Taking a multivitamin every day can shorten your mental age by three years

Taking a daily multivitamin can be three years shorter than your mental age when it comes to memory.

A study of more than 3,500 people over the age of 60 gave about half a multivitamin tablet every day for a year, while the rest took a dummy pill. The volunteers did thinking tests before the study started and again a year later.

In word memory tests, those taking multivitamins remembered 0.7 words more than before and those taking dummy pills remembered 0.44 more words. The researchers at Columbia University in the US said those taking multivitamins had memories typical of someone three years younger, but admitted the effects were small.