| Alzheimer's is very much in the news this week due | | | | people understand some more about homocysteine |
| because of a possible pill that might prevent this | | | | levels may assist people to determine how best they |
| terrible disease. Many newspapers from India, | | | | might avoid the disease. |
| Australia, Great Britain and the USA are all relating the | | | | Firstly, your doctor could suggest that you have a |
| story about how an inexpensive pill may be able to | | | | homocysteine test done to determine if a person has |
| beat Alzheimer's. The fact that it has made the | | | | B12 or folate deficiency. If your body was not |
| headlines across the world may be as a result of fact | | | | getting enough B vitamins and or folate through your |
| that so many people have family members or friends | | | | diet, it can results in deficiencies of the vitamin folic |
| now suffering from this disease. | | | | acid (B2) pyridoxine(B6) or cyanocobalamin (B12) that |
| The breakthrough on this research appears to centre | | | | can lead to high homocysteine levels. |
| on a compound called Homocysteine which is an | | | | Previous research suggests that daily supplementation |
| amino acid derivate that is naturally found in your | | | | with folic acid typically lowers homocysteine levels by |
| body. Too much Homocysteine can lead to a greater | | | | about 25% and the addition of vitamin B lowers it by |
| risk of memory loss, heart attack or stroke. The | | | | a further 7%. Certain foods are very high in folate. |
| finding of the research suggest that high dosage | | | | Leafy vegetables such as spinach and turnip greens |
| levels of folic acid, vitamin B6 and vitamin B12 will | | | | are amongst them. Dried or fresh beans and peas |
| delay the development of Alzheimer's and other | | | | are good also. Liver also contains high amount of |
| forms of dementia. Their results which showed that | | | | folate, as well as sunflower seeds and fortified grain |
| the brain of those patients taking the vitamin | | | | products. |
| treatment shrank at a rate of 0.76 percent a year | | | | Resveratrol has also been linked with suppressing |
| compared with those not taking the vitamin had an | | | | homocysteine but like all current trials need further |
| average brain shrinkage of 1.08 percent. The | | | | investigation. While the trials are ongoing, do keep |
| researchers found that the people that had the | | | | informed on homocysteine levels and if the answer |
| lowest rate of shrinkage had the highest score in | | | | to preventing Alzheimer's in somehow linked to the |
| mental tasks. | | | | above,then it is certainly worth reading about and |
| While we wait further trials and hopefully the | | | | congrats to all the newspapers for getting the |
| development of a successful vitamin b pill that one | | | | message out there. |
| day we can all take to prevent this disease, helping | | | | |