Improve memory, cognition and mental function with a daily multivitamin - NEW RESEARCH
By Awesome Supplements, Read time: 5 minutes
"Daily multivitamin-mineral (MVM) supplementation for 3 years improved global cognition, episodic memory, and executive function in older adults." [1]
The 2023 COSMOS trial study was a huge randomised control trial that involved 21,442 participants. It measured numerous effects of a daily multivitamin taken for 3.5 years (compared with cocoa extract or a placebo). The key areas of improvement with MVM supplementation were in cognitive ability, long and short term memory, recall ability, and executive function (problem solving).
It showed that a daily multivitamin can reduce age related cognitive decline by 60%. In other words, over a 3 year period, the cognitive decline of those taking a daily multivitamin slowed by almost 2 years, compared to those taking a placebo. That’s really impressive!
The study was done on over 60 year olds, when cognitive decline is more pronounced, and further research is needed to test the significance in other age ranges. However, it shows the potent protective effect that a daily multivitamin can have and highlights the benefit of long-term supplementation as a low-effort, low-cost insurance policy for our later years.
Another important finding from the study was that multivitamin supplementation may have protective effects against the development of lung cancers. The study showed that daily supplementation resulted in 38% lower incidence of lung cancer compared with the placebo group. Previous similar studies show a smaller but significant reduction of 8% of total cancers with daily multivitamin supplementation in men over 50 [2].
"Our study shows that the ageing brain may be more sensitive to nutrition than we realised, though it may not be so important to find out which specific nutrient helps slow age-related cognitive decline." [1]That’s because a well-dosed multivitamin can tick a number of boxes for restoring potential nutritional deficiencies. In all likelihood, a number of different minerals and vitamins play a crucial role in protecting brain and cognitive health. And sure, you can probably hit your needs by eating a well-balanced, varied, whole food diet, but are you consistently tracking your micronutrient intake? How do you know nothing is being missed? This is why taking a good quality, optimally-dosed multivit is an easy way to offer a whole range of health benefits and protect, not only from deficiency, but from suboptimal levels or insufficiency.
What we do know, from multiple studies, is which vitamins and minerals are most commonly deficient among the global population. So we know which nutrients are important to include. Awesome Defence contains 22 important vitamins and minerals to help you achieve optimal health, performance and recovery.
Other key benefits attributed to daily multivitamin supplementation include:
- Improved biomarkers of cardiovascular health [3]
- Improved antioxidant status [3]
- Reduced inflammation [3]
- Improved blood glucose regulation [3]
Here are 3 vital nutrients to focus on that evidence shows can improve longevity. Interestingly, they are also on the list of most common nutritional deficiencies worldwide. Get supplementing!
1. VITAMIN D
Vitamin D supports immune function, healthy bones, muscles and energy levels. In the body, it acts as a steroid hormone. 1 in 6 adults in the UK have vitamin D deficiency (risk of disease) and an 50% of people globally are estimated to have insufficiency (suboptimal levels).
In the UK, it is recommended that we all supplement with Vitamin D, especially in the winter months when we are not exposed to sufficient sunlight for our body to produce it naturally.
Low levels of Vitamin D have been implicated in a number of age related diseases such as Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s and certain types of cancer. [4]
Vitamin D can be produced by the body through the skin’s exposure to sunlight. Aim for 15-30 minutes per day in the Summer months. In Winter, in the UK, the sunlight is insufficient to produce enough Vitamin D, so supplementation is advisable.
Optimal supplementation range is between 1000-4000 iu daily. Awesome Defence contains 2500iu per serving.
2. MAGNESIUM
Magnesium is generally found within the chlorophyll of plants. Many people don’t consume enough leafy greens to reach optimal levels of magnesium through the diet. In fact, only 20-40% of magnesium consumed through food becomes bioavailable. This is why magnesium deficiency is such a wide scale problem.
Magnesium supports energy release from food and helps to optimise nerve and muscle function, as well as aiding recovery. It is a cofactor in over 300 enzymatic processes within the body.
Magnesium is involved in mitochondrial function and is crucial for DNA replication and removal of damaged DNA [5]. Deficiency, therefore, affects these processes and accelerates cellular aging and reduces life expectancy.
Recommended daily intake for optimum magnesium levels is 410-420mg for men and 320-360mg for women. Awesome Defence contains 300mg per serving.
3. OMEGA 3
Omega 3s are polyunsaturated fatty acids found mainly in oily fish such as salmon, mackerel and sardines, as well as seeds and nuts such as flax seeds, chia seeds and walnuts.
They support brain and heart health, and help to reduce inflammation.
It is estimated that less than 20% of the global population consume more than 250mg Omega 3s per day.
A recent study found that higher levels of Omega 3s reduce the risk of all cause mortality [6], and increasing Omega 3 index from 4% to 8% can increase life expectancy by 5 years. For most people, this would require 1500-2000mg omega 3 per day. Awesome Omegas contain 550mg per capsule.
This is why we call our Health Essentials bundle…. Essential. It will help to cover all of your health bases as you age, as well as now, minimising any potential deficiencies. It will keep you living and performing as optimally, and as awesome, as possible. Check it out HERE.
How is our multivitamin different from other company’s? Good question. Don’t just take our word for it, HERE is a comparison blog comparing us to a lot of our competitors. In short, we dose our products based on what the research says is ideal for health and performance, to get you as close to optimal as possible, rather than being just enough to avoid deficiency.
