While there are plenty of reasons to take vitamin C every day, and vitamin D does some amazing things for your body, there is now a very good reason to add vitamin B9 (folate) to the list of vitamins to make sure you’re getting on a regular basis. This is due to research indicating that failing to ensure adequate vitamin B9 intake may be an eating habit associated with the development of dementia.
Researchers discovered that those who were deficient in folate were also 68 per cent more likely to be diagnosed with dementia when they examined medical records from over 27,000 people aged 60 to 75.
Folate appears to have an effect on cognitive function. It is essential for the proper functioning of the nervous system, and in the elderly, a deficiency may contribute to the ageing brain, increasing the risk of dementia.
At the same time, too much folate can mask a B12 deficiency, so if you have a B12 deficiency history, you should consult your doctor before taking folate supplements. Aside from that, it’s abundant in food, so it’s easy to get enough of it.
Indeed, if you want to increase your intake of vitamin B9, it is abundant in fruits and vegetables as well as legumes/beans—asparagus, lettuce, beans, chickpeas, broccoli, and most fruits and vegetables contain folate. Its name, folate, is derived from the foliage.
