The Vitamin That Saves the Brain
Carl Lowe | Jan 21, 2013 | Comments 2 |
Research into a vitamin taken by bodybuilders and often used to help fight asthma shows that it may significantly support brain health. Scientists now believe this vitamin can lower the chances of schizophrenia while possibly reducing the risk of Alzheimer’s disease and dementia.
The essential nutrient is choline, a member of the B vitamin family that is found in liver, muscle meats, fish, nuts and eggs. In a study at the University of Colorado, researchers found that giving choline to pregnant women in the last two trimesters of pregnancy improved cognitive functioning in their babies. The result: The newborns showed fewer nervous system characteristics that might make them more vulnerable to schizophrenia.
"Genes associated with schizophrenia are common, so prevention has to be applied to the entire population, and it has to be safe,” says researcher Robert Freedman, M.D. “Basic research indicates that choline supplementation during pregnancy facilitates cognitive functioning in offspring. Our finding that it ameliorates some of the pathophysiology associated with risk for schizophrenia now requires longer-term follow-up to assess whether it decreases risk for the later development of illness as well."
Filed Under: Alternative Medicine • Brain Health
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Another reason to eat your egg yolks!
The Food and Nutrition Board of the Institute of Medicine recommends between 400 mg and 550 mg of choline every day, depending on gender and age.
According to the Linus Pauling Institute, the average choline consumption of American adults is between 730 and 1,040 mg/day.
Choline can be found in a wide range of foods, including vegetables, legumes, nuts and seeds such as broccoli, cauliflower, soybeans, lentils, oats, peanut butter, pistachios, and flaxseed, to name a few.