Improving memory may be as easy as popping a multivitamin, study finds: 'Prevents vascular dementia'

Adults over age 60 who want to stave off memory loss could benefit from taking a daily multivitamin supplement, suggests a recent study from Columbia University in New York and Brigham and Women's Hospital/Harvard in Boston. "Daily multivitamin supplementation improved memory in older adults after one year, an effect that was sustained, on average, over the three years of follow up," Adam M. Brickman, PhD, professor of neuropsychology at Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons, told Fox News Digital. During the study -- published in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition -- more than 3,500 adults over age 60 were randomly assigned to take either a daily multivitamin or a placebo for a three-year period. At the end of each year, the participants completed self-administered cognitive tests to determine the strength of their memory. After the first year, those taking the multivitamin showed memory improvement compared to the placebo group -- an effect that continued over the entire course of the study.