If You Eat French Fries or Potato Chips, This Will Stop You

The potato has a history dating back to 1536 when the Spanish Conquistadors discovered the plant. The potato launched modern pesticide manufacture and use, and may double your risk of death when you eat fried potatoes more than twice a week. I'll give you strategies to enjoy potatoes without the risk.

June 28, 2017

Story at-a-glance

• The potato has a long and illustrious history ranging from worship by the Incan tribe in Peru to launching the first use of artificial pesticide developed from arsenic
• Recent research demonstrates a potential link between eating fried potatoes two or more times each week and doubling the risk of death from all causes; other research links white potatoes to high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes and heart disease
• French fries and potato chips are also high in trans fat; sweet potatoes are your best option as they are high in prebiotic fiber that feeds beneficial bacteria in your digestive tract

Obesity Takes Greater Than Ever Toll on Global Health

How to Get Rid of a Stye in Your Eye

By Dr. Mercola

The potato has had a long history. The Incan tribe from the highlands of Peru worshipped the potato and people from Ireland blamed the potato for the Great Famine when a blight destroyed potato crops across Europe.1 Today, the potato is the fourth largest food crop in the world.

The potato is a perennial plant that is high in starch and has more potassium than bananas.2 The vegetable is also source of vitamin C and B-6, and is sodium and fat free. However, while there are benefits to the vegetable, it is also high in carbohydrates; one medium potato contains 37 grams of carbohydrates. I recommend you limit your net carbohydrates (total carbs minus fiber) to between 50 and 80 grams per day, depending upon your metabolism.

This means a single potato can be 45 percent to 75 percent of your daily net carb amount. The consumption of fresh potatoes has declined in the past 50 years, dropping from 61 pounds per year per person in 1970 to 36 pounds per year per person in 2008.3However, consumption of processed potatoes, such as french fries or potato chips, has increased over the same period.

Processed potatoes cooked at high heat contain byproducts that are known carcinogens and trans fats linked to a number of health conditions. Recent research has now found a potential link between fried potato consumption and increased risk of death.

The Lowly Potato

In 1536, the Spanish Conquistadors arrived in Peru and discovered potatoes. They brought them back to Europe, and before the end of the 16th century sailors were planting them along the northern coast of Spain.4 By 1589, they reached Ireland and over the next 40 years spread across the rest of Europe.

In the mid-1840s a blight on potatoes wiped out most of the crop in many countries across Europe, especially in Ireland where the potato had become a staple. Over the course of the blight, nearly 1 million people died from starvation or disease, and another 1 million people emigrated from Ireland to Canada and the U.S.5

Some believe Marie Antoinette, the last queen of France before the revolution, enjoyed the flower blossoms from the potato plant so much she put them in her hair and her husband, King Louis XVI, wore them in his buttonhole.6 Historians think this was an attempt to encourage farmers to plant more potatoes.

As Europe and North America adopted the potato, it initiated a template for an agriculture industrial complex, eventually leading to the use of intensive fertilizer and of arsenic as the first artificial pesticide to eradicate the Colorado potato beetle.7 Competition to manufacture potent arsenic blends opened the modern pesticide industry.

Fried Potatoes May Increase Your Risk of Death

McDonald's has sold millions more fries each year with the simple question, "Would you like fries with that?"8 Also known as an upsell, this simple technique has contributed to ever increasing waistlines for their customers. Now, researchers have found those who eat fried potatoes two or more times each week may double their risk of death from all causes.9

Eating potatoes that were not fried was not linked to an increase in mortality risk according to the researchers.10 The authors had been tracking nearly 4,400 people over eight years to study the effects of osteoarthritis when they decided to include an evaluation of the participants' intake of potatoes and the impact it had on their lives.

In analyzing the data from the study, the researchers found that people who ate fried potatoes had double the risk of death during the study. Fried potatoes included french fries, hash browns and potato chips. Any preparation of potatoes that required frying was included in the fried potato category in the study.

The data from the study was observational, which presents challenges to extrapolating the results. The gold standard for medical research is randomly controlled experimental studies. These are often costly, while observational studies can be completed more economically.11 However, observational studies may not enable researchers to accurately link cause and effect.

The study could correlate french fries with an increased risk of death, but the researchers could not assume that french fries caused the death. The researchers tried to control for variables, but as this was an observational study, other factors that may have been involved could have been missed.12

However, while this type of study precluded the ability to establish a link between an increased intake of french fries and death, performing a controlled study would be unethical as the researchers would have to ask participants to increase their consumption and then measure risk of death.

In 2014, Americans ate an average of 112 pounds of potatoes each year; 33 pounds were fresh potatoes and 78 pounds were processed.13 The potential danger of eating pounds of fried potatoes is generated by acrylamide, a chemical produced when the starchy potato is fried at high temperatures.

How Acrylamide Affects Your Health

Acrylamide, a byproduct of processing, is one of the most hazardous ingredients found in potato chips, hash browns and french fries. The browning process is what produces the chemical, so boiling and steaming doesn't create it. Beginning in 2013, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recommended Americans reduce the amount of browned and overcooked foods that may be high in acrylamide.14

The FDA continues to recommend people cut back on the amount of foods high in acrylamide, as the chemical has been shown to cause cancer in animals and may also be responsible for causing cancer in humans.15 Acrylamide is also found in coffee, cereals, crackers, breads and dried fruit, to name a few. In fact, it may be found in up to 40 percent of calories eaten each day.16

In a study evaluating the amount of acrylamide found in chips, researchers found levels over the upper limit set by the European Union (EU) in 16 of the 92 brands tested.17 Currently, the EU set the upper limit at 1,000 micrograms per kilogram (mcg/kg) for crisps and they are considering lowering that benchmark to 750 mcg/kg, as acrylamide has been demonstrated and identified by the World Health Organization as a cancer risk.18

Although scientists knew the chemical was present in plastics and water treatment facilities, it wasn't until 2002 that scientists discovered it was present in foods. While acrylamide is a known carcinogen, links have been found between acrylamide-hemoglobin levels and estrogen receptor positive breast cancer.19 Higher levels of dietary acrylamide have also been linked to an increased risk of postmenopausal endometrial and ovarian cancer.20

Storing starchy vegetables, such as potatoes, in the refrigerator increases the amount of acrylamide produced if you do cook them at high heat or brown them.21 The process of increasing the amount of sugar in the potato that then produces more acrylamide during cooking is called "cold sweetening." Instead, raw potatoes should be stored in a cool, dark place above 42 F (6 C).

Trans Fat Found in More Than Potatoes

Acrylamide exposure is not the only risk associated with fried potatoes. Trans fat products are often used to fry the potatoes and chips, adding another layer of risk. This short video shows you some of the foods where trans fat may hide. There are two types of trans fats; one is made by hydrogenating vegetable oil in a chemical process and the other is found in natural meat products and has no harmful effects on your health.

Processed trans fats have been linked to heart disease,22 insulin sensitivity23 with type 2 diabetes,24 inflammation,25 damage to the lining of your blood vessels26 and cancer.27 Aside from french fries and potato chips, harmful trans fats may also be found in:28,29,30

Pie crust	Cakes and cookies	Biscuits
Breakfast sandwiches	Margarine	Crackers
Microwave popcorn	Cream filled candy	Fast food
Doughnuts	Frozen pizza	Cake mixes
Frostings	Pancakes and waffles	Nondairy creamer
Ice cream	Meat sticks	Frozen dinner
Packaged pudding	Creamy frozen drinks	Asian crunchy noodles

Eating Potatoes Linked With Negative Health Conditions

Steaming or boiling potatoes may reduce your exposure to acrylamide and trans fat, but the potato itself may still increase your risk for other health conditions. They are high in carbohydrates, creating a blood glucose spike and resulting release of insulin. One cup of potatoes has a similar effect on your blood sugar as a can of Coke.31 This roller coaster effect of rising and crashing blood sugar often leaves you feeling hungry within hours, leading to overeating, weight gain and an increasing risk of type 2 diabetes.32

In 2010, more than 2 in 3 adults were considered either overweight or obese33 and in 2014, 9.3 percent of the population had been diagnosed with type 2 diabetes.34 These numbers are continuing to rise each year, and both of these conditions contribute to heart disease, stroke and a higher risk of death.

A recent study published in The BMJ found that those who ate four servings per week of baked, boiled or mashed potatoes had an 11 percent increased risk of high blood pressure.

Those who ate french fries or potato chips four times a week raised their risk by 17 percent.35 High blood pressure in turn increases your risk of cardiovascular disease and stroke and is linked to kidney disease and peripheral vascular disease. In other words, while potatoes carry some health benefits, they are best eaten baked or boiled in moderation.

Some French Fries Are Worse Than Others

Although all french fries are unhealthy, some are worse than others. In this short video, American journalist, author and activist Michael Pollan explains how "the desire for a certain kind of [french fry] leads to a certain kind of agriculture." McDonald's french fries are made with Russett Burbank potatoes, a particularly difficult potato to grow.

They must also be free of blemishes, so to eliminate the aphids that cause net necrosis in the potato, farmers will use an exceptionally toxic pesticide. It is so toxic they cannot venture into the fields for five days after spraying, and harvested potatoes have to off-gas in atmospheric-controlled sheds for six weeks before they're even safe to eat.

Your best potato choice are sweet potatoes. While they share the same name, they don't come from the same family of plants and have many more health benefits than the standard white potato you find in french fries, hash browns and mashed potatoes. Both white and sweet potatoes have the same number of grams of carbohydrates, but sweet potatoes have more than double the amount of fiber, thereby reducing the glycemic load on your body.

This fiber content may be referred to as digestive resistant fiber, an important prebiotic necessary for the nourishment of beneficial bacterial colonies in your gut. A large number of studies have linked an imbalanced gut microbiome with a number of diseases, including obesity, depression, anxiety and inflammatory diseases.36

Minimize Your Acrylamide and Trans Fat Exposure

Thus far, acrylamide has been found in foods heated to 250 F (120 C), which includes most processed foods. Basing your diet on whole foods, with a significant amount eaten raw, slightly cooked or steamed, is one of the best ways to avoid this cancer-causing byproduct. Raw foods are also recommended for general good health as it helps to optimize your nutrition.

For a step-by-step guide to making the transition to a healthier diet as simple as possible, see my optimized nutrition plan. For the times you would like to cook your food, keep the following tips in mind:

• Frying, baking and broiling appear to be the worst offenders, while boiling or steaming appear to be safer
• Longer cooking times increase acrylamide, so the shorter the duration of cooking, the better
• Soaking raw potatoes in water for 15 to 30 minutes prior to roasting may help reduce acrylamide formation during cooking. Chilling the potatoes after cooking (and other starch-rich foods such as rice and pasta) will make it healthier by turning much of that starch into digestive-resistant starch that helps optimize your gut health. Potato salad is perhaps one of the healthiest ways to eat your potatoes
• The darker brown or blackened the food, the more acrylamide it contains, so avoid overcooking your food
• Acrylamide is found primarily in plant-based carb-rich foods such as potatoes and grain products (not typically in meat, dairy or seafood)

Healthier Potato Recipes

Sweet potatoes are a deliciously sweet and satisfying potato option you may eat baked or in a tasty potato salad.

Sweet Potato Fries

Ingredients

• One sweet potato
• Sea salt, coarse
• Black pepper, ground
• Olive oil (coconut oil can serve as an even healthier option as it withstands heat better)

Instructions

1. Heat the oven to 450 F. You may or may not peel the potato. If you don't peel the potato, clean the skin.
2. Cut the potato into large chunks about 1/2- to 3/4-inch thick.
3. Place the sweet potato fries onto a baking sheet and sprinkle a pinch of sea salt and ground black pepper. Next, drizzle the fries with about 1/8 cup of oil. You may add more if you wish.
4. Place in the oven for 15 minutes. Afterward, take them out and flip and return to oven for 10 minutes.
5. May take 1.5 hours to make and can serve 2 to 3 people.
6. 
   

Sweet Potato Salad courtesy of BBC Good Food:37

Ingredients

• 2 1/2 pounds. sweet potato, peeled and cut into chunks
• 1 tablespoon coconut oil

For the dressing

• 2 shallots (or half a small red onion), finely chopped
• 4 spring onions, finely sliced
• small bunch chives, snipped into quarters or use mini ones
• 5 tablespoons sherry vinegar
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 tablespoons honey

Instructions

1. Heat oven to 350 F. Toss the sweet potato chunks with coconut oil and salt and pepper; spread on a baking parchment-lined baking sheet. Roast for 30 to 35 minutes until tender and golden. Cool at room temperature.
2. When just about cool, whisk together the dressing ingredients and gently toss through the potato chunks — use your hands to avoid breaking the potatoes.

http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2017/06/28/eating-fried-potatoes-doubles-death-risk.aspx

Paying Respect to Dr. Kummerow

Fred Kummerow, the scientist who took the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to task for failing to protect Americans against artery-clogging trans fats, died on June 2, 2017. He was widely acknowledged for 58 years of tenacious activism that scientists believe may prevent 90,000 premature deaths per year.

June 19, 2017

Story at-a-glance

• Dr. Fred Kummerow, the key figure behind a lawsuit filed against the FDA to get trans fats removed from processed foods and stop blaming saturated fat for heart disease, died on June 2, 2017, at 102 years old
• Major news sources acknowledged Kummerow’s patience and resolve as he worked for decades to rid foods of artery-clogging trans fat, which experts say may save as many as 90,000 people a year from premature death
• Trans fat, found in partially hydrogenated oil, may cause heart disease, as may the consumption of oxidized cholesterol, found in fried foods and, sadly, about 95 percent of the foods Americans eat are processed
• It took Kummerow’s tough stance with the FDA to get them to concede that trans fats were not safe, with the caveat that unless a manufacturer could present convincing scientific evidence that a particular use was safe, they would be banned after June 18, 2018

By Dr. Mercola

As they say, patience is a virtue, and that's part of what it took for Dr. Fred A. Kummerow to accomplish what was arguably his most important work: spearheading a federal ban on synthetic trans fats in processed foods. It took nearly 50 years of what The New York Times described as his "contrarian" nature to get the job done, and it wasn't an easy task.

Kummerow, a comparative biosciences professor at the University of Illinois, died on June 2, 2017, at the age of 102. He had studied trans fats for decades — long before they were an issue in the minds of food scientists. Despite opposition and even ridicule (such as heckling by industry representatives at scientific conferences, according to his local Champaign, Illinois, newspaper, the News-Gazette1), his tenacity eventually facilitated changes in the American diet that have undoubtedly saved thousands of lives.

Perhaps it was his perseverance in working toward his goal that spurred Kummerow on to centenarian status. He started with a petition targeted toward the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 2009. The agency's failure to respond led — just a few months before his 99th birthday — to his lawsuit against the agency in 2013. Two years later, the FDA agreed to start the process of banning all synthetic trans fats from food. The ban is set to go into effect in 2018.

A few brief snapshots of some of Kummerow's most pivotal moments in the fight hint at the importance of this accomplishment: He was both one of the first to suggest an association between processed foods and heart disease, and the key figure behind the FDA lawsuit, which asked the administration to simply be more responsible for the decisions the agency made that could (and did) make or break the health of consumers.

Robert Jones, chancellor at the university, called Kummerow both a "trailblazer" and "maverick."2 Michael Jacobson, president of the Center for Science in the Public Interest, which began working toward the use of safer oils in foods in the 1980s, noted that "for many years, he was a lonely voice in the wilderness."3

What Are Trans Fats and Why Are They so Bad?

Trans fats, The New York Times explains, are "derived from the hydrogen-treated oils used to give margarine its easy-to-spread texture and prolong the shelf life of crackers, cookies, icing and hundreds of other staples in the American diet."4

If you want to get technical, trans fats are synthetic fatty acids. Kummerow pointed out that trans fats, which are not found in animal or vegetable fats, prevent the synthesis of prostacyclin,5 which studies show your body needs to prevent blood clots from forming in your arteries. The natural result, all too often, is sudden death.

Synthetic trans fats found in partially hydrogenated oil can cause heart disease, as can oxidized cholesterol, which is formed when cholesterol is heated, such as in the case of fried foods. The sad fact is, about 95 percent of the foods Americans eat are processed. The elimination of processed foods (or any foods containing trans fat) may be the single most important change you make in your diet. Here's an encouraging word: Your body can eliminate the built-up trans fats it contains in about a month.

Kummerow was the first scientist to identify trans fat as the true culprit behind clogged arteries, which for years were blamed on saturated fats (and still are, in some circles). The opposition was tremendous. Part of the problem, the News-Gazette reported, was that politics were in play, overpowering a desire for the public to be healthier as a result of governmental food policies. He was quoted in an interview:

"Professor Kummerow said that in the 1960s and 1970s the processed food industry, enjoying a cozy relationship with scientists, played a large role in keeping trans fats in people's diets."6

Kummerow told The New York Times, rather tongue in cheek, that "other scientists were more interested in what the industry was thinking than what I was thinking." Although Kummerow found a direct correlation between heart disease and trans fat consumption in women, which he called the "tip of the iceberg" after finding another disturbing link between trans fat and type 2 diabetes in women, it took another 20 years for the scientific community to acknowledge there might be something to his research.

Early Years: Influences and Opportunities

In a short autobiographical sketch,7 Kummerow outlined details of his life that offer insights regarding his early years, which undoubtedly influenced his work ethic as well as his chosen profession. He was born in Berlin in 1914. In 1923, a relative offered his father a job in a concrete block factory in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, which ultimately helped them escape Germany's growing political turmoil.

He particularly remembered the gift of a chemistry set when he was 12, which he credited to his immediate and passionate interest in food science. Kummerow's school career followed a fairly straightforward path: Milwaukee's Boys Technical School ("because they had a three-year chemistry course"), the chemistry department at the University of Wisconsin in 1936 and graduate studies in the school's department of biochemistry four years later. He explained:

"My Ph.D. research involved identifying the chemistry of a factor in the blood (linoleic acid) that keeps the blood from clotting in the arteries and veins. This is a particularly important factor in today's cardiovascular disease research since that clotting affects the blood flow from the heart."8

In 1945, he was asked by Kansas State University to work on the technology of food storage, especially those containing fat, noting how food containing certain fat goes rancid quickly, an important observation in the throes of World War II. When the U.S. Army Quartermaster Corps granted contracts to universities to work on the development of food storage methods in extreme conditions, he gained one of them, as well as a subsequent citation for his work in 1948.

Dr. Kummerow: Tenacious, Contrary and, Ultimately, Right

The citation itself, awarded at Fort Knox, was a steppingstone to his next project as a biochemist at the University of Illinois in 1950 to continue his lipid research, which he continued for the remainder of his long career. Kummerow wrote:

"In 1948, the U.S. Congress created the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and made research funds available on a variety of topics, including diet and health. The NIH was mandated to fund research on cancer and other diseases, but only a few million dollars per year were allocated for heart research until after President Eisenhower's heart attack in 1955.

With money available from NIH grants to study heart disease, I began to work in that field. The effect of cholesterol on heart disease was one avenue of study and was the one I followed. Almost everyone now has heard of cholesterol and its possible link to heart disease, with recommendations (I disagree with) to cut back on eating cholesterol containing foods such as eggs and meat, and saturated fats in foods like butter."9

When Kummerow began studying trans fats in foods in 1957 and documenting his concerns about their negative effects, he was able to show how arteries in heart disease patients literally changed in composition and developed blockages unrelated to dietary cholesterol or blood cholesterol, causing an imbalance in nutrients that can also lead to obesity. The New York Times wrote of Kummerow:

"He had been one of the first scientists to suggest a link between processed foods and heart disease. In the 1950s, while studying lipids at the university, he analyzed diseased arteries from about two dozen people who had died of heart attacks and discovered that the vessels were filled with trans fats."10

Using pigs that had been fed a diet heavy in trans fats in his next study, he revealed the high levels of plaque his porcine subjects' arteries were clogged with. In 1957, while every other scientific institution was blaming the growing number of atherosclerosis cases on saturated fats from foods like cheese, butter and cream, Kummerow published his findings about the dangers of trans fats in the journal Science. It was ignored.

It took Kummerow's tough stance with the FDA to get them to concede that trans fats are not safe, with the caveat that unless a manufacturer could present convincing scientific evidence that a particular use was safe, they would be banned after June 18, 2018. That's 58 years after Kummerow's first findings told the ugly truth about trans fats. Even now, scores of doctors and hospitals erroneously tell their patients that saturated fats are the problem.

But today, Dr. Walter Willett, a professor of epidemiology and nutrition at the T. H. Chan School of Public Health at Harvard, is just one scientist who credits Kummerow's research and tireless activism for inspiring his own interest in researching trans fat. It led him to include the topic for further investigation as part of Harvard's highly influential Nurses' Health Study, published in 1993. In fact, Willett believes the push for the trans fat ban will save as many as 90,000 people a year from dying prematurely.

Dr. Kummerow: Perseverance and Passion

An individual as unique and knowledgeable as Kummerow had, like the rest of us, interesting quirks that may have hinted at some of the larger aspects of how his brain worked. For one, he had many interests, the News-Gazette noted. He wrote letters to five different sitting presidents, members of Congress and others he thought might be able to do something about some of the topics that weighed on his mind, such as energy, nuclear weaponry and the national debt.

In his biography, Kummerow recalled being an expert witness for several hearings before the Federal Trade Commission on the topic of cholesterol, reports made to a U.S. Senate hearing on nutrition and the biochemistry of cholesterol, co-authoring more than 460 peer-reviewed scientific papers, editing three books and writing chapters in six other books on the role trans fat plays in heart disease.

He called being made a fellow in the American Association for the Advancement of Sciences, the American College of Nutrition, the American Society of Nutritional Sciences, the International Atherosclerosis Society, the American Heart Association Council on Arteriosclerosis, Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis and Vascular Biology, and the Council of Clinical Cardiology, and involvement with the American Heart Association a "recognition of competence."

Incidentally, Kummerow noted that his own diet included whole milk, red meat and eggs scrambled in butter. After writing his book, "Cholesterol is Not the Culprit: A Guide to Preventing Heart Disease," published just a few years before his death, he summed up the importance of respecting how the body processes food, writing:

"How the body uses food to make what we need to keep going is an incredible, almost magical, process. We — as well as all animals and plants — are not programmed to live forever, but we can certainly increase the number of high quality years of life."11

http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2017/06/19/trans-fat-toxicity-scientist-fred-kummerow-dies.aspx

The Importance of B Vitamins for Brain Health and Combating Dementia

A number of studies have investigated the impact of vitamin supplementation to prevent and/or treat cognitive dysfunction and decline.

It's well-established that healthy fats such as animal-based omega-3 fats are really important for brain health, but other nutrients such as vitamins are also necessary for optimal brain function.

March 17, 2016 

Story at-a-glance

• Recent research found that giving a multivitamin supplement to seniors suffering from mild cognitive impairment and depression helped improve both conditions
• Compared to placebo, seniors with high omega-3 levels who were given high doses of vitamins B6, folic acid (B9) and B12 experienced a 40 percent reduced brain atrophy rate over the 2-year treatment course
• Not only do B vitamins slow brain shrinkage, but they specifically slow shrinkage in brain regions known to be most severely impacted by Alzheimer's disease

By Dr. Mercola

A number of studies have investigated the impact of vitamin supplementation to prevent and/or treat cognitive dysfunction and decline.

It's well-established that healthy fats such as animal-based omega-3 fats are really important for brain health, but other nutrients such as vitamins are also necessary for optimal brain function.

Most recently, a Korean study1 concluded that giving a multivitamin supplement to seniors suffering from mild cognitive impairment and depression helped improve both conditions.

B vitamins in particular, especially folate (B9, aka folic acid in its synthetic form) and vitamins B6 and B12, have made headlines for their powerful role in preventing cognitive decline and more serious dementia such as Alzheimer's disease.

Mental fogginess and problems with memory are actually two of the top warning signs that you have vitamin B12 deficiency, indicating its importance for brain health.

B Vitamins and Omega-3 — An Important Combo for Brain Health

Although Dr. Michael Greger's video is a good review on the research about B vitamins, being a vegetarian he does not include information about animal-based omega-3 fats, which are also beneficial in reducing dementia.

Low plasma concentrations of omega-3 and high levels of the amino acid homocysteine are associated with brain atrophy, dementia, and Alzheimer's. Vitamins B6, B9, and B12 help convert homocysteine into methionine — a building block for proteins.

If you don't get enough of these B vitamins, this conversion process is impaired and as a result your homocysteine levels increase. Conversely, when you increase intake of folic acid (folate), vitamin B6, and vitamin B12, your homocysteine levels decrease.

In one placebo-controlled trial2 published in 2015, 168 seniors diagnosed with mild cognitive impairment were randomly assigned to receive either placebo, or daily supplementation with 0.8 mg of folic acid, 20 mg of vitamin B6, and 0.5 mg of B12.

It's worth noting that these are quite high doses — far above the U.S. RDA. All participants underwent cranial magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans at the outset of the study, and at the end, two years later.

The effect of the vitamin B supplementation was analyzed and compared to their omega-3 fatty acid concentrations at baseline. Interestingly, only those who had high omega-3 levels reaped beneficial effects from the B vitamins.

As noted by the authors:

"There was a significant interaction between B vitamin treatment and plasma combined omega-3 fatty acids (eicosapentaenoic acid and docosahexaenoic acid) on brain atrophy rates.

In subjects with high baseline omega-3 fatty acids (>590 μmol/L), B vitamin treatment slowed the mean atrophy rate by 40 percent compared with placebo.

B vitamin treatment had no significant effect on the rate of atrophy among subjects with low baseline omega-3 fatty acids (<390 μmol/L). High baseline omega-3 fatty acids were associated with a slower rate of brain atrophy in the B vitamin group but not in the placebo group...

It is also suggested that the beneficial effect of omega-3 fatty acids on brain atrophy may be confined to subjects with good B vitamin status."

B Vitamins Significantly Slow Brain Shrinkage

As mentioned above, elevated homocysteine is linked to brain degeneration, and B vitamins are known to suppress homocysteine.

A 2010 study,3 in which participants again received higher than normal doses of B vitamins, also found that people receiving B vitamins experienced far less brain shrinkage than the placebo group.

Here the participants received either a placebo or 800 micrograms (mcg) folic acid, 500 mcg B12, and 20 mg B6. The study was based on the presumption that by controlling homocysteine levels you might be able to reduce brain shrinkage, thereby slowing the onset of Alzheimer's.

Indeed, after two years those who received the vitamin B regimen suffered significantly less brain shrinkage compared to those who had received a placebo. Those who had the highest levels of homocysteine at the start of the trial experienced brain shrinkage at half the rate of those taking a placebo.

Research Shows B Vitamins Specifically Slow Alzheimer's Disease

A 2013 study4 takes this research a step further, showing that not only do B vitamins slow brain shrinkage, but they specifically slow shrinkage in brain regions known to be most severely impacted by Alzheimer's disease. Moreover, in those specific areas the shrinkage is decreased by as much as seven-fold!

The brain scans clearly show the difference between placebo and vitamin supplementation on brain atrophy. As in the studies above, participants taking high doses of folic acid and vitamins B6 and B12 lowered their blood levels of homocysteine, and brain shrinkage was decreased by as much as 90 percent.

As noted by the authors:

" … B vitamins lower homocysteine, which directly leads to a decrease in GM [gray matter] atrophy, thereby slowing cognitive decline.

Our results show that B vitamin supplementation can slow the atrophy of specific brain regions that are a key component of the AD [Alzheimer's disease] process and that are associated with cognitive decline."

B12-Rich Foods Reduce Risk of Alzheimer's in Later Years

Other supporting research includes a small Finnish study5 published in 2010. It found that people who consume vitamin B12-rich foods may reduce their risk of Alzheimer's in their later years.

For each unit increase in the marker of vitamin B12 (holotranscobalamin), the risk of developing Alzheimer's was reduced by 2 percent. This makes a strong case for ensuring your diet includes plenty of B vitamin foods, such as meat, poultry, eggs, dairy products and wild-caught fish.

Leafy green vegetables, beans, and peas also provide some of the B vitamins, but if you eat an all vegetarian or vegan diet, you're at a significantly increased risk of vitamin B12 deficiency, as B12 is naturally present in foods that come from animals, including meat, fish, eggs, milk and milk products.

In such a case, supplementation is really important. Another concern is whether your body can adequately absorb the B12. It's the largest vitamin molecule we know of, and because of its hefty size, it's not easily absorbed.

This is why many, if not most, oral B12 supplements fail to deliver any benefits. Vitamin B12 requires a gastric protein called intrinsic factor to bind to it, which allows it to be absorbed in the end of your small intestine (terminal ileum). The intrinsic factor is absorbed first, pulling the attached B12 molecule along with it.

As you grow older, your ability to produce intrinsic factor decreases, thereby increasing your risk for vitamin B12 deficiency. Use of metformin (Glucophage, Glucophage XR, Fortamet, Riomet, and Glumetza) may also inhibit your B12 absorption, especially at higher doses. Drinking four or more cups of coffee a day can reduce your B vitamin stores by as much as 15 percent, and use of antacids will also hinder your body's ability to absorb B12.

Other Valuable Vitamins for Brain Health

Besides B vitamins, vitamins C and D are also important for optimal brain health.6 Vitamin C plays a role in the production of neurotransmitters, including serotonin, which has antidepressant activity. Vitamin C has also been shown to improve IQ, memory, and offer protection against age-related brain degeneration and strokes.

In one study,7 the combination of vitamin C and E (which work synergistically) helped reduce the risk of dementia by 60 percent. Vitamin C also has detoxifying effects, and due to its ability to cross your blood-brain barrier, it can help remove heavy metals from your brain.

Vitamin D, a steroid hormone produced in your skin in response to sun exposure, also has profound effects on your brain. Pregnant women need to be particularly cognizant of this, as vitamin D deficiency during pregnancy can prevent proper brain development in the fetus, plus a host of other problems. After birth, children need vitamin D for continued brain development, and in adulthood, optimal levels have been shown to help prevent cognitive decline.8,9

Where to Find These Valuable Brain Nutrients

There's nothing "normal" about cognitive decline. More often than not, it's due to poor lifestyle choices, starting with a nutrient-deficient diet that is too high in sugars, non-vegetable carbs, unhealthy fats like trans fats, and too many toxins (pesticides and artificial additives, etc).

As a general rule, I recommend getting most if not all of your nutrition from REAL FOOD, ideally organic to avoid toxic pesticides, and locally grown. Depending on your situation and condition however, you may need one or more supplements.

To start, review the following listing of foods that contain the brain nutrients discussed in this article: animal-based omega-3s, vitamins B6, B9, and B12, C, and D. If you find that you rarely or never eat foods rich in one or more of these nutrients, you may want to consider taking a high-quality, ideally food-based supplement. I've made some suggestions to keep in mind when selecting a good supplement.

Nutrient	Dietary Sources	Supplement Recommendations
Animal-based omega-3	Fatty fish that is low in mercury, such as wild-caught Alaskan salmon, sardines, and anchovies, as well as organic grass-fed beef.10  Sardines, in particular, are one of the most concentrated sources of omega-3 fats, with one serving containing more than 50 percent of your recommended daily value.	Antarctic krill oil is a sustainable choice. It also has the added benefit of containing natural astaxanthin, which helps prevent oxidation. Another good option is wild-caught Alaskan salmon oil.
Vitamin B6	Turkey, beef, chicken, wild-caught salmon, sweet potatoes, potatoes, sunflower seeds, pistachios, avocado, spinach and banana.11,12	Nutritional yeast is an excellent source of B vitamins, especially B6.13 One serving (2 tablespoons) contains nearly 10 mg of vitamin B6. Not to be confused with Brewer's yeast or other active yeasts, nutritional yeast is made from an organism grown on molasses, which is then harvested and dried to deactivate the yeast. It has a pleasant cheesy flavor and can be added to a number of different dishes. For tips, see this vegan blog post.14
Folate (B9)	Fresh, raw, and organic leafy green vegetables, especially broccoli, asparagus, spinach, and turnip greens, and a wide variety of beans, especially lentils, but also pinto beans, garbanzo beans, navy and black beans, and kidney beans.15	Folic acid is a synthetic type of B vitamin used in supplements; folate is the natural form found in foods.  Think: folate comes from foliage(edible leafy plants).  For folic acid to be of use, it must first be activated into its biologically active form — L-5-MTHF.  This is the form able to cross the blood-brain barrier to give you the brain benefits noted.  Nearly half of the population has difficulty converting folic acid into the bioactive form due to a genetic reduction in enzyme activity. For this reason, if you take a B vitamin supplement, make sure it contains natural folate rather than synthetic folic acid.  Nutritional yeast is an excellent source.16
Vitamin B12	Vitamin B12 is found almost exclusively in animal tissues, including foods like beef and beef liver, lamb, snapper, venison, salmon, shrimp, scallops, poultry, eggs, and dairy products.  The few plant foods that are sources of B12 are actually B12 analogs that block the uptake of true B12. Also consider limiting sugar and eating fermented foods.  The entire B group vitamin series is produced within your gut, assuming you have healthy gut flora.  Eating real food, ideally organic, along with fermented foods will provide your microbiome with important fiber and beneficial bacteria to help optimize your internal vitamin B production.	Nutritional yeast is also high in B12, and is highly recommended for vegetarians and vegans. One serving (2 tbsp) provides nearly 8 micrograms (mcg) of natural vitamin B12.17 Sublingual (under-the-tongue) fine mist spray or vitamin B12 injections are also effective, as they allow the large B12 molecule to be absorbed directly into your bloodstream.
Vitamin C	Sweet peppers, chili peppers, Brussel sprouts, broccoli, artichoke, sweet potato, tomato, cauliflower, kale, papaya, strawberries, oranges, kiwi, grapefruit, cantaloupe, and lemon. To boost your intake of fruits and vegetables, consider juicing. As an alternative, you can also make fermented vegetables at home. The vitamin C in sauerkraut (fermented cabbage) is about six times higher than in the same helping of unfermented cabbage, so it's an excellent way to boost your vitamin C intake.	The most effective form of oral vitamin C is liposomal vitamin C.  It's not associated with many of the complications of traditional vitamin C or ascorbic acid (such as gastrointestinal distress), which will allow you to achieve higher intracellular concentrations. You can expect a significant rise in plasma vitamin C concentration at doses between 30 and 100 mg/day. Taking vitamin C frequently throughout the day is more effective than taking one large dose once a day.
Vitamin D	Vitamin D is created naturally when your skin is exposed to sunshine. While you can get some vitamin Dfrom grass-fed meats and other whole foods and fortified foods, sun exposure is an ideal primary source.	When taking supplemental vitamin D, also be sure to increase your intake of vitamin K2 and magnesium, either from food or a supplement.

http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2016/03/17/vitamin-b-brain-health.aspx

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