Foods — Not Pills — Are Best for B Vitamins, Omega-3s

When it comes to keeping your mind alert and your thinking clear as you age, the vitamins and nutrients you put in your body are crucial. B vitamins and omega-3 fatty acids are two groups in particular that may help the brain continue to function at its best as the years roll on. Running low on these nutrients can lead to brain fog and poor memory.

But before you reach for a bottle of supplements to try to make up for any potential deficit, consider this: There’s more scientific evidence to back up the health benefits of vitamins and nutrients that come from food than from pills. In fact, AARP’s Global Council on Brain Health, an independent collaborative of scientists, health professionals, scholars and policy experts convened by AARP, reviewed the evidence for the brain health benefits of some 20 vitamins, minerals and other nutrients taken in supplement form and found insufficient evidence to support taking any of them for brain health.

That doesn’t mean supplements couldn’t do you some good. But foods that contain nutrients such as B vitamins and omega-3s bring a bounty of health benefits to the brain. That’s why, in general, the GCBH considers food the best source of essential nutrients and does not recommend any supplements for brain health.

The benefits of Bs

B vitamins, studies show, play a key role in almost all of the interactions between your cells.

Some studies show that many people are running on suboptimal levels of B, which can lead to poor brain function.

“B12 deficiency, in particular, can cause dementia,” says J. David Spence, M.D., professor emeritus of neurology and clinical pharmacology at Western University in London, Ontario. “Low levels of B12 and folic acid [another B vitamin] raise levels of homocysteine, which increases the risk of stroke, which also increases the risk of dementia.” Homocysteine is an amino acid the body produces.

With only a few exceptions, most people can get all the B vitamins they need from a healthy and varied diet, with no need for supplements. Manufacturers often add B vitamins to whole grain breads and cereals. You can also get these nutrients from fruits, vegetables (especially leafy green ones, like spinach and kale) and beans. B12 is the only one you won’t find in these plant-based foods, so some people may need that in another form.

For example, “if someone eats a vegan diet, doctors may suggest a B12 supplement,” says Uma Naidoo, M.D., a nutritional psychiatrist and director of nutritional & lifestyle psychiatry at Massachusetts General Hospital. However, vegetarians who eat eggs and dairy can still get plenty of B12. Fish, poultry and fortified cereals and nutritional yeasts are good sources, too.

People who avoid meat and eggs should ask their doctor how they can get sufficient levels of B12 in their system.

“Absorption of B12 through an oral supplement, such as a pill or a capsule, is not the most efficient. You may want to ask your doctor about injectable B12,” Naidoo says.

Other causes of vitamin B deficiencies include an unbalanced diet (that is, a diet that doesn’t have much variety), heavy drinking or alcoholism, certain medicines, and conditions, such as ulcerative colitis, that can prevent your gut from absorbing nutrients.

For people experiencing cognitive decline, some research suggests B vitamins may help. An international consensus statement published in the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease in 2018 and based on a review of 20 years of research concluded that in older adults with high homocysteine, treatment with supplements of folic acid, B12 and B6 lowered homocysteine and slowed cognitive decline.

A 2022 article in the journal Nutrition Reviews analyzed 95 studies of the effects of B vitamins on brain health. Among the 46,175 people studied, in those who already had dementia, greater than 12 months of vitamin B supplementation helped slow the progress of the condition. In adults 50 and up, diets rich in folate (think: dark leafy greens, broccoli, avocados, eggs and liver) seemed to lower the risk of developing dementia in later years.

Anti-inflammatory fats

Omega-3s are one of the few types of fat that the body needs but can’t make on its own. You have to get it from food.

“Omega-3s have a good amount of research behind them for keeping the mind healthy,” Naidoo says. “Their main mechanism of action is their anti-inflammatory properties in the brain.”

Inflammation in brain tissue is the suspected cause of many long-term health problems, including Alzheimer’s disease. Omega-3s may help keep inflammation at bay.

A 2023 article in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition summed up the results of 31 studies on diets high in omega-3s. Among the 103,651 people in the studies, those whose diets consistently included omega-3 fatty acids, particularly the kind found in salmon, tuna and seaweed, could have about a 20 percent lower risk for any type of dementia.

Probably the best-known source of omega-3 fatty acids is salmon. You can also get them from other fatty fish, such as anchovies and halibut. But fish isn’t the only source; vegetable oils, nuts (especially walnuts), flaxseeds, flaxseed oil and leafy vegetables also provide hearty amounts of the nutrient.

“For individuals who don’t consume seafood, leaning on the omega-3s in flaxseeds, hemp seeds, chia seeds and walnuts is important,” Naidoo says. “But these don’t get to the brain as efficiently as fat, so consider also supplementing with an algal oil supplement.” These are marine omega-3 fat supplements that come from sea algae, not from fish.

For people who can’t or don’t eat fish, the GCBH suggests, “ask your health care provider about whether you should take a supplement containing DHA and EPA.”

When to add brain-healthy nutrients to your diet

A healthy balanced diet will most likely give you all the vitamins and nutrients you need, but only if that’s your usual way of eating. A single serving of salmon or a helping of spinach here and there won’t make much of an impact on your memory and thinking skills.

“You’ve got to eat these things consistently — leafy green vegetables, chickpeas, kidney beans, brussels sprouts, salmon — because just eating one piece of salmon isn’t going to improve your memory overnight,” Naidoo says.

Though it takes time to reap the rewards of brain-healthy foods, it’s almost never too late to start eating them.

“There’s always hope,” Naidoo says. “The power to improve your brain is at the end of your fork. Why not give it a chance?”