# ?B? Aware of Key Brain-Boosting Vitamins - Dr. Ronald Klatz



## Space Addict (Dec 5, 2006)

Science is making amazing discoveries about how vitamins influence our thought processes.

In recent years, vitamin supplements have been linked to better moods, higher scores on intelligence tests, more memory, and sharper attention.

Of the seven members of the B vitamin family, three are star memory boosters: B1 (thiamine), B6 (pyridoxine), andB12 (cyanocobalamin).The harm from not getting enough vitamin B hasbeen known for decades. Insufficient intake of niacincan foster pellagra, a disease that looks like mentalillness and is characterized by confusion, depression,and hallucinations.

People who do not take in enough B1 can become irritable and aggressive, and exhibit personality changes. Deficiencies in B12 have long been connected with pernicious anemia, that cancause a host of neurological problems.

Conversely, higher, stronger RDA levels of Bvitamins can actually strengthen your mental health. In this article, we will briefly review the benefits of B1,B6, and B12 on thinking and memory skills. Vitamin B6 was the subject of a study on thinkingand memory at the U.S.

Department of Agriculture Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging in Boston. Seventy men, aged 54 to 81, were tested in their thinking and memory skills and then measured forlevels of various B vitamins in their systems. The menwith the highest concentrations of B6 did better on two tests of working memory. Unfortunately, most people fail to get enough vitamin B6.

A National Health and Nutrition Survey of 12,000 people between the ages of 19 and 74 revealed that 71% of men and 90% of women do not consume the recommended dietary allowance of B6. In addition, older people are atincreased risk of lacking B6, either because they are not getting enough via dietary sources or from supplements, or because their bodies are notabsorbing the amounts that are consumed.

Vitamin B12 is also essential for memory andconcentration. This vitamin helps stimulate acetylcholine. Japanese researchers at the Gumna University School of Medicine recommend that B12 should be added to diets that lack choline (necessary to produce the vitamin), thereby raising production ofacetyl choline by the body. Older people may sufferfrom atrophic gastritis, a condition in which they nolonger produce enough stomach acid to process thevitamin B12 in their food. The result can be a host ofsymptoms, including memory loss, lack of coordination, and weakness in the limbs.

Finally, vitamin B1 may sharpen thinking, especially in women. At England?s University College Swansea,male and female students aged 17 to 27 were givenmegadoses of 9 vitamins or a placebo, and tested every 3 months for one year. At the end of the study,the researchers discovered that the thiamine in the vitamin cocktail quickened the attention and mental reaction time in all 47 women in the study.

The researchers, led by Dr. David Benton, were surprisedby the results, remarking that: ?Unlike most previous studies, an unusual feature to the present study is that aspects of cognitive functioning improved only after a year of taking a high dose of vitamins.? They also surmised that women showed different results from themen because their bodies responded differently todietary cues. Vitamin B6, important for working memory, can befound in wheat germ, sunflower seeds, yeast, tuna,and liver. Vitamin B12, necessary for concentration, mental alertness, and learning, can be found in clams,oysters, kidneys, and liver.

Vitamin B1, required forattention and reaction time, can be found in wholegrains, oatmeal, wheat germ, oysters, and liver. Somepeople, especially older folks (whose GI systems maynot function optimally to properly uptake vitamins fromfood sources) may benefit from B-complex supplementation. Anti-aging physicians and health practitioners employ vitamin supplementation in their treatment of patients who seek to prolong their healthy, vital, fit lifespans.

This article was adapted from an excerpt from BrainFitness: Anti-Aging Strategies for Achieving Super MindPower, by Dr. Robert Goldman and Dr. Ronald Klatz


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## tethra (Oct 27, 2006)

how would we know if we have a vitamin deficiency? =/


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## Space Addict (Dec 5, 2006)

VITAMIN B COMPLEX DEFICIENCY: 
MAJOR CAUSES

Vitamin B complex comprises a number of vitamins that exist as a family. They should not be taken individually. In this modern era, millions of people suffer from a deficiency of vitamin B for several reasons, chief among which are:

Stress: emotional, physical and spiritual

Processed foods in the diet: these are not real foods and so they tax the body

Refined sugar. The average person consumes at least 140 pounds of sugar a year which robs the body of its vitamin B stores

Drugs: both recreational and prescription drugs deplete vitamin B

Toxins: poisons in the environment and personal care products deplete vitamin B complex

Malnutrition. Most people are malnourished because they are not eating the right kinds of foods

Cooking. Most people do not eat enough real, raw foods, so vitamin B is killed or so depleted that people are not getting enough of it in the diet
DO YOU HAVE ANY OF THESE SYMPTOMS?

Once your body has been deprived of the vitamin B complex due to reasons stated above, it begins to show symptoms (signs) of altered, diminished or poor health. This is because the vitamin B complex (within foods, not vitamin pills) is responsible for such a wide variety of activities, including cellular differentiation, transmission of nerve electricity, health of nerve cells, heart pulse rate, muscular contraction, digestion, brain function, thought processes and energy production. Without adequate vitamin B complex from foods, you can experience one or more of any one of these symptoms:

mental problems
heart palpitations
heart arrythmias
fibrillation
indigestion
chronic fatigue
chronic exhaustion
paranoia, vague fears, fear that something dreadful is about to happen
nervousness
ADD (attention deficiency), inability to concentrate, irritability
feeling of uneasiness
thoughts of dying
easy agitation, frustration
inability to sleep (insomnia)
restlessness
tingling in hands
tingling fingers and toes
rashes
crying spells, inability to cope
soreness all over
and so much more


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## tethra (Oct 27, 2006)

what is a safe amount to take on a daily basis? and what should I ask for if I did want to try more vitamin b in my diet?


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## Space Addict (Dec 5, 2006)

I would recommend you buy a B-COMPLEX SUPPLEMENT. This includes all the b vitamins. Take one vitamin daily. 10 mg - 100 mg daily intake of b vitamins should not be exceeded. 
Also vitamins in pill form arent known to be as effective as the vitamins found in the food you eat. 
Major sources of vitamin B6 include: cereal grains, legumes, vegetables (carrots, spinach, peas), potatoes, milk, cheese, eggs, fish, liver, meat, and flour.

Noticable changes in your mental performance may not start appearing until a year after intake. Allow time for your system to rebalance itself. 
Healthy diet and exercize are also important.


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