Can The Right Acid Trip Improve Memory

I am a child of the ‘60’s and I’m on acid.  Hold on..don’t get ahead of me…it’s NOT what you think!  Now where was I?   I forget…ah, but the old memory is coming back…thanks to folic acid! 

Raised on a farm in the North Dakota, there wasn’t a lot of recreational “acid” in my neighborhood but who knew there were tens of thousands of acres of folic acid growing right outside my door.

Researchers are discovering Vitamin B12 and folic acid supplements could be good for your memory. “A recent study found that older adults who took them for two years had greater improvements on memory tests than those who didn’t.”

Where does folic acid come from…I forget…kidding! Foods rich in folic acid are mainly leafy vegetables such as spinach, turnip greens, lettuces, sunflower seeds, dried beans and peas, fortified cereals, collards and broccoli. Among the other foods that contain folic acid are peanuts and wheat germ.

What the study shows is that it may take some time for the improvements to kick in, but kick in they will.

“In a study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, researchers asked more than 700 people between 60 and 74 years old to take a daily dose of 400 micrograms of folic acid and 100 micrograms of vitamin B12 or placebo pills that resembled the vitamins.

After one year, there seemed to be no difference between the groups in how well they scored when tested for memory, attention and speed. But after two years, those who took the vitamins showed more, if modest, improvements in memory task scores.”

O.K….it’s not like you will be out there memorizing the phone book or challenging Kreskin, but as frustrating as memory loss can be, any improvement is worth adding a few extra spinach leaves. 

Obviously some more research is needed,  but folic acid and B12 may have an important role in promoting healthy aging and mental wellbeing.