Its been long accepted that if you begin to develop a poor memory you would have to live with it. Memory loss can start occurring from our thirties so don't believe it's just old people who can suffer. However, there is no reason why we shouldn't have a good memory into our old age if we take the right vitamins and minerals. So why the reason for memory loss in the first place?
There are lots of reasons why our memory can fade in the first place. This ranges from poor concentration on what it is we are trying to remember to having additional ailments such as stress, high cholesterol, allergies and poor circulation to the brain. How can memory loss be improved?
There are many who believe that an increase in certain vitamins and minerals can help improve matters and outlined below are some of the things you should try. Increase your nutritional intake by:
- Eating a lot more raw or steamed vegetables
- Eating brown rice, millet, organic eggs, wheatgerm, soybeans, nuts and seeds
- Eating oily fish such as mackerel, salmon, herring, sardine, pilchard at least three times per week. When not eating these, take fish oil supplements.
- Try and avoid sugar and anything containing sugar, white flour, white rice and all refined food.
- Avoid alcohol. All of the foods above are high in flavinoids (found in vegetables and fruit), iron (found in meats and some fruits), Vitamin C (found in some fruit and veg) & Vitamin E (found in nuts and veg such as broccoli), zinc (found in most meat, barley & wheat), omega-3 fatty acids (found in fish such as salmon, tuna and trout) Recently more and more people have begun to rely on supplements and the following is a list of those most highly recommended to help with memory loss. Try the following supplements:
- Acetyl-L-carnitine: As well as helping improve memory this supplement also seems to enhance the communication between the left and right sides of our brains. People with left-brain dominance may report enhanced creativity, while those with right-side dominance may notice an improvement in their analytical thinking. - DMAE: Believed to work by stepping up production of the neurotransmitter acetylcholine, a chemical in the brain required for proper mental functioning. - Huperzine A: Helps prevent the breakdown of acetylcholine, a brain chemical essential to memories. - Phosphatidylserine (PS): Helps to keep the memory-related pathways in the brain functioning smoothly. - Vinpocetine: Similar to ginkgo, vinpocetine may help guard against disorientation and memory lapses by increasing blood circulation in the brain. - Ginko: May help reverse mental decline and optimize brain function, possibly due to ginkgo's ability to increase blood flow to the brain. NOTE: Any supplement you take should be treated as if it were any form of medicine i.e. please stick to the recommended dosage as although not as potent as medicine, if taken in the wrong dosage can do more harm than good. There are also a number of nonfood/supplement related things you should do: - Do more exercise. A healthy body means a healthy and active mind.
- Exercise your brain a bit more by reading, doing puzzles etc. In conclusion there are lots of things we can clearly do to improve our memory and a mix of the above will certainly go a long way to ensuring you keep a well tuned memory for many years to come. |
