OXFORD, England, Sept. 15 (UPI) -- Vitamin B12, found in meat, fish and milk, may protect against brain volume loss in older people which results in memory loss, British researchers said.
For the University of Oxford study, 107 people between the ages of 61 and 87 underwent brain scans, memory testing and physical exams. The researchers also collected blood samples to check vitamin B 12 levels. Brain scans and memory tests were also performed again five years later.
The study, published in the journal Neurology, found that people who had higher vitamin B12 levels were six times less likely to experience brain shrinkage compared with those who had lower levels of the vitamin in their blood. None of the people in the study had vitamin B12 deficiency.
"Many factors that affect brain health are thought to be out of our control, but this study suggests that simply adjusting our diets to consume more vitamin B12 through eating meat, fish, fortified cereals or milk may be something we can easily adjust to prevent brain shrinkage and so perhaps save our memory," Anna Vogiatzoglou of the Oxford University said in a statement.
Vogiatzoglou said the study did not look at whether taking vitamin B12 supplements would have the same effect.
