At first glance, it’s a big win for supplements: Researchers say megadoses of B vitamins can dramatically cut back on the conditions that lead to dementia.
But dig a little deeper, and you’ll uncover yet another Big Pharma attempt to bully its way into the supplement game.
In this case, the researchers used a patented blend of B6, B12 and folic acid, called TrioBe Plus by the Swiss drug company that makes it.
In a randomized, controlled trial of 168 seniors diagnosed with mild cognitive impairment, they found that TrioBe Plus slowed the rate of brain shrinkage by an average of 30 percent, and as much as 53 percent, according to the study in PLoS One.
While all our brains shrink a little as we age, faster shrinkage has been linked to dementia and Alzheimer’s disease. But if this B blend turns into a prescription “drug,” you can expect rapid shrinkage somewhere else: your wallet!
The authors of this study claim that TrioBe Plus contains such massive doses that it should only be given as a “drug” under the care of a doctor. Of course, since one of the researchers is also a patent holder who could win big if this “drug” hits the market, of course he’d say that.
So I’m going to let you in on a dirty little secret here: This “special” blend contains 800 micrograms of folic acid, 500 micrograms of B12 and 20 milligrams of B6 — and there’s nothing even remotely risky about those levels for most people. In fact, these vitamins are widely available at drugstores and supermarkets in these doses and higher.
Heck, the researchers behind this blend might even be Douglass Report readers — because I’ve been writing for years about the use of these vitamins, in practically these exact amounts, for the prevention of dementia.
Maybe I should sue and get that patent!
In reality, patenting these vitamins to treat dementia is like patenting water to treat thirst. But since Big Pharma has been busily slapping patents on everything from niacin to fish oil, it’s hardly surprising anymore.
For the record, the best natural sources of B vitamins are meats, fish and dairy.