A new study at the Zhengzhou University in China has suggested that taking vitamin B supplements may help reduce the risk of stroke. The researchers analyzed 14 randomized clinical trials with a total of 54,913 participants.
All of the studies compared B vitamin use with a placebo or a very low-dose B vitamin. The participants were examined for a minimum of six months. There were 2,471 strokes throughout the studies, all of which showed some benefit of taking vitamin B.
The risk of stroke was reduced by seven percent with vitamin B intake. However, taking supplements did not appear to affect the severity of strokes or risk of death from stroke. According to Yuming, one of the researchers, the ability of vitamin B to reduce stroke risk may be influenced by a number of other factors such as the body's absorption rate, the amount of folic acid or vitamin B12 concentration in the blood, and whether a person has kidney disease or high blood pressure
Folic acid, a supplemental form of folate (vitamin B9), which is often found in fortified cereals, appeared to reduce the effect of vitamin B.
The research is published in journal Neurology.
Disclaimer