Nutrients improve cognition and memory

Good choline levels reduce chances for Alzheimer’s

A growing number of studies suggest a balanced diet supports cognition in aging. Choline is an
essential nutrient that the body produces, but not in quantities sufficient to serve the nervous system
and motor neurons that activate muscles. In one study, doctors measured the diets of 3,224 men and
women, average age 55, who were free of dementia and stroke at the start of the study.

Participants took cognitive tests three to four times over the average 16 years of follow-up and
periodically reported their diets on food questionnaires. Doctors also interviewed family members over the
study period. Overall, those who got no more than 215 mg of choline per day were significantly more likely
to develop dementia or Alzheimer’s disease (AD) compared to those who got at least 371 to 385 mg of
choline per day. The cognitive benefits did not persist beyond 517 mg of choline per day.

Reference: American Journal of Clinical Nutrition; November 2022, Vol. 116, No. 5, 1201-7

Probiotics improved memory in older adults

In this study, 78 participants over age 65 with early memory decline took a placebo or 5 billion colony
forming units of the probiotic lactobacillus plantarum per day. Before the study and after 12 weeks, doctors
tested various aspects of memory function.

By the end of the study, those in the probiotics group saw visual memory scores improve 2.4 percent,
while the placebo group declined 3.9 percent. Verbal memory scores remained stable for probiotics, while
declining 2.8 percent for placebo. Overall, combined memory function scores improved 1.6 percent for
probiotics, while declining 3.3 percent for placebo.

Levels of inflammatory gut bacteria also declined in the probiotics group, leading doctors to theorize
that L. plantarum suppressed intestinal inflammation and neuroinflammation through the gut-brain axis,
improving memory function.

Reference: Nutrients; October 2022, Vol. 14, No. 20, 4300
Internet Data Tags: #Choline #Memory #Cognition #Alzheimer’s disease #Probiotics