Vitamins are essential for your brain\'s health and functioning. That\'s why we call some of them brain vitamins. They can help you focus, remember things, and boost your mood.
Certain vitamins are also important for preventing dementia and Alzheimer\'s disease. Antioxidants are particularly beneficial for this purpose.
Vitamin C
Vitamin C is an essential nutrient for brain function and plays several key roles in the body. For example, it helps protect the brain from damage caused by free radicals and oxidative stress and boosts the production of neurotransmitters such as norepinephrine.
A lack of vital nutrients in the diet has been linked to the onset of mental health conditions like anxiety & depression, and daily supplementation with essential vitamins has been shown to reduce symptoms significantly. The most important dietary sources of vitamin C are oranges, berries, dark leafy vegetables, and bell peppers.
Several studies have explored the relationship between plasma vitamin C concentrations and cognitive performance in both the cognitively intact and cognitively impaired groups of participants. Most of these studies assessed cognition using a range of tests, including the digit span backward/forwards, East Boston memory test, Wechsler memory test, and clock drawing.
Vitamin E
The lipid-soluble antioxidant vitamin E (tocopherols and tocotrienols) has shown great promise for preventing neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer\'s disease and dementia. The reason for this is that these antioxidants help to minimize oxidative stress. Oxidative stress is a process in which free radicals, which can come from cigarette smoke and pollution, bind to cells in the body and cause damage to the protein and DNA inside them.
The vitamin\'s benefits are particularly important for the brain during its 1,000-day window of development, which begins at conception and lasts until a person is two years old. This brain vitamin helps protect the developing brain from toxins and abnormalities.
In addition to its benefits for the brain, vitamin E is also linked with cancer protection. Several animal studies have demonstrated that certain isomers of vitamin E, known as tocotrienols, can suppress tumor growth and stop blood vessels in cancerous areas from growing.
Vitamin B1
Vitamin B1 is one of the most important nutrients for brain health. It is also considered as a brain vitamin. It boosts the brain\'s ability to produce ATP and also helps improve mental alertness.
The body needs thiamine to help convert carbohydrates, fats, and protein into glucose. It also helps to keep the liver, skin, eyes, and nervous system healthy.
When you don\'t get enough thiamine in your diet, it can lead to severe medical problems. The most common problem is beriberi, which causes abnormal nerve function and heart failure.
Alcoholism can also deplete your thiamine levels. The result is Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome, which affects your brain\'s memory.
The good news is that people who suffer from this condition can treat their symptoms with a medication that raises thiamine levels in their blood. Researchers say that it can help with some of the problems that cause this condition, such as memory loss and confusion.
Vitamin B6
Vitamin B6 is an important micronutrient that supports the brain\'s production of many neurotransmitters, including dopamine, norepinephrine, and serotonin. It also helps to keep homocysteine, an amino acid that can build proteins in the blood, at healthy levels.
A deficiency of vitamin B6 has been linked to memory problems and dementia. Research also shows that low levels of this nutrient are associated with chronic inflammation and other conditions.
This essential nutrient is found naturally in meat, poultry, eggs, beans, nuts, and whole grains. It can be taken as a supplement in the form of pyridoxal, pyridoxamine, pyridoxine hydrochloride, or pyridoxal-5-phosphate.
Studies show that high doses of vitamin B6 can help to slow down the progress of Alzheimer\'s disease and other types of dementia.
So, including all these brain vitamins in your diet can slow down the brain\'s aging process and reduce the development of free radicals. These vitamins also help keep hormones in balance, which makes you feel fit & energetic.