Vitamin B12 May Prevent Dementia

                                     Vitamin B12, which is found in abundance in meat, fish and milk, appears
to help prevent memory loss in old age, according to a study from
Britain's University of Oxford.

One of the world's oldest living human beings, a woman who lived in The
Netherlands, died at age 115. Doctors were shocked with the autopsy
results. Find out the startling reason why!

The BBC News reports that older people who have lower-than-average
levels of vitamin B12 are six times more likely to have brain shrinkage,

which is thought to lead to dementia. As many as two out of five people
have a vitamin B12 deficiency. In this five-year study of 107 apparently
healthy people between the ages of 61 and 87, the researchers found that
those who had the least amount of vitamin B12 (which was still higher
than that used by some doctors to define a deficiency) were far more
likely to show signs of brain shrinkage. "This study adds another
dimension to our understanding of the effects of B vitamins on the
brain. The rate of shrinkage of the brain as we age may be partly
influenced by what we eat," lead study author David Smith, who directs
the Oxford Project to Investigate Memory and Aging, told the BBC.

Previous studies have also strongly linked a vitamin B12 deficiency with
a higher risk of developing dementia at a later stage. "The best way to
reduce your risk of developing dementia is to keep active, eat a
balanced diet, don't smoke and visit your GP to get your blood pressure
and cholesterol checked," Dr. Susanne Sorensen from Britain's
Alzheimer's Society told the BBC. Other sources of the vitamin include
liver and shellfish, as well as fortified cereals. The study findings
were published in the journal Neurology.