D., says that

folate is quite high on the vitamin deficiency list. And those who

have this deficiency are flirting with nutritional disaster. In an

issue of his Nutrition & Healing newsletter, Dr. Wright wrote, " Folic

acid (along with vitamin B12 and zinc) is absolutely key to DNA

reproduction and repair. "

 

Supplements of folate are available as natural (folate) or synthetic

(folic acid). The daily recommended intake of folate is 400 mcg. A

high intake of folate can mask a vitamin B-12 deficiency in older

people, so the FDA has mandated that folate supplements can be sold in

doses no greater than 800 mcg. But a B-12 deficiency can be easily

avoided by eating plenty of meat, fish and eggs, or by taking B-12

supplements.

 

HSI Panelist Allan Spreen, M.D., recommends folate supplements of 1.6

mg (1600 mcg) per day, and as much as 5 mg for those who want to

address cardiovascular problems. Dr. Spreen points out that, " Folate

isn't effective in low doses except in a limited percentage of cases. "

And to avoid a deficiency of B-12, he recommends 1mg (1000 mcg) per

day in sublingual form (dissolved under the tongue).

 

In addition, Dr. Spreen also suggests that to get the most out of

folate, 100 mg per day of B-6 is also necessary, as well as 400-500 mg

of magnesium per day (to make the B-6 more effective). If you take a

good quality multivitamin, you're probably already getting a good

foundation of these nutrients. But when addressing specific health

concerns, Dr. Spreen recommends that you beef up the B vitamins and

folate to reach these totals.

 

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....and another thing

 

If you already felt full every time you sat down to eat, you probably

wouldn't eat very much. And you'd probably lose some weight.

 

That's the concept behind a treatment for obesity developed by

scientists at Imperial College London (ICL). The treatment calls for

an injection of oxyntomodulin, which is a natural hormone that's

released in the small intestine and sends a " full " signal to the brain.

 

ICL researchers conducted a study in which 26 subjects received an

oxyntomodulin injection before each meal for four weeks. The group

lost an overall average of five pounds. A control group that received

a placebo injection lost an average of one pound. The ICL team will

continue their research in hopes of developing an oxyntomodulin

product within the next five years.

 

This is a wonderful concept as long as you completely ignore some key

issues.

 

1) Any hormone therapy has to be taken with great care. It's not nice

to fool Mother Nature, and she seems to get really angry when you fool

her with hormones. In this case the therapy has " potential eating

disorder " written all over it.

 

2) Newsflash: Food is good for you. It contains nutrients that your

body needs to sustain life.

 

3) Food, in and of itself, doesn't make people obese. Poor food

choices and eating for the wrong reasons make people obese.

 

4) Dieting without exercise and behavioral changes will not eliminate

obesity.

 

Now if the ICL researchers can come up with an injection that will

make us desire carrots instead of cake, and exercising instead of

zoning out in front of the television, THEN they may be on to something.

 

To Your Good Health,

 

Jenny Thompson

 

 

 

 

Sources:

 

" Effect of 3-year Folic Acid Supplementation on Cognitive Function in

Older Adults " Alzheimer's Association International Conference on

Prevention of Dementia, June 18-21, 2005, alz.org

" Folic Acid Supplements Boost Memory in Elderly " NutraIngredients-USA,

6/21/05, nutraingredients-usa.com

" Weight Loss Injection Makes Patients Feel Full - UK " Patricia Reaney,

Reuters, 7/25/05, reuters.com

 

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