AP Biology
Eva Cagliostro
Current Event 1
September 10, 2016
Brody, Jane E. "Vitamin B12 as Protection for the Aging Brain." The New York Times. The New York Times, 05 Sept. 2016. Web. 10 Sept. 2016.
“Vitamin B12 as Protection for the Aging Brain” by Jane Brody is a New York Times published article that discusses the effects of a B12 deficiency and provides advice to combat a possible future deficiency. Brody explains that the ability to absorb the B12 that is naturally present in animal protein foods depends on the presence of adequate stomach acid, the enzyme pepsin, and intrinsic factor, a gastric protein that releases B12 from the food protein. She also writes that as we age, the cells in our stomach that produce the acid may cease to function, a condition known as atrophic gastritis. A B12 deficiency can take years to develop as many people do not receive the recommended 2.4 micrograms per day, but early symptoms include fatigue, tingling and numbness in the hands and feet, muscle weakness and loss of reflexes. These symptoms can progress to confusion, depression, dementia, and mental impairment as the deficiency progresses and is most especially prevalent among the elderly. Most early symptoms, however, can be reversed through the injection of high doses of B12 if they are not related to nerve damage or dementia. Brody uses the expertise of multiple experts to recommend that everyone consumes around 3 micrograms of the vitamin a day and to take a B12 supplement if they eat few fortified foods.
This article provides important information that can help everyone improve their personal health and avoid serious mental impairment as they age. Taking the recommended daily dosage of B12 can help avoid the depression, dementia, and sometimes serious mental handicaps that accompany B12 deficiency, especially among the elderly who often eat limited diets or lose the ability to absorb the vitamin in the small intestine. Brody describes the conclusions of European researchers who found that B12 helps protect areas of the brain damaged by Alzheimer’s disease and cites a two-year study at the University of Oxford that found reduced cerebral atrophy in elders who were given high doses of B12. The author proves the importance of the vitamin by using quotes from scientists and the results of multiple studies in order to convince the reader to pay attention to the amount of B12 that they consume for a healthy brain in the future.
Overall, I think that “Vitamin B12 as Protection for the Aging Brain” is a very informative and well-written article. The author provides a brief, easy to understand explanation of the processes that the B12 vitamin undergoes in the stomach and intestine and the proven effects of a deficiency of that vitamin. Brody provides ample evidence to support her argument that a deficiency can lead to serious mental impairment in the elderly with expert testimonials and respected studies. She proves her point and then explains how the reader can improve their current and future health, and even goes so far as to list the conditions or lifestyle choices that place people at a greater risk to the deficiency. The one problem that I had with this article is that the conclusion branches off from the main focus and presents a question that is not answered. Brody writes that some athletes eat up to 5,000 micrograms of B12 and includes a quote from a hematologist who says that 5,000 is a “ridiculous” amount and that the effects of that much of the vitamin are unknown.
Patty Haggerty
ReplyDeleteBrody, Jane E. "Vitamin B12 as Protection for the Aging Brain." The New York Times. The New York Times, 05 Sept. 2016. Web. 10 Sept. 2016.
I read Eva's review on Jane E. Brody's "Vitamin B12 as Protection for the Aging Brain." Eva did a fantastic job summarizing the article about vitamin B12 and its health benefits for the aging brain. Eva made some very notable points in her review, including the main sections from the article, but not writing too much. I found it very interesting how vitamin B12 can affect the stimuli of the brain throughout life. Vitamin B deficiency can cause severe illnesses and even lead to death. I found it very interesting that Eva managed to summarize a topic so in depth, yet made it seem so simple. She managed to keep the review concise and to the point, but also managed to include the main points. Eva did a very good job on the review, and there are many aspects of it that provoked positive feedback. One thing that stood out to me with Eva's review was that she connected it to our everyday lives. Along with the daily connection, Eva managed to include the numbers that were a very important aspect of the article, because one of the main points is vitamin deficiency.
Although Eva wrote a marvelous review, there are some things that could be improved upon. In the beginning of her review, I felt as though majority of it was repeating everything that was read in the article, not grazing upon the subject matter like summaries should do. Also, Eva didn’t use any quotes from the article to back up or support the claims that she made. In a review, authors should quote from the article to get specific summarization and evidence to support their claims. Besides these minor improvements, Eva wrote a very well-written review of Jane E. Brody’s, "Vitamin B12 as Protection for the Aging Brain."
Overall, I would assess that Eva did a great job on her review of Jane E. Brody’s article on Vitamin B12 deficiency and its use for protection for the brain. She included the main points, kept her summary concise, and made real world connections to the text. Although there were some minor improvements that needed to be made, Eva did a good job, and I would recommend this article to many people because it caters to all people of all ages.
Brody, Jane E. "Vitamin B12 as Protection for the Aging Brain." The New York Times. The New York Times, 05 Sept. 2016. Web. 10 Sept. 2016.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.nytimes.com/2016/09/06/well/mind/vitamin-b12-as-protection-for-the-aging-brain.html?rref=collection%2Fsectioncollection%2Fscience&action=click&contentCollection=science®ion=stream&module=stream_unit&version=latest&contentPlacement=9&pgtype=sectionfront&_r=0
Eva’s review of, “Vitamin B12 as Protection for the Aging Brain” by Jane Brody was captivating and very well written. First of all, I liked how she put in her review many details on what are the symptoms of B12 deficiency. This allowed me to have an even more thorough knowledge of this type of deficiency and to understand why having a lack of B12 is an emerging problem. Furthermore, the fact that she actually stated the name of the condition that happens when the cells in the stomach that produce the acid cease to function (atrophic gastritis) was very helpful, as it was a piece of information I could look up if I wanted to know more about this deficiency. Since Eva really went in depth, going as far as stating the name of the actually condition, it helped me get a sense of what was the point of the article, and why it is such an important topic. Finally, Eva did a very good job explaining how this B12 deficiency can be treated. In her review she stated that most early symptoms can be reversed through the injection of high doses of B12. This information was a key point to her review and continued the trend of Eva’s amazing job at doing a very detailed review of the article by Jane Brody.
Although this review was very well written, I would have liked for Eva to talk a bit more about the cycle that B12 goes through in our body. At the beginning she quickly mentioned it, but did not go back to it, which would have been a good asset to her review. So, if she could just add a short summary of the cycle of the B12 vitamin, it would help the reader have an even deeper understanding of the topic. Moreover, in her second paragraph, Eva states that, the author proves the importance of the vitamin by using quotes from scientists and the results of multiple studies. As she said this, I would have expected her to put some of these quotes or results from the studies in her review. However, she did not put them and if she had put some I think it would have have made her review feel even more fact-based and real.
In conclusion, this review was interesting to read and very informational. I had never heard about the B12 vitamin and was very surprised that a deficiency could cause so many problems. Thus, learning about this was very enlightening and taught me many new things. Now, I am going to be more conscious about what I eat and about having enough B12 vitamin. This review really changed my views on vitamin and it showed me how dangerous it can be to not have enough of one vitamin, like B12.