Wellbeing

Brain Health: B-Vitamins

Author: Herbalife Nutrition
Overhead shot of foods rich in B-vitamins placed on a white wood surface

You may have never considered this, but how your brain functions is largely down to the availability of specific nutrients. This includes glucose (as the preferred energy source), lipids, amino acids and a variety of vitamins and minerals.

It seems logical that whatever you eat can influence the function of your brain. Yet, there is continual research on how our diets can impact and improve mental health, mood and cognitive performance (1, 2).

To help break it down, we have collated a selection of the best brain-essential B vitamins, with some tips on how to get them into your daily diet.

Brain-sustaining B Vitamins

The brain represents about 2% of the body weight of an average adult. But despite its relatively low weight, your brain accounts for 20-25% of the energy you burn every day. (3, 4) Because B-vitamins play key roles in energy-yielding metabolism, they help meet this high energy demand and are important for your brain in several other ways too (5-7).

  • Pantothenic acid (or vitamin B5) is important for normal brain function, boosting memory and influencing many functions in your body (8-10).
  • Vitamin B6 or pyridoxine, supports the normal functioning of the nervous system and normal psychological function (11, 12) It also helps produce neurotransmitters, such as serotonin and dopamine (4).
  • An adequate intake of folate  (vitamin B9) supports normal psychological function (13), so it comes as no surprise that deficiencies in this vitamin could be associated with increased risk of depression (14); Folate is also involved in the formation and maintenance of nervous tissue (the main tissue type found in your brain, spinal cord and nerves) – not only during fetal development but throughout your entire life cycle (15-17).
  • Vitamin B12 or cobalamin is another B-vitamin well-known for its role in the nervous system and normal psychological function (18, 19). A shortage may cause nerve damage, fatigue, depression and poor memory (15, 20).

What foods are good sources of B-vitamins?

B-vitamins are available through a wide range of foods such as meat, dairy, eggs, whole grains, legumes and nuts. A varied and balanced diet will support an adequate intake of B-vitamins (4). However, a proportion of individuals do not meet their recommended daily intake. For example, in some European countries over 50% of adults don’t meet folate intake recommendations (21). Also, as vitamin B12 is found only in animal foods, vegetarians and vegans may not get enough (22), making a multi-vitamin supplement an efficient way of increasing B12 intake. If you want to supplement, a multivitamin might be more sensible than taking one or a few, as the B-vitamins do their work together (7, 15).

Now you know a little more about the essential vitamins for a healthy brain and why we need to ensure we get plenty of them into our bodies.  B-vitamins help satisfy the needs of an energy-hungry brain, (all of which have been working away whilst you've been reading this article!). So, next time you're typing an email, an essay or reading a book, think about the different processes your brain has to perform to process the words in front of you. And why it is important to maintain a balanced and varied diet full of B-vitamins!

 

References

  1. Adan RAH, van der Beek EM, Buitelaar JK, Cryan JF, Hebebrand J, Higgs S, et al. Nutritional psychiatry: Towards improving mental health by what you eat. Eur Neuropsychopharmacol. 2019;29(12):1321-32.
  2. Sarris J, Logan AC, Akbaraly TN, Amminger GP, Balanzá-Martínez V, Freeman MP, et al. Nutritional medicine as mainstream in psychiatry. The Lancet Psychiatry. 2015;2(3):271-4.
  3. Raichle ME, Gusnard DA. Appraising the brain's energy budget. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 2002;99(16):10237-9.
  4. Goyal MS, Iannotti LL, Raichle ME. Brain Nutrition: A Life Span Approach. Annu Rev Nutr. 2018;38:381-99.
  5. Watts ME, Pocock R, Claudianos C. Brain Energy and Oxygen Metabolism: Emerging Role in Normal Function and Disease. Frontiers in Molecular Neuroscience. 2018;11(216).
  6. Tardy AL, Pouteau E, Marquez D, Yilmaz C, Scholey A. Vitamins and Minerals for Energy, Fatigue and Cognition: A Narrative Review of the Biochemical and Clinical Evidence. Nutrients. 2020;12(1).
  7. Blampied M, Bell C, Gilbert C, Rucklidge JJ. Broad spectrum micronutrient formulas for the treatment of symptoms of depression, stress, and/or anxiety: a systematic review. Expert Rev Neurother. 2020;20(4):351-71.
  8. EFSA Panel on Dietetic Products N, Allergies. Scientific Opinion on the substantiation of health claims related to pantothenic acid and energy-yielding metabolism (ID 56, 59, 60, 64, 171, 172, 208), mental performance (ID 57), maintenance of bone (ID 61), maintenance of teeth (ID 61), maintenance of hair (ID 61), maintenance of skin (ID 61), maintenance of nails (ID 61) and synthesis and metabolism of steroid hormones, vitamin D and some neurotransmitters (ID 181) pursuant to Article 13(1) of Regulation (EC) No 1924/2006. EFSA Journal. 2009;7(10):1218.
  9. EFSA Panel on Dietetic Products N, Allergies. Scientific Opinion on the substantiation of health claims related to pantothenic acid and mental performance (ID 58), reduction of tiredness and fatigue (ID 63), adrenal function (ID 204) and maintenance of normal skin (ID 2878) pursuant to Article 13(1) of Regulation (EC) No 1924/2006. EFSA Journal. 2010;8(10):1758.
  10. Banerjee S, McCracken S, Hossain MF, Slaughter G. Electrochemical Detection of Neurotransmitters. Biosensors (Basel). 2020;10(8).
  11. EFSA Panel on Dietetic Products N, Allergies. Scientific Opinion on the substantiation of health claims related to vitamin B6 and contribution to normal homocysteine metabolism (ID 73, 76, 199), maintenance of normal bone (ID 74), maintenance of normal teeth (ID 74), maintenance of normal hair (ID 74), maintenance of normal skin (ID 74), maintenance of normal nails (ID 74), contribution to normal energy-yielding metabolism (ID 75, 214), contribution to normal psychological functions (ID 77), reduction of tiredness and fatigue (ID 78), and contribution to normal cysteine synthesis (ID 4283) pursuant to Article 13(1) of Regulation (EC) No 1924/2006. EFSA Journal. 2010;8(10):1759.
  12. EFSA Panel on Dietetic Products N, Allergies. Scientific Opinion on the substantiation of health claims related to vitamin B6 and protein and glycogen metabolism (ID 65, 70, 71), function of the nervous system (ID 66), red blood cell formation (ID 67, 72, 186), function of the immune system (ID 68), regulation of hormonal activity (ID 69) and mental performance (ID 185) pursuant to Article 13(1) of Regulation (EC) No 1924/2006. EFSA Journal. 2009;7(10):1225.
  13. EFSA Panel on Dietetic Products N, Allergies. Scientific Opinion on the substantiation of health claims related to folate and contribution to normal psychological functions (ID 81, 85, 86, 88), maintenance of normal vision (ID 83, 87), reduction of tiredness and fatigue (ID 84), cell division (ID 195, 2881) and contribution to normal amino acid synthesis (ID 195, 2881) pursuant to Article 13(1) of Regulation (EC) No 1924/2006. EFSA Journal. 2010;8(10):1760.
  14. Enderami A, Zarghami M, Darvishi-Khezri H. The effects and potential mechanisms of folic acid on cognitive function: a comprehensive review. Neurological Sciences. 2018;39(10):1667-75.
  15. Huskisson E, Maggini S, Ruf M. The influence of micronutrients on cognitive function and performance. J Int Med Res. 2007;35(1):1-19.
  16. NIH. Nervous Tissue  [Available from: https://training.seer.cancer.gov/anatomy/cells_tissues_membranes/tissues/nervous.html.
  17. Balashova OA, Visina O, Borodinsky LN. Folate action in nervous system development and disease. Dev Neurobiol. 2018;78(4):391-402.
  18. EFSA Panel on Dietetic Products N, Allergies. Scientific Opinion on the substantiation of health claims related to vitamin B12 and contribution to normal neurological and psychological functions (ID 95, 97, 98, 100, 102, 109), contribution to normal homocysteine metabolism (ID 96, 103, 106), maintenance of normal bone (ID 104), maintenance of normal teeth (ID 104), maintenance of normal hair (ID 104), maintenance of normal skin (ID 104), maintenance of normal nails (ID 104), reduction of tiredness and fatigue (ID 108), and cell division (ID 212) pursuant to Article 13(1) of Regulation (EC) No 1924/2006. EFSA Journal. 2010;8(10):1756.
  19. EFSA Panel on Dietetic Products N, Allergies. Scientific Opinion on the substantiation of health claims related to vitamin B12 and red blood cell formation (ID 92, 101), cell division (ID 93), energy-yielding metabolism (ID 99, 190) and function of the immune system (ID 107) pursuant to Article 13(1) of Regulation (EC) No 1924/2006. EFSA Journal. 2009;7(10):1223.
  20. Smith AD, Warren MJ, Refsum H. Chapter Six - Vitamin B12. In: Eskin NAM, editor. Advances in Food and Nutrition Research. 83: Academic Press; 2018. p. 215-79.
  21. Troesch B, Hoeft B, McBurney M, Eggersdorfer M, Weber P. Dietary surveys indicate vitamin intakes below recommendations are common in representative Western countries. Br J Nutr. 2012;108(4):692-8.
  22. Rizzo G, Laganà AS, Rapisarda AM, La Ferrera GM, Buscema M, Rossetti P, et al. Vitamin B12 among Vegetarians: Status, Assessment and Supplementation. Nutrients. 2016;8(12).