Scientists at the University of Western Australia found that adults who took regular does of vitamin B12 supplements were less likely to suffer mental health problems in old age.

It seems that the supplements lower the amount of homocysteine in the blood, high levels of which have been linked to heart disease and mood swings and other disorders. This can be reduced fairly quickly by taking B12 supplements or by eating food rich in vitamin B12, such as oily fish, eggs, yogurt and cheese. Researchers questioned 3,752 people aged 70 and above on past and present symptoms of depression and found that those with the highest levels of homocysteine were 70 percent less likely to suffer from it. The researchers believe that lowering homocysteine can reduce the risk of depression in the elderly by about 20 per cent.

 

Homocysteine can be easily tested with a finger prick test that is performed at home then sent to the lab, so contact my clinic if you would like your homocysteine measured. 

This entry was posted on Sunday, March 1st, 2009 at 2:40 am and is filed under In the News, Supplements. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.