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.

Some nutrients, like vitamin D, always seem to be making headlines — while others, you just never hear about.

Take choline, for example.

When was the last time you heard about that one? Possibly never — but you might want to add it to your vocabulary, because this B vitamin found in egg yolks, liver, and chicken may have the power to protect your brain and keep dementia at bay.

Researchers looked at data on some 1,400 adults between the ages of 36 and 83 who were tracked for nearly a decade and given MRI exams along with tests to check both memory and cognitive ability.

You might want to stock up on eggs: The patients with the highest dietary choline intake did much better on those memory tests than those with the lowest. What’s more, the MRIs revealed fewer signs of “white matter hyperintensity” in the brain.

That’s a blood vessel problem that may be linked to both stroke and dementia.

Sounds great, right? But there’s just one catch: The choline levels were calculated based on food surveys, and food surveys simply aren’t good science. They rely too much on guesses, estimates, and memory.

That last one’s a little ironic given that memory tests were part of the study. Can those who did the worst on those tests really be relied on to give an accurate accounting of their food intake?

On the other hand, this study doesn’t come out of the blue, either — because choline is needed by the brain to make acetylcholine, a neurotransmitter involved in everything from muscles to memory.

Some studies have shown that Alzheimer’s patients lose the ability to turn choline into acetylcholine, and some promising experimental research has looked into finding ways to correct that — although if the problem is in the conversion, then choline supplements on their own won’t stop the disease.

But if they can prevent it, we’re on the right track — and earlier studies have shown that rats given choline in the womb go on to develop more powerful brains later.

Since choline is also essential for everything from your heart to your liver, you might want to add this to your supplement list. After all, it’s unlikely you’re getting enough from diet alone — unless you’re eating plenty of egg yolks.

By the way, choline isn’t the only B vitamin that can play a key role in stopping and even reversing cognitive decline: Seniors given a blend of B6, B12, and thiamine did significantly better on memory tests and had fewer signs of the brain shrinkage linked to dementia.

Learn more here.

I couldn’t believe what I saw on the news the other night: Diane Sawyer — in her most solemn Evening Anchor Voice — announced that vitamin E could increase the risk of prostate cancer by 17 percent.

Of course, I immediately popped open my computer to see what the fuss was all about it and all I can say is: Serves me right for watching the evening news!

The study that supposedly “proves” vitamin E can boost cancer risk is being billed as a double-blind, placebo-controlled piece of research — in other words, the gold standard of science.

But that’s not quite the whole story here — because in this case, the “gold standard” is more like a piece of gold-colored tin.

First, the 17 percent boost in risk is actually only a little bit beyond the margin of error. With a difference of just 1.6 cancer cases per 1,000 men per year, the association is weak at best.

Second, the difference in risk disappeared altogether in one of the groups of men: those who took vitamin E with the mineral selenium. If the researchers really believed the study proves that E boosts the cancer risk, then they should be singing the praises of selenium for lowering it.

Of course, that didn’t happen.

But there’s a third point here that calls into question anything and everything uncovered by the study: The “gold standard” part actually ended years ago — with no results at all!

The researchers pulled the plug after an average of 5.5 years of followup despite the fact that 5.5 years is practically no time at all when it comes to prostate cancer, which is notoriously slow to appear and even slower to grow.

The new numbers come from an additional 18 months of follow-up — and during that time, the men were no longer getting vitamins OR placebos as study subjects.

So now instead of a clear conclusion, all we have are more question marks: Did the men who were on the placebo start taking real vitamins after the study? Did the men who had been given free vitamins by the study stop? Did they keep at it but switch doses or blends? Did stopping vitamins, instead of taking them, actually case the increase in risk?

But there’s no question over vitamin E: Despite what you’ve heard, your body needs it — and even the government says most of us don’t get enough.

In other words, keep taking your supplements.

If you tell your doctor you’re having trouble sleeping, the first thing he’ll do is reach for his prescription pad — especially if you’re a woman going through menopause.

Feel free to visit the drugstore — but don’t head for the pharmacy, and don’t fill that prescription.

Make a beeline for the supplements aisle instead, and reach for an inexpensive remedy that’s been used for centuries by men and women alike to help ease anxiety and get better rest.

It’s valerian root — and a new clinical trial finds that it can help beat the sleep problems that often accompany menopause.

Iranian researchers randomly assigned 100 women to either 530 milligrams of valerian root twice a day, or a placebo, for a month and found that 30 percent of the women who got the supplement had better sleep.

Thirty percent may not sound impressive — but it’s a dramatic improvement compared to the 4 percent of women on the placebo who reported relief.

What’s more, the women who took the supplement reported no side effects — unlike the sleep meds that can not only leave you groggy in the morning, but can also cause addiction as well as bizarre and often dangerous behavior.

If valerian doesn’t work for you, there’s still no reason to fill that prescription: Other studies have found that yoga, tai chi, acupressure, and cognitive behavioral therapy can all help men and women alike overcome sleep problems.

In some cases, you may need to experiment a little until you find a natural treatment that works best for you. In others, you may need to combine two or more.

For more tips on how to get better sleep – whether you’re a man or woman of any age – explore the Web site of the Health Sciences Institute. Enter “sleep” into the “find a cure” box and then find a comfortable spot to finally get the rest you need.