Brains in over 60s improved in 12 weeks by two inexpensive supplements

Taking two inexpensive plant fibre supplements improved the brain function of over 60 year olds in just 12 weeks, researchers at the School of Life Course & Population Sciences at King’s College London found. The supplements, inulin, and FOS (fructo-oligosaccharides) are widely available. Both are prebiotics, which are compounds that help bacteria in the gut to flourish. Dr Mary Ni Lochlainn, the study’s first author, said: ‘We are excited to see these changes in just 12 weeks. This holds huge promise for enhancing brain health and memory in our aging population. Unlocking the secrets of the gut-brain axis could offer new approaches for living more healthily for longer.’ Adding them to diets can improve performance in memory tests associated with early signs of Alzheimer’s disease.

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Researchers at TwinsUK, the UK’s largest adult twin registry wanted to discover how targeting the microbiota, the diverse community of microorganisms residing in our intestines, with two commercially available plant fibre supplements inulin and FOS, could impact both muscle health and brain function. The randomised controlled trial recruited 36 pairs of twins, who received either a placebo or supplementation every day for 12 weeks.

Researchers assigned 36 twin pairs – 72 individuals – over 60 years old to receive either a placebo or the supplement every day for 12 weeks. Neither the analysis team, nor the participants knew which they received until the analysis was complete (double-blind). Alongside this, all study participants did resistance exercises and ate a protein supplement which was aimed at improving muscle function. Alongside supplementation, everyone in the study did resistance exercises.

The results showed that the exercises and supplementation together had no effect on muscle strength, as measured by the time it took participants to rise from a chair.

However, the fibre supplementation improved performance on a memory test that is linked to Alzheimer’s disease, together with tests of reaction time and processing speed. These measures are important for daily living, for example reacting to traffic or stopping a simple trip-up turning into a fall.

Prebiotics like inulin and FOS are thought to be beneficial by improving digestion. The brain and the digestive system have a two-way relationship, which is known as the gut-brain axis. So what you eat affects how you think and what you think also affects how your digestion works. John Hopkins Medicine has published a larger explanation of the gut-brain axis, the enteric nervous system, here.

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