Niacin may protect against Alzheimer’s

Dietary niacin — vitamin B3 — may protect against Alzheimer’s disease and age-related cognitive decline, researchers reported Wednesday.

Dietary niacin — vitamin B3 — may protect against Alzheimer’s disease and age-related cognitive decline, researchers reported Wednesday.In a study published by the Journal of Neurology Neurosurgery and Psychiatry, researchers at the Rush Institute for Health Aging in Chicago surveyed 4,000 people, ages 65 and older, who did not have Alzheimer’s disease.The participants were asked questions about their diet to gauge intake of niacin, which is rich in lean meat, fish, legumes, nuts and dairy products.At three years into the study, researchers checked a random sample of 815 people and found 131 had been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease. After adjusting for risk factors, the study showed those who consumed the least niacin — an average of 12.6 milligrams per day — were 80 percent more likely to be diagnosed with Alzheimer’s than those who consumed the most — 22.4 mg/day.Out of all participants, the rate of cognitive decline among those with the highest niacin intake was almost half — 44 percent — of those with the lowest intake, researchers said. (Source: United Press, July 2004)