Since launching FoodFacts TRI Nutritionals earlier this month, FoodFacts.com has been actively researching vitamins and supplements and their effects on our health and well being.

Today we found a recent study that suggests that older adults may be at greater risk for accelerated cognitive decline if they aren’t getting enough Vitamin B-12. The study comes out of the USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging at Tufts University.

Researchers at the HNRCA at Tufts examined data from almost 550 men and women who were enrolled in a heart study. They focused on their scores of the Mini-Mental State Examination. This exam consists of a list of questions and tasks that are routinely used to diagnose dementia. The participants were split into five groups all based on the levels of Vitamin B-12 in their blood.

The two groups of participants who had the lowest levels of Vitamin B-12 had experienced significantly Being in the two lowest groups was associated with a significantly faster rate of cognitive decline. This was determined by following their test scores on the Mini-Mental State Examination over the course of eight years.

While a severely low level of Vitamin B-12 deficiency is related to cognitive impairment, this study suggests that there are adverse effects related to levels of deficiency that are not considered severe. Over time, those participants in the second lowest group of Vitamin B-12 levels had the same outcome as those in the very lowest group. This leads researchers to believe that even small deficiencies of this important vitamin are effecting a larger population.

The analysis discovered that the Mini-Mental State Examination scores dropped an average of .24 points per year for the first three groups of participants, while falling an average of .35 points yearly in the lowest two groups. This is a meaningful difference in cognitive decline.

The study raises a definite concern regarding the population’s intake of Vitamin B-12 and notes that it becomes more difficult to maintain normal blood levels of the vitamin as we age. Older adults seem to have a more difficult time absorbing Vitamin B-12 from food into the blood stream. It’s because of that that the USDA’s 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommends that people over 50 incorporate B-12 fortified foods or supplements into their diets.

FoodFacts.com is again happy to see that science is exploring the effects of natural solutions to health problems. If you’re over 50, you might want to consider this product from FoodFacts TRI Nutritionals for its quality ingredients and purity. However you decide to supplement, make sure you do. It’s a natural answer to a difficulty that would be best to avoid!

Read more: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/12/121205102613.htm