Adults who take vitamin and mineral supplements for almost a decade perform better on one type of memory test than those who do not take such supplements. Some people especially those who are deficient in vitamins and minerals might get a memory benefit from boosting the nutrients in their diet, BBC reported. It is possible that people who have better thinking and memory skills might pay closer attention to what they are eating. Researchers studied 4,447 men and women in 1994, when the study participants were 45 to 60 years old, researchers split them randomly into two groups.
Half of them took a daily supplement that included vitamins C and E, selenium, zinc, and beta-carotene for eight years. The others took a nutrient-free placebo pill each day. None of the participants knew whether they were taking the vitamin or the sham pills. When the eight years were up, researchers stopped giving participants their assigned pills, and they could choose on their own whether or not to take vitamin supplements.
