Longevity & AgingNormal B12 Levels May Still Leave Your Brain Vulnerable to Hidden Damage
A new UCSF study challenges the idea that meeting current vitamin B12 guidelines is enough to protect the aging brain. Researchers followed 231 healthy adults averaging age 71 and found that those with lower active B12 levels — even within the accepted normal range — showed slower thinking, delayed visual processing, and more white matter lesions on MRI scans. White matter lesions are areas of brain injury linked to cognitive decline, dementia, and stroke. The study focused on active B12, the biologically usable form, rather than total B12 in the blood. The findings suggest current deficiency cutoffs may miss early neurological harm, and that older adults in particular may need higher B12 levels than guidelines currently recommend to maintain optimal brain health.
