Guest guest Posted December 28, 2008 Report Share Posted December 28, 2008 one wonders if because of the date if this is a hoax...? i would not be surprised if vegans brains were bigger in fact, they certainly use them more when it comes to nutrition... lovelife... colin sky - colin sky skyvegan Sunday, December 28, 2008 10:46 PM [Veganzchat] b12... levels and brain size... Veggies and the Shrinking Brainby Nina Yun Wed, Dec. 31, 2008 http://www.philly.com/philly/living/CTW_health_20081231_Veggies_and_the_Shrinking_Brain.htmlVegans and vegetarians beware - your brain is shrinking. At least that's what multiple media reports are warning following a recent study on vitamin B-12 conducted by Oxford University.The study found that low levels of vitamin B-12 could lead to a loss of brain volume in their study participants: Self-caring men and women older than 60 years of age. The study involved 107 healthy people, ages 61 to 87, who were self-caring. MRI scans and cognitive tests were used to measure brain volume and blood tests were used to assess vitamin B-12 levels in study participants once a year for five years. All of those in the study had normal vitamin B-12 levels and did not suffer from cognitive impairment, researchers said.At the end of the study, researchers found that people with the lowest levels of vitamin B-12 were also the most likely to have brain shrinkage, confirming a link between brain atrophy and vitamin B-12 deficiency made in earlier research.According to Dr. Anna Vogiatzoglou, lead researcher and registered dietician, the study did not investigate if vitamin B-12 supplements would slow the rate of brain volume loss, however, researchers started working on an ongoing trial three years ago that will answer this question in 2009.Until then, Vogiatzoglou says a varied diet should provide enough vitamin B-12 to prevent deficiency in most individuals 50 years of age and younger. But nevertheless, nutritional deficiency can occur in specific populations like people over the age of 50, strict vegetarians and women planning to become pregnant, who all should take a multivitamin tablet daily or eat fortified breakfast cereal to ensure a sufficient intake of vitamin B-12."With several morbidities, such as cognitive decline, associated with low-normal B12 status it is important to establish whether dietary interventions can increase B-12 status throughout the 'normal' range," Vogiatzoglou says.According to the National Institutes of Health, symptoms of deficiency include anemia, fatigue, weakness, constipation, weight loss, depression, confusion and dementia. As most of these symptoms are general, a simple blood test can determine whether or not you are deficient in vitamin B-12.Vogiatzoglou says that the study did not investigate on whether the participants were vegetarians or vegans nor did they concentrate on a non-animal product diet and its affect on brain volume. "This population [vegans and vegetarians] may have a greater risk for B12 deficiency and therefore possibly a higher risk of brain atrophy and cognitive decline," Vogiatzoglou says. "The connection might be plausible but not related to our study."According to Rory Freedman, co-author of the vegan manifesto, "Skinny Bitch" (Running Press, 2005), vegans and vegetarians are used to the media misreporting on their lifestyle."Vegan and vegetarian diets are going to be suffering, malnourished and now they're brains are shrinking," Freedman says. "None of these things are true. Vegan and vegetarian diets are the healthiest ways for you to be eating."According to Freedman, a non-meat and non-animal-product diet has many health benefits. Some benefits are a lower risk of heart disease, high blood pressure, high cholesterol and obesity.Live Simply So ThatOthers May Simply Live>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>^* lovelife... colin sky Internal Virus Database is out of date.Checked by AVG - http://www.avg.com Version: 8.0.176 / Virus Database: 270.9.19/1860 - Release 21/12/2008 3:08 p.m. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted December 28, 2008 Report Share Posted December 28, 2008 It is not a hoax. Vegans do need to ensure that they get plenty (far more than the rda) of vitamin B12 to remain healthy. This can be from foods which are fortified (breakfast cereals, soy milk etc) or supplements - or dare I say - both. Jo - colin sky skyvegan Sunday, December 28, 2008 9:21 PM Re: [Veganzchat] b12... levels and brain size... one wonders if because of the date if this is a hoax...? i would not be surprised if vegans brains were bigger in fact, they certainly use them more when it comes to nutrition... lovelife... colin sky - colin sky skyvegan Sunday, December 28, 2008 10:46 PM [Veganzchat] b12... levels and brain size... Veggies and the Shrinking Brainby Nina Yun Wed, Dec. 31, 2008 http://www.philly.com/philly/living/CTW_health_20081231_Veggies_and_the_Shrinking_Brain.htmlVegans and vegetarians beware - your brain is shrinking. At least that's what multiple media reports are warning following a recent study on vitamin B-12 conducted by Oxford University.The study found that low levels of vitamin B-12 could lead to a loss of brain volume in their study participants: Self-caring men and women older than 60 years of age. The study involved 107 healthy people, ages 61 to 87, who were self-caring. MRI scans and cognitive tests were used to measure brain volume and blood tests were used to assess vitamin B-12 levels in study participants once a year for five years. All of those in the study had normal vitamin B-12 levels and did not suffer from cognitive impairment, researchers said.At the end of the study, researchers found that people with the lowest levels of vitamin B-12 were also the most likely to have brain shrinkage, confirming a link between brain atrophy and vitamin B-12 deficiency made in earlier research.According to Dr. Anna Vogiatzoglou, lead researcher and registered dietician, the study did not investigate if vitamin B-12 supplements would slow the rate of brain volume loss, however, researchers started working on an ongoing trial three years ago that will answer this question in 2009.Until then, Vogiatzoglou says a varied diet should provide enough vitamin B-12 to prevent deficiency in most individuals 50 years of age and younger. But nevertheless, nutritional deficiency can occur in specific populations like people over the age of 50, strict vegetarians and women planning to become pregnant, who all should take a multivitamin tablet daily or eat fortified breakfast cereal to ensure a sufficient intake of vitamin B-12."With several morbidities, such as cognitive decline, associated with low-normal B12 status it is important to establish whether dietary interventions can increase B-12 status throughout the 'normal' range," Vogiatzoglou says.According to the National Institutes of Health, symptoms of deficiency include anemia, fatigue, weakness, constipation, weight loss, depression, confusion and dementia. As most of these symptoms are general, a simple blood test can determine whether or not you are deficient in vitamin B-12.Vogiatzoglou says that the study did not investigate on whether the participants were vegetarians or vegans nor did they concentrate on a non-animal product diet and its affect on brain volume. "This population [vegans and vegetarians] may have a greater risk for B12 deficiency and therefore possibly a higher risk of brain atrophy and cognitive decline," Vogiatzoglou says. "The connection might be plausible but not related to our study."According to Rory Freedman, co-author of the vegan manifesto, "Skinny Bitch" (Running Press, 2005), vegans and vegetarians are used to the media misreporting on their lifestyle."Vegan and vegetarian diets are going to be suffering, malnourished and now they're brains are shrinking," Freedman says. "None of these things are true. Vegan and vegetarian diets are the healthiest ways for you to be eating."According to Freedman, a non-meat and non-animal-product diet has many health benefits. Some benefits are a lower risk of heart disease, high blood pressure, high cholesterol and obesity.Live Simply So ThatOthers May Simply Live>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>^* lovelife... colin sky Internal Virus Database is out of date.Checked by AVG - http://www.avg.com Version: 8.0.176 / Virus Database: 270.9.19/1860 - Release 21/12/2008 3:08 p.m. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted December 29, 2008 Report Share Posted December 29, 2008 But the study had nothing to do with veg*ns. As the researcher explicitly noted, " the study did not investigate on whether the participants were vegetarians or vegans nor did they concentrate on a non-animal product diet and its affect on brain volume. " One thing that was left out of the article and that should've been there is the fact that people over the age of 50 can be deficient in vitamin B12. It's part of aging and has to do with metabolism. I don't know of any studies that have investigated whether this is more or less frequent among vegans. /begin rant/ This is what happens when they let the science reporters go as part of cost cutting. It looks like some intern added a nonsensical lead to a press release, then went and called an author of a best-selling vegan book to get an off-the-wall quote to make it sound like the study had something to do with veg*ns. At 10:21 AM +1300 12/29/08, colin sky wrote: one wonders if because of the date if this is a hoax...? i would not be surprised if vegans brains were bigger in fact, they certainly use them more when it comes to nutrition... lovelife... colin sky - colin sky skyvegan Sunday, December 28, 2008 10:46 PM [Veganzchat] b12... levels and brain size... Veggies and the Shrinking Brain by Nina Yun Wed, Dec. 31, 2008 http://www.philly.com/philly/living/CTW_health_20081231_Veggies_and_the_Shrinking_Brain.html Vegans and vegetarians beware - your brain is shrinking. At least that's what multiple media reports are warning following a recent study on vitamin B-12 conducted by Oxford University. The study found that low levels of vitamin B-12 could lead to a loss of brain volume in their study participants: Self-caring men and women older than 60 years of age. The study involved 107 healthy people, ages 61 to 87, who were self-caring. MRI scans and cognitive tests were used to measure brain volume and blood tests were used to assess vitamin B-12 levels in study participants once a year for five years. All of those in the study had normal vitamin B-12 levels and did not suffer from cognitive impairment, researchers said. At the end of the study, researchers found that people with the lowest levels of vitamin B-12 were also the most likely to have brain shrinkage, confirming a link between brain atrophy and vitamin B-12 deficiency made in earlier research. According to Dr. Anna Vogiatzoglou, lead researcher and registered dietician, the study did not investigate if vitamin B-12 supplements would slow the rate of brain volume loss, however, researchers started working on an ongoing trial three years ago that will answer this question in 2009. Until then, Vogiatzoglou says a varied diet should provide enough vitamin B-12 to prevent deficiency in most individuals 50 years of age and younger. But nevertheless, nutritional deficiency can occur in specific populations like people over the age of 50, strict vegetarians and women planning to become pregnant, who all should take a multivitamin tablet daily or eat fortified breakfast cereal to ensure a sufficient intake of vitamin B-12. " With several morbidities, such as cognitive decline, associated with low-normal B12 status it is important to establish whether dietary interventions can increase B-12 status throughout the 'normal' range, " Vogiatzoglou says. According to the National Institutes of Health, symptoms of deficiency include anemia, fatigue, weakness, constipation, weight loss, depression, confusion and dementia. As most of these symptoms are general, a simple blood test can determine whether or not you are deficient in vitamin B-12. Vogiatzoglou says that the study did not investigate on whether the participants were vegetarians or vegans nor did they concentrate on a non-animal product diet and its affect on brain volume. " This population [vegans and vegetarians] may have a greater risk for B12 deficiency and therefore possibly a higher risk of brain atrophy and cognitive decline, " Vogiatzoglou says. " The connection might be plausible but not related to our study. " According to Rory Freedman, co-author of the vegan manifesto, " Skinny Bitch " (Running Press, 2005), vegans and vegetarians are used to the media misreporting on their lifestyle. " Vegan and vegetarian diets are going to be suffering, malnourished and now they're brains are shrinking, " Freedman says. " None of these things are true. Vegan and vegetarian diets are the healthiest ways for you to be eating. " According to Freedman, a non-meat and non-animal-product diet has many health benefits. Some benefits are a lower risk of heart disease, high blood pressure, high cholesterol and obesity. Live Simply So That Others May Simply Live >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>^* lovelife... colin sky Internal Virus Database is out of date. Checked by AVG - http://www.avg.com Version: 8.0.176 / Virus Database: 270.9.19/1860 - Release Date: 21/12/2008 3:08 p.m. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted December 29, 2008 Report Share Posted December 29, 2008 What they don't seem to mention is whether or not smaller brains are actually a problem. Of course it sounds frightening, but does it actually do any harm to have a smaller brain? Didn't seem to hurt Lenin too much... and I could be wrong, but I seem to recall reading that Einstein's brain was physically smaller than the usual... BBPeter2008/12/28 colin sky <colinsky one wonders if because of the date if this is a hoax...? i would not be surprised if vegans brains were bigger in fact, they certainly use them more when it comes to nutrition... lovelife... colin sky - colin sky skyvegan Sunday, December 28, 2008 10:46 PM [Veganzchat] b12... levels and brain size... Veggies and the Shrinking Brainby Nina Yun Wed, Dec. 31, 2008 http://www.philly.com/philly/living/CTW_health_20081231_Veggies_and_the_Shrinking_Brain.html Vegans and vegetarians beware - your brain is shrinking. At least that's what multiple media reports are warning following a recent study on vitamin B-12 conducted by Oxford University.The study found that low levels of vitamin B-12 could lead to a loss of brain volume in their study participants: Self-caring men and women older than 60 years of age. The study involved 107 healthy people, ages 61 to 87, who were self-caring. MRI scans and cognitive tests were used to measure brain volume and blood tests were used to assess vitamin B-12 levels in study participants once a year for five years. All of those in the study had normal vitamin B-12 levels and did not suffer from cognitive impairment, researchers said.At the end of the study, researchers found that people with the lowest levels of vitamin B-12 were also the most likely to have brain shrinkage, confirming a link between brain atrophy and vitamin B-12 deficiency made in earlier research.According to Dr. Anna Vogiatzoglou, lead researcher and registered dietician, the study did not investigate if vitamin B-12 supplements would slow the rate of brain volume loss, however, researchers started working on an ongoing trial three years ago that will answer this question in 2009.Until then, Vogiatzoglou says a varied diet should provide enough vitamin B-12 to prevent deficiency in most individuals 50 years of age and younger. But nevertheless, nutritional deficiency can occur in specific populations like people over the age of 50, strict vegetarians and women planning to become pregnant, who all should take a multivitamin tablet daily or eat fortified breakfast cereal to ensure a sufficient intake of vitamin B-12. " With several morbidities, such as cognitive decline, associated with low-normal B12 status it is important to establish whether dietary interventions can increase B-12 status throughout the 'normal' range, " Vogiatzoglou says.According to the National Institutes of Health, symptoms of deficiency include anemia, fatigue, weakness, constipation, weight loss, depression, confusion and dementia. As most of these symptoms are general, a simple blood test can determine whether or not you are deficient in vitamin B-12.Vogiatzoglou says that the study did not investigate on whether the participants were vegetarians or vegans nor did they concentrate on a non-animal product diet and its affect on brain volume. " This population [vegans and vegetarians] may have a greater risk for B12 deficiency and therefore possibly a higher risk of brain atrophy and cognitive decline, " Vogiatzoglou says. " The connection might be plausible but not related to our study. " According to Rory Freedman, co-author of the vegan manifesto, " Skinny Bitch " (Running Press, 2005), vegans and vegetarians are used to the media misreporting on their lifestyle. " Vegan and vegetarian diets are going to be suffering, malnourished and now they're brains are shrinking, " Freedman says. " None of these things are true. Vegan and vegetarian diets are the healthiest ways for you to be eating. " According to Freedman, a non-meat and non-animal-product diet has many health benefits. Some benefits are a lower risk of heart disease, high blood pressure, high cholesterol and obesity.Live Simply So ThatOthers May Simply Live>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>^* lovelife... colin sky Internal Virus Database is out of date.Checked by AVG - http://www.avg.com Version: 8.0.176 / Virus Database: 270.9.19/1860 - Release 21/12/2008 3:08 p.m. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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