When I was diagnosed with ulcers last year I also learned I had a vitamin B-12 deficiency, meaning I was tired, depressed and a whole bunch of other fun things. Well as it turns out, B-12 (which I take regularly now) may hold the key to holding on to your brain as you age. Scientists recently found that B-12 can be a major factor in older folks brains and that a lack of B-12 can actually lead to brain shrinkage:

My brains. Photo by Liz Henry (Creative Commons)

The study, published Tuesday in Neurology, included 107 men and women, average age 73, who had no mental impairments. Researchers used M.R.I. scans to measure brain volume and blood tests to record vitamin B12 levels. They divided the subjects into three groups, based on their level of the vitamin, and followed them for five years with annual scans and physical and mental examinations.

The group with the lowest levels of vitamin B12 lost twice as much brain volume as those with the highest levels. The difference was significant even after controlling for initial brain size, age, sex, education, cognitive test scores and various measures of blood chemistry. [NYTimes]

Pretty scary, especially for me (I have shortage of the stuff at age 26!)

But one thing I would like to point out is that most vegetarians/vegans don’t get a lot of natural B-12 in their diet (it’s the one downfall as far as I can tell) so it is important to take a supplement if you’ve decided not to eat animals. There are a lot of good ones out there. I recommend taking a sub lingual - it is more likely to be absorbed into your system.

There are other options as well, takepart to learn how all vegetarians can keep their brains happy while supporting animals and the environment. And maybe give your Grandma and Grandpa some B-12 this Christmas

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