Want to be smart? Follow your mother’s advice and don’t forget to take your vitamins — because even the basics can deliver noticeable and almost immediate benefits.

No part of the body responds quicker to good nutrition than the brain, and a series of new studies show how quality supplements can give you the boost you’ve been looking for in a matter of weeks — helping you to think sharper, quicker, and better than ever.

Start with the second letter of the alphabet — B vitamins.

In one of the studies, men given a high-dose B complex for 33 days improved on tests measuring mood, stress, and cognitive performance, and reported being less “mentally tired” after taking those tests.

The study was on men, but I have no doubt the benefits would apply to women as well because B vitamins such as B6, B12, and folate have proven time and again to help protect the brain.

But they’re also water soluble, which means your body doesn’t store them. They literally go right through you — in your mouth and out your urine, which is why it’s not enough to get them only some of the time.

You need to make sure you get them every single day.

Along with those B vitamins, be sure to take a quality multi — because another recent study found that women who took them for nine weeks had a boost in multitasking abilities.

More specifically, they had improved accuracy and faster responses while multitasking… and, as a bonus, they had lower levels of the inflammation marker homocysteine.

Again, there’s no reason these benefits wouldn’t apply to men and women alike. Just make sure your multivitamin comes from a maker you trust, and not the local dollar store.

And while you’re at it, be sure to take some fish oil. The omega-3 fatty acids are great for the brain, especially DHA. In one recent study, adults who took between 1 and 2 grams of DHA a day saw improvements in blood flow in the brain while engaged in cognitive tasks.

Of course, none of these supplements are miracle pills. They’re not going to magically undo the damage of an unhealthy lifestyle, but they’re an important part of the big picture — both in the short term and over the long haul.

Your own needs will depend on your diet, lifestyle, and even genetic factors that might make it more difficult for you to hold onto certain nutrients. A holistic doctor can run some tests to help you figure you which ones you need, how much you need, and the best way to get them.

You’re suffering from chronic fa­tigue, and the only thing worse than the debilitating symptoms is trying to get a doctor to take you seriously.

Sometimes, you just need to go with your gut.

If you hear something that sounds just plain wrong, that’s usually because it is.

Take the latest study on multivitamins, which appeared in the Archives of Internal Medicine. It concluded that women who take multivitamins face the same risk of cancer and heart disease as women who don’t.

Now if that sounds like bunk to you, that’s because it is bunk – and no matter how many times you hear about it or read about it, at the end of the day it’s still bunk.

So before we go any further, let me reassure you: Keep taking your multivitamins. They’re good for you, and one of the best bangs you’ll ever get for your health bucks.

That study everyone is talking about looked at 161,808 postmenopausal women over an eight-year period. Those look like nice big numbers, but that’s all they are – nice, big numbers. They’re trying to overwhelm you with numbers instead of facts.

You see, this study relied on observational data. When it comes to scientific research, this is the least credible method, and with good reason. In an observational study, the researchers have no real control over their subjects. They just pick a whole bunch of people – so many people that they hope they can overcome the obvious problems with their methodology.

Let me tell you something, friends – it just ain’t that simple.

The reason we prefer studies where we can retain control over all the variables is because those things really matter.

In this study, we don’t know what kind of multivitamins the women took or if they really took them daily. It’s quite likely these women used different vitamins with different amounts of nutrients and minerals in them. We also don’t know the diets of these women, or what vitamins they may have had deficiencies in.

And here’s another problem with the study: Many forms of cancer take years to develop. Looking at an eight-year period is like looking at only one corner of a picture. You’re just not seeing the whole thing.

When you see a study like this one, the best thing is to leave it outside at night for the wolves, because that’s about all it’s good for. Common sense tells us that because our food supply has been adulterated with mineral imbalances, and because processing depletes more vitamins than they fortify with, health consequences will follow eventually. With all the documentation showing that you need vitamins in order to sustain the chemical reactions of life, how could anyone argue otherwise?

In their conclusion, the researchers said it’s better for people to get their daily supply of vitamins from food, not multivitamins. Of course that’s true, and no one would really argue otherwise. But to conclude that there is no benefit from multivitamins – well, that just doesn’t pass the gut test. What do they think we are all stupid?

The reality is that many people can’t, don’t, or simply won’t get all the vitamins and nutrients they need from their diet. Other people may find it hard to figure out how much they’re getting and whether or not it’s enough. And still others may need more vitamins than the rest of us to make up for a deficiency or genetic weakness.

A multivitamin is an easy, inexpensive and practical way of meeting those needs and making sure you’re covered. This is a basic fact that is well-supported by years of extensive research on the subject – solid research, not just an observational study.