A Micro Solution to a Macro Problem: Fighting Alzheimer’s
Here’s a really tiny way to help prevent a really huge problem. This micro supplement can improve mild cognitive impairment and help prevent Alzheimer’s.
There could be nothing scarier than your memory slipping away. Anything that could help prevent it would be more than welcome. Once you have Alzheimer’s, it is very difficult to reverse it. So, slowing down memory impairment once it shows signs of emerging is a crucial strategy.
Seniors with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) have trouble with memory and thinking that is not serious enough to cause the more catastrophic problems of Alzheimer’s Disease. A remarkable 42% of seniors are affected by it. MCI is the cognitive grey zone between the normal cognitive decline that everyone experiences with aging and the serious cognitive decline of dementia. It may increase your risk of Alzheimer’s—especially a form called amnestic MCI—but not for everyone. About 10-15% of people with MCI progress to Alzheimer’s versus 1-2% of the healthy population developing Alzheimer’s.
Spirulina is a microalga that is loaded in antioxidants and nutrients. It is a veritable natural nutrient factory. This intriguing new study wanted to see if spirulina could improve memory function in people with MCI and help prevent Alzheimer’s disease.
The 12 week, double-blind study gave either a placebo or an extract of spirulina to 74 people with MCI. Everyone in the study was over 60, and the average age was 68.
Compared to the placebo group, the seniors taking spirulina had significant improvement in visual learning, visual working memory and vocabulary, showing that spirulina improves memory function in people with MCI.
This study showed for the first time that spirulina improves Alzheimer’s disease symptoms and can inhibit progression from MCI to Alzheimer’s. Importantly, the spirulina was also safe, improving memory with no side effects.
Nutrients. 2022 Sep;14(18):3714
