3390 One more thing I have to remember

Folic Acid.

"A randomized, placebo-controlled trial has shown daily folic acid significantly improves cognitive performance in older adults — specifically as it relates to memory and information processing.

The study, which included 818 subjects aged 50 to 70 years who were folate deficient, showed that those who took 800 µg daily of oral folic acid for 3 years had significantly better memory and information processing speed than subjects in the placebo group.

Furthermore, serum folate concentrations increased by 576% and plasma total homocysteine concentrations decreased by 26% in participants taking folic acid compared with those taking placebo." Medscape story here. “Effect of 3-year folic acid supplementation on cognitive function in older adults in the FACIT trial: a randomized, double blind, controlled trial” Lancet 2007; 369: 208-216.

Three years of treatment with folic acid conferred on individuals resulted in the performance of someone 4.7 years younger for memory, 1.7 years younger for sensorimotor speed, 2.1 years younger for information processing speed, and 1.5 years younger for global cognitive function.

World's Healthiest Foods chart
World's Healthiest Foods site has an article on the important of Folate. Calves liver is right at the top. Yuck. I don't kill or eat babies.

My vitamin supplement has 400 mcg, but that's obviously not doing the trick, since I can't remember what mcg stands for. Let's try some of my lunch mixtures, of which I would mix maybe 1/4-1/2 cup of each: corn: 76 mcg per cup; greens (either collard or turnip) 177 or 170 mcg per cup; bell peppers 20 mcg per cup; tomatoes 27 mcg per cup; black beans 256 mcg per cup; onions 30 mcg per cup; brown rice zero. Looks like black beans are the winner if I avoid the liver.

I'm guessing that senior vitamins will increase the folate content (currently at 400) if this research continues to be so positive. It's obviously very difficult to get 800 mcg just through eating.

folate
healthy eating