Written by Dr.Claire Arcidiacono, ND

For further questions or concerns email me at [email protected]†

I hope this has been an exciting and informative blog on brain health and memory. The brain is something we are still learning about and gaining new information about every day.  It seems like every day new supplements and medications are found that can help improve our memory. One of the ways you can be proactive when it comes to memory is to just be aware. If you start to notice any changes in your memory, make a list of your concerns so that when you talk to your doctor about these issues you have a list to reference.  When you visit your doctor, it can also be helpful to bring a family member or friend who can help answer any questions the doctor may have. Friends and family may also notice changes in your behavior that you have not realized yet. Once you have a visit with your doctor it is important to follow up with any referrals or tests that they may recommend. Remember there are several deficiencies that can affect our memory.  Additionally certain chronic diseases also affect memory, so you’ll want to rule those out. †

Once the doctor knows exactly what is going on it is important to have a consultation with an InVite nutritionist to decide exactly what supplements are best for you. I always encourage people to bring the following items with them when they are interested in a consult – recent blood work, a list of all medications and supplements you take for any reason, and a diet diary or food log are all very helpful.  Now when I mention medications and supplements, I mean all medications not just those for the brain. Lastly, I also recommend bringing a list of symptoms that you are experiencing and what seems to make them worse. For example, is your memory worse when you don’t sleep properly? Or does a stressful event seem to trigger you to be more forgetful? This is all helpful information that can help determine what supplements will work best for you. †

What can you do if you don’t’ have any symptoms but don’t want to wait? †

An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure is an old saying that still holds true.

Here’s what you can do: 

1. Diet – the Mediterranean diet has been found in studies to help keep our brain healthy and even help to slow cognitive decline as we age.  †(1)
2. Brain teasers such as crossword puzzles and Sudoku have been found in studies to help with brain health. † (2)
3. In order to keep our brain healthy, we must keep our entire body healthy by eliminating such factors as smoking and drinking alcohol to excess. Even being more social and eliminating loneliness can help with memory. † (3)
4. Reducing stress also helps with focus and memory – Magnesium has been found to be helpful in working with stress. Studies have found a feedback loop if you will between magnesium and stress, the more stressed you are the more magnesium is depleted and the more magnesium is depleted the more stressed you feel. (4) Please see Invite’s Magnesium Glycinate, Citrate and Bioavail Magnesium. In addition to magnesium studies have found L-Theanine to be helpful with reducing our stress. (5) Please see Invite’s L-Theanine †
5. Improving sleep quality can also be helpful in improving memory. Phosphatidylserine has been found to help moderate high cortisol levels which can wake us up in the middle of the night. (6) In my clinical experience taking Phosphatidylserine at night helps improve sleep quality. Please see Invite’s Phosphatidylserine. Melatonin has also been found in studies to also help improve sleep. (7) Please see Invite’s Melatonin †
6. But what can we do for our memory directly? Throughout this series I have talked about a number of products that can be excellent for memory and brain health. These include but are not limited to:
   1. Alcar has been found in studies to help with memory. (8) Other studies have found Alcar to be helpful in working with the memory changes seen in dementia and Alzheimer’s disease. (9, 10). Please see Invite’s Alcar with Ala, Cerebral care and Cognition Hx! †
   2. Phosphatidylserine has been found in studies to help improve memory (11) Please see Invite’s Phosphatidylserine as well as our Cerebral Care!
   3. Studies have shown omega 3s to be very helpful in working with memory and brain health among the other uses we have for omega 3s. (12) Please see Invite’s Krill oil, Fish oil and even our Flax seed powder. †
   4. Choline has been found in studies to help improve cognitive performance as we age. (13) Please see Invite’s Cerebral Care! †
   5. Gingko has been found in studies to help with reducing cognitive decline as we age. (14) Please see Invite’s Cognition Hx †
7. Turmeric is one of the most important supplements when it comes to AD. There are many studies coming out showing that it helps with the amyloid plaque buildup, it helps delay the death of neurons or brain cells, it is anti-inflammatory and has been found to help improve memory and brain health. (16) In addition to helping memory Turmeric has been found to help with the behavioral symptoms of AD as well as the psychological symptoms such as depression. (16) Lastly Turmeric has been found to slow the changes in memory seen in AD. (17) This is why when someone comes to see me with a history of AD Turmeric is the first thing I recommend! Please see Invite’s Bio-Curcumin, Turmeric with Ginger and Curcumin blend. †
8. How can we use these in recipes?
   1. How about some chocolate brain muffins? Let’s get out that handy blender, shall we? Add 2 scoops of Cocoa Hx, 2 scoops cerebral care and open up 3 capsules of Cognition Hx. Add 2 large eggs and 1 full cup of oatmeal. Blend until smooth adding almond milk or milk of choice until it is a smooth “scoop-able” texture. Personally, I start with 3 tablespoons of liquid and add from there. Place in a mini muffin baking pan and bake at 350 degrees for about 20 min. I recommend checking at 15 min to see how well they are cooking. Everyone’s oven is different so you may need to play with the time. †
   2. Don’t like sweets? How about eggs for our brain? Open 2 Bio-Curcumin capsules into a bowl and add the contents of 2 Fish Oil capsules or Krill if you prefer and then mix in 3 eggs, ¼ cup of milk of your choice as well as any vegetable you like. Be creative! Last time I did this I added corn and omg was it yummy! (Cleaning up the corn silk that went everywhere was not as fun however lol) Ok once you have this mixed place in a baking dish and bake at 350 for approximate 25 minutes. Once again the first time you make it please watch it since our oven strength may vary. †
   3. Feeling a bit amorous sometimes but still want to improve memory? How about some chocolate covered fruit? Mix a few scoops of Cocoa Hx into 2 or 3 tablespoons of coconut oil. You want to make enough to cover all the fruit you intend to make. Obviously the more you make the more fruit you can cover. Now take some berries such as blueberries, raspberries and black berries and carefully place them on a toothpick. Dip them into the chocolate/ coconut oil and place on a tray that has wax paper on it (so they don’t stick). You can also use strawberries as well. Once you have all your fruit covered place in the fridge a few hours so that the coconut oil gets hard enough to be a solid but not too hard. † Just a tip, don’t put coconut oil in the freezer and then forget. Your teeth will not appreciate the rocks that results. Trust me. †
   4. How about brain health – taco Tuesday! Instead of adding your typical topping to your taco why not mix in some Bio-Curcumin, and Cognition Hx as well as Invite’s Greens Hx into some mashed-up avocado and use that as a yummy topper to a fish taco! †

Overall, I hope you have enjoyed this topic as much as I have. If anyone has any topics, they are interested in let me know! You never know it may just show up in our next miniseries. †

REFERENCES

1. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2997798/
2. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8818112/
3. https://stanfordhealthcare.org/medical-conditions/brain-and-nerves/dementia/risk-factors.html
4. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7761127/
5. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2213453021001324
6. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2503954/
7. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4273450/
8. http://www.webclearinghouse.net/volume/2/ROHDE-Acetyllcar.php
9. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/1944900/
10. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/7723928/
11. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2966935/
12. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9641984/
13. https://www.hindawi.com/journals/bn/2021/2962245/
14. https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0052755
15. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2781139/
16. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3665200/
17. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S000689931930530X