A study published in Free Radical Biology and Medicine conducted at the Sanders Brown Center on Aging at the University of Kentucky found that low vitamin D levels in middle aged and older people may promote cognitive decline. Scientists changed vitamin D levels in rats and looked at changes in vitamin D-dependent proteins in the brain. They found that middle-aged rats fed a diet low in Vitamin D developed free radical damage to the brain. In addition, there was a "significant decrease" in tests on learning and memory. Vitamin D deficiency is very common among elderly Americans. Researchers think that vitamin D supplementation may help protect against cognitive decline in adults. This is the first study to show that a diet that is chronically low in Vitamin D alerts glucose … [Read more...]

A new study from scientists at the University of Montreal has found that asparagine, an amino acid that has been considered non-essential because the body produces it naturally, may be an essential amino acid required in our diets. Senior co-author of the study, Dr. Jacques Michaud, said, "the cells of the body can do without it because they use asparagine provided through diet. Asparagine, however, is not well transported to the brain via the blood-brain barrier." Asparagine is found in meats, eggs, and dairy products. The scientists looked at people who carry a mutation that causes a rare disease called congenital microcephaly. They found that a specific genetic variant caused a deficiency of the enzyme that synthesizes the amino acid. If the brain doesn't get enough asparagine, cells … [Read more...]