Your body needs a wide array of nutrients to function properly and stay healthy. Your lifestyle has a huge impact on your health as you age, especially when it comes to building a better memory and combating memory loss. Eating a healthy diet full of nutritious foods, being involved in physical activity at least 30 minutes each day, getting a good night’s sleep, and managing your stress levels are all ways to help protect your brain.
However, adding some vitamins and mineral supplements into your daily routine can also help prevent or slow the progression of dementia and Alzheimer’s disease.
Super Vitamins for Dementia
The aging population is growing, which means the occurrence of dementia in the elderly is also growing. It’s estimated that 1 in 8 people over the age of 65 are living with dementia. Currently, there is no cure and there are only a few treatments that have been somewhat effective in slowing the onset of dementia.
Research has shown that the best hope for prevention of dementia and Alzheimer’s disease lies in maintaining that healthy lifestyle we mentioned above. New studies are being conducted to show which “super” vitamins can be added to that lifestyle to help prevent dementia.
Some of the best mineral supplements and vitamins for dementia prevention include:
- Vitamin B6: Vitamin B6 has been proven to improve brain function, nerve function and red cell production.
- Vitamin B12 and Folic Acid: Being deficient in both Vitamin B12 and folic acid is common in those with dementia and Alzheimer’s disease. Taken together, these two supplements can help lower the levels of an amino acid in the blood that is often linked to dementia. Studies have actually shown that taking a combination of vitamin B12, B6 and folic acid effectively slowed shrinkage of the whole brain volume over a two-year time period.
- Vitamin D: Vitamin D is beneficial for reducing the risk of bone disease and fractures, autoimmune diseases and bacterial and viral infections, and recent studies have shown it can also reduce the risk of developing dementia.
- Vitamin C and E: Those who have been diagnosed with dementia or Alzheimer’s disease are sometimes low on vitamins C and E. Although it’s not been proven that the lack of these vitamins are a cause for the disease, some studies show that adding more of them to your daily dietary intake may help protect against dementia. Vitamin E in particular has been shown to slow down the progression of dementia and improve brain function.
- Zinc: Zinc is essential to healthy functioning of the body, including the brain. Many older adults tend to not have high enough levels of zinc in their bodies, and it is especially low in those with Alzheimer’s. Taking a zinc supplement that is between 30 and 40 mg per day can help improve memory and cognitive function.
- Phosphatidylserine: This super vitamin for dementia is actually a naturally occurring lipid that is the primary component of the membranes surrounding nerve cells. These nerve cells tend to degenerate in those with dementia or Alzheimer’s disease, so in theory, adding a phosphatidylserine supplement may protect those cells from further degeneration.
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