Supplements that slow cognitive aging

Hey, comrades in knowledge! Today we’re going to talk about something that, it seems, will be key to keeping our minds sharp until 2060. Yes, 2060! The Alzheimer’s Association says that by then, nearly one in four Americans will be at risk of losing their car keys or forgetting where they left the remote control. Unless, of course, we intervene before such forgetfulness begins to play practical jokes on our memory. The hope? Cocoa and multivitamin supplements! Yes, those same ones that could be the answer to our cognitive problems, according to the Cocoa and Multivitamin Supplementation Outcomes Study (COSMOS), led by the eggheads at Mass General Brigham, a daily multivitamin could be like the superhero who saves the day.

But what did these advocates of cognition actually find? Well, after turning over and over the heads of 573 participants in the COSMOS subset (which they call COSMOS-Clinic), they found that the multivitamin has a modest but significant effect on global cognition over two years. Two years, friends! That’s like beating time in a game of chess! Ah, but that’s not all, there was also a noticeable benefit in episodic memory. Yes, that memory that makes you remember the name of the song that was playing on the radio when you met your crush; but, sadly, there was no improvement in executive function/attention. It seems we still need more than just vitamins to concentrate on those endless Zoom meetings.

To support their arguments, these masters of the mind performed a combined analysis of three different studies. Yes, three! And they concluded that the multivitamin slowed cognitive aging by the equivalent of two years compared to placebo. Two years of extra lucidity? Call me right away at the pharmacy! Chirag Vyas, top of the superhero list, says this could be the key to preventing memory loss and coping with cognitive aging. All with a simple daily multivitamin that has over 20 essential micronutrients! What do you know, right?

But, as with any scientific story, more research needs to be done. Howard Sesso of Brigham and Women’s Hospital, another of the Jedi masters behind this study, tells us that we now need to understand the mechanisms behind this multivitamin’s superpower. Is it vitamin magic, nutritional alchemy, or simply the result of so many good things coming together? Anyway, this gives us something to think about, don’t you think? Could it be that our mothers were right all along to insist that we take our vitamins? Who knows! But for now, it might not be a bad idea to add a multivitamin to our daily routine – after all, who doesn’t want a brain in tip-top shape to remember where they left the car keys? See you next time, brainiacs!