Sources of vitamin B
Vitamin B3 may help protect the brain from Alzheimer's disease and improve memory, a new study reports. The study was published online in the Nov. 5, 2008 issue of the Journal of Neuroscience.
Researchers at the University of California, Irvine, found that a form of vitamin B3, called nicotinamide, lowered the levels of the protein that causes brain lesions in mice with Alzheimer's disease. This protein is called phosphorylated tau and abnormal levels of it contributes to the formation of neurofibrillary tangles, one of two brain lesions found in people with Alzheimer's disease.
The other brain lesion associated with Alzheimer's disease involves the formation of plaques in the brain caused by a type of protein called beta amyloid. The study found that this condition was unaffected by vitamin B3.
However, researchers found that the vitamin helped to improve long- and short-term memory in AD-stricken mice and enhanced, albeit slightly, the brain power of mice without AD -- suggesting that nicotinamide vitamin B3 proves useful for those with and without Alzheimer's disease.
The vitamin has also been shown to help people with diabetes complications and skin conditions.
Good sources of vitamin B3
Whether you want to prevent Alzheimer's disease or boost your memory, simple changes to your diet can help you to get a good dose of this brain-boosting vitamin. "The beauty of this is anyone can do this right away," says Dr. Jack Diamond, scientific director of the Alzheimer Society of Canada. "Anybody can eat things with nicotinamide in it."
You can find nicotinamide in:
-meat
-fish
-beans
-cereals
-potatoes
-supplements.
Before taking supplements, however, analyse your eating habits.
Before you take vitamin B3 supplements…
"If you have a good healthy diet, the chances are high that you'll have enough of this [vitamin] in the diet," says Diamond. "If you were at risk [for Alzheimer's disease], then you might want to supplement your normal, healthy diet. But we're talking about a modest supplementation. We don't know enough about what happens in the body to know whether that ultimately could backfire and produce a bad result."
Adults can consume up to 500 mg a day safely, but Diamond suggests capping your vitamin B3 intake at 10 mg. Clinical trials are underway at UC Irvine to test the affects of the vitamin on humans and determine the amount they should take.
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