Many people around the world want to have better sharper memories especially as they grow older in a recent study it was found that 25% of adults over the age of 50 take some form of a supplement to improve their memory function and enhance their cognition there is no proof that takings these supplements will prevent you from getting certain diseases like dementia which have multifactorial causes but they are used to delay the onset of these diseases and reduce its severity by protecting your brain and supplying it with the nutrients it needs.
You don’t have to depend solely on pharmaceutical products you can make some lifestyle changes like exercising your body and brain more often and having a well-balanced diet that supplements you with all of the minerals and vitamins your brain needs to stay healthy, in addition, many researchers recommend following the Mediterranean diet, the DASH diet, or the MIND diet as they have shown wonderful effects in reducing all chronic diseases risk and improving your overall health.
There are plenty of products out there that all claim to have an impact on enhancing your memory and boosting your brain functions but they aren’t all well researched or fall under FDA authorization so make sure to consult your doctor before taking any type of these supplements but here are some of the well-known supplements that have been used for ages all over the world and have shown some positive effects on memory
1. Vitamin B complex:
Vitamin B supplements are considered to be of the most commonly used vitamins for improving brain and peripheral nerve function they are extremely important for the prevention of dementia and memory decline since one of the main causes of dementia is the increased levels of the amino acid homocysteine in the brain and vitamin B deficiency is directly responsible for increasing the levels of homocysteine so supplementing your diet with vitamin B complex can help reduce this risk since vitamin B6 is an essential factor in the metabolism of homocysteine and vitamins B12, B9 are responsible for the methylation of homocysteine to methionine to get rid of it by that it improves memory function as well as decrease your risk of getting some types of stroke.
Vitamin B12 or cobalamin is naturally present in foods like fish, poultry, and meat naturally so you can load up on proteins and you will get your daily requirements of B12, some cereals are fortified with vitamin B12 for vegetarians who don’t consume meat, the daily requirements of vitamin B12 is around 2.4 mcg/day for adults
Some people don’t benefit from the vitamin content in food if they take certain medications like antacids, proton pump inhibitors, prednisone, and metformin that is commonly used among diabetics since these drugs lower the acidity in the stomach, also people with stomach issues, the elderly, and vegetarians are more likely to not get enough vitamin B12 levels through their diet thus require daily supplements to maintain adequate levels and improve their memory function.
2. Vitamin E:
Vitamin E or alpha-tocopherol is one of the main vitamins with antioxidant properties that enhance brain function as they are lipid-soluble which makes it easy for them to cross the blood-brain barrier and act on the cell membrane directly there is a big study that proved that eating more food with vitamin E content in it helped more than 25% of the participants in this study to lower their chances of developing dementia, it helps in lowering the effects of reactive oxygen and nitrogen species and converting these free radicals into less reactive compounds by that they protect brain cells from damage so it is important for the elderly population to get vitamin E supplements to ameliorate the cognitive decline that naturally occurs with aging and as a treatment to delay the progression of Alzheimer’s disease.
There are also unsaturated forms of vitamin E called tocotrienols that have been shown recently to be more potent than alpha-tocopherol in protecting the brain from stroke-induced injuries and neurodegenerative diseases.
Vitamin E can be found in all types of nuts and seeds, many types of plant-based oils, and fortified cereal, you should be getting about 15 mg of vitamin E daily but make sure to not exceed that since an overdose of vitamin E supplements can lead to serious side effects like increasing your risk of bleeding and increasing the risk of getting prostate cancer and taking supplements should only be after doctor recommendations since it has a lot of interaction with other medications so it best to have it naturally from the diet.
3. Omega 3 fatty acids:
Omega 3 fatty acids are polyunsaturated fatty acids that our bodies don’t produce so they can only be taken through supplementation either in the diet from natural food sources like fatty fish such as salmon, sardines, and tuna or from taking fish oil supplements which usually contain DHA docosahexaenoic acid and EPA eicosapentaenoic acid and these two essential fatty acids make up 97% of the brain’s total fatty acid content especially in the regions responsible for memory and attention that have been used to prevent dementia as they have a dual impact on the brain and the heart they reduce the synthesis of proinflammatory cytokines lowering the risk of cardiovascular disease and stroke which could lead to Alzheimer’s disease and they also maintain the neurons integrity and cell membrane function and enhance the clearance of beta-amyloid plaques that cause Alzheimer’s but research shows that taking these supplements after the disease has already developed has no benefit you should start taking the supplements from very early on in the stages of mild cognitive impairment to start noticing a difference and to slow down the decline on your brain function.
Omega 3 fatty acids are also great for people with depression and since depression is one of the main causes of memory problems taking fish oil supplements is quite beneficial to them the FDA has set an upper limit of omega 3 fatty acid supplementation at 3000 mg per day so taking 1000 to 2000 mg of omega 3 fatty acid supplements every day is great for your health.
4. Vitamin D:
Vitamin D is now a very important vitamin that has everybody’s attention since a lot of people in the world suffer from vitamin D deficiency, especially during the last couple of years of lockdown where there wasn’t enough exposure to the sun so to help our bodies produce vitamin D.
It has been shown to have tons of benefits to our bone protecting us from developing osteoporosis through controlling calcium and phosphorus homeostasis but it has been recently proven to help our brain maintain its function and enhance our memories through decreasing the soluble and insoluble beta-amyloid peptides that increase in Alzheimer’s disease.
It is one of the best lipid-soluble vitamins with high antioxidant properties which has been an important link in preventing depression and enhancing mood by reducing the buffering of increased calcium in the brain.
It is recommended to take vitamin D supplements as you get old since the elderly population is more likely to develop vitamin D deficiency due to the decreased cutaneous synthesis and the decreased dietary intake of vitamin D containing food along with the increased fat content in their bodies that absorbs the available vitamin D And leave very little concentrations in the blood to be utilized by the brain, taking about 800 IU to 2000 IU daily of vitamin D supplements for most adults, walking in the sun for at least 15 minutes unprotected putting on your sunscreen, and consuming more food with vitamin D like fatty fish like salmon and sardines, egg yolks, fortified milk, and cereal are great ways to load up on vitamin D and preserve our memory and improve our concentration.
5. Ginkgo biloba:
This is a tree found also under the name maidenhair that is native to China where its leaves are used to make a ginkgo extract that is very commonly used for traditional medicinal purposes for ages in Asia.
It is one of the most popular herbs used to improve memory function it has been shown to be effective in improving the blood flow through the cerebrovascular circulation as it leads to cerebral vasodilation making it easier for blood to flow through as well as thinning of blood viscosity, it also has some antioxidant activity leading to a reduction in the free radical damage that accumulates on brain cells, it increases the neurotransmitters in the brain delaying the reduction of neurotransmitter receptors that come with age, it also has been linked to reducing the symptoms of anxiety and depression through its anti-inflammatory action that lowers the rate of stress hormones in the body, so it has some positive impact on memory function and learning abilities and overall brain performance although not all research results manage to prove these effects some do so it may work for you and it may not
It should be taken in a dose of 120:240 mg daily in the form of tablets, extract, or tea to delay cognitive decline but don’t consume the ginkgo seeds since they are poisonous and you should start seeing results after a minimum period of 6 weeks.
It is unlikely that ginkgo will cause you any harm but unfortunately, since old people are the main users of this herb and they are on different medications most probably there will be drug interactions between ginkgo Biloba and these drugs, especially with blood thinners and anticoagulants which can increase the risk of hemorrhage and hemorrhagic strokes it has also been linked to stimulating cytochrome enzymes in the liver which are responsible for metabolizing medications such as valproic acid and omeprazole changing their effective dosage in the blood so be sure to consult a doctor before taking herbal supplements if you are on any medications to avoid these serious interactions.
6. Ginseng:
Ginseng roots have been around for many centuries used more commonly in East Asian countries and turned into a wide range of products for their magnificent health benefits as it is considered to be an adaptive in the alternative medicine literature which is basically any substance that increases resistance to physical, chemical, and biological stress and building vitality including mental capacity.
The plant contains saponins called ginsenosides which are wonderful antioxidants used to enhance the body’s immune system and boost the cardiovascular circulation with a deceleration of platelet aggregation and modulation of neurotransmission in the brain and decrease the accumulation of beta-amyloid plaques that are the main reason for Alzheimer’s disease and increase in nitric oxide synthesis to increase the blood flow through the dilated vessels to the brain and increasing the uptake of blood glucose into brain cells.
It is one of the common drugs used to increase stamina and enhance mental performance increasing the speed of attention and improving your memory. the best type of ginseng for reducing inflammation in the body is the Asian red ginseng which takes over 6 years to be harvested so it has a higher concentration of nutrients.
It is recommended to have it in a dose of 200:400 mg of rinsing extract daily to enhance your mental performance and reduce fatigue there are many products in the market that contain ginseng or you can even use it fresh in all types of dishes or drink it in the form of tea to get some of its great health benefits.
7. Caffeine:
The morning cup of coffee might actually be more beneficial to you than you think it doesn’t only help you start the day feeling active and awake but it also helps you have better brain function and enhances your memory and since it is one of the most commonly used psychostimulants there is a growing body of literature that investigated the effects of caffeine on cognitive function.
Caffeine promotes CNS stimulation by blocking the activity of adenosine, a substance that induces sleep so it has a positive impact on alertness, reaction time, and processing speed it has been shown in some studies to improve memorization and making these memories stored in your long term memory it also helps lower your risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease by up to 65% so having a cup or two of coffee daily is great for you as long as it doesn’t affect you negatively and as long as you don’t exceed the recommended dose of 300 mg per day.
8. Curcumin:
Curcumin is an important component of turmeric, a great root that is used in abundance in southeast Asian countries for the extensive health benefits it has, it is a powerful antioxidant and anti-inflammatory that helps prevent Alzheimer’s disease, it is lipid soluble making it more available in the brain to improve the cognitive function of those suffering from Alzheimer’s, it helps lower beta-amyloid plaques accumulation in the brain and delays neuronal degeneration that comes with age and decreases the proliferation and differentiation of microglial cells which secrete cytokines and reactive substances that exacerbate the disease, it also helps chelate heavy metals in the brain like cadmium and lead which can lead to severe neurotoxicity and the development of dementia.
It is best to have it with pepper to enhance its bioavailability and it is best to be avoided if you have liver or gallbladder problems.