Multivitamins improve brain function in adults, kids.

Taking a multivitamin supplement daily can improve cognitive performance in both children and
adults, according to a series of studies published in the British Journal of Nutrition, Psychopharmacology, and Human Psychopharmacology.

The researchers monitored groups of healthy children, men and women who took commercially-available vitamins and mineral supplements daily for 4 to 12 weeks, and tested their cognitive performance through tasks requiring attention, memory, accuracy and/or multitasking ability. The mood or stress levels of participants were also assessed.

Vitamin and mineral supplementation improved cognitive performance after only a few weeks of supplementation. Men taking high dose B-complex vitamins showed improved performance on cognitive tasks, were less mentally tired and showed improved vigor. Women taking multivitamin/mineral supplements were demonstrated to have increased accuracy and speed on multitasking batteries. Children, aged 8-14, showed increased accuracy in attention-based tasks.