Niacin May Protect Against Alzheimer's
(NY, Reuters Health, 7/15/04)

Dr. Martha C. Morris of the Rush Institute for Healthy Aging in Chicago, and colleagues, determined the intake of niacin (vitamin B3) for several thousand older adults by querying each about his or her diet. The scientists also assessed the subjects’ mental functioning. After about 4 years, the investigators checked a random sample of 815 of the participants, all of whom had been free of Alzheimer’s disease at the outset, and found that those consuming the least niacin from foods had experienced greater cognitive decline and were 80% more likely to have developed Alzheimer's than those consuming the most. These findings suggest that dietary niacin—found in meat, nuts, legumes and dairy products—may slow mental deterioration and ward off Alzheimer's disease.

(Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery and Psychiatry, August 2004)