The other day I went to visit Vivie, a 91-year-old friend of mine. Vivie often expresses surprise at how long she has lived. That is, when she remembers how old she is or, for that matter, where she is. Vivie has senile dementia. As her friend for more than 40 years, I’ve watched it happen.

Today, many of us expect to live up to and beyond Vivie’s age. However, we want a healthy body and a sound mind. Although Vivie’s dementia overtook her like a wave, scientists from around the world are uncovering ways to help us maintain our precious minds.

Memory Loss

With millions of baby boomers already experiencing memory lapses, interest is growing in preserving memory. Several natural solutions provide promising approaches—virtually free of the side effects associated with expensive prescription medications.

Some loss of cognitive function as we get older is normal. As we age, we start to lose brain cells (neurons) and experience decreased blood flow to and within the brain. Reduced blood flow means reduced access to oxygen and important nutrients. Among the first signs of failing memory are a tendency to “misplace” things or forget the names of people just introduced to us.

Brain Influences

Some studies show that the brains of men and women age differently, but there’s little consensus as to how they differ. In Female and Forgetful, Elisa Lottor, PhD, ND, and Nancy Bruning suggest that while men suffer an age-related decline in memory and other cognitive functions, they’re protected from the acute results women experience during and after menopause because male hormone levels decline gradually. In addition, Dr. Lottor and Ms. Bruning point out that brain atrophy in men typically occurs in areas related to thinking and feeling rather than memory.

Some researchers suggest that diseases (such as hypertension and diabetes) may be more critical factors in brain aging than gender. One condition that’s linked to cognition is hypothyroidism, or an underactive thyroid gland. Poor memory and mental fatigue are symptoms of hypothyroidism. Women are also more likely than men to have low functioning thyroid glands. In fact, Nan Kathryn Fuchs, PhD, has reported the belief of some researchers that as many as one in four women has a thyroid disorder.

Maintain Your Brain

There is relief in sight. Dharma Singh Khalsa, MD (no relation), a pioneer in brain longevity, states, “After many years of specialized clinical experience and scientific study, I am convinced...that short-term memory loss and Alzheimer’s disease can be prevented and treated using an integrative or holistic medical program.” Dr. Khalsa reminds us that the brain is flesh and blood. In other words, it is not a computer, separate from us—it has the same healthcare demands as the rest of the body.

Programs for brain maintenance have four basic steps:

• Managing stress Because of the negative impact of stress hormones on the brain, managing stress is the first step toward safeguarding memory. Chronic stress overloads the brain with powerful hormones intended for only brief emergency situations. This is especially injurious to our ability to remember and learn.
• Eating health-giving foods Food is equal to stress in its potential for damaging the brain. For example, junk foods do not contain the nutrition needed to support a healthy brain. But eating fresh, wholesome foods can nourish a healthy, lively brain.
• Body/mind exercise We all know that physical exercise increases blood flow to the brain. Higher levels of physical activity have been linked to less cognitive decline in a study of more than 18,000 women. To flex our mental muscles, crossword puzzles, brain teasers, and trivia games are also useful. Other mental exercises include learning a new language or taking a class. Dr. Khalsa recommends mind/body exercise including yoga, martial arts, and dance.
• Supportive supplements Nutritional supplementation is an indispensable step in our efforts to counter brain aging. In addition to the individual supplements mentioned below, every good supplement program begins with a multivitamin/mineral formula to ensure basic nutrition.

The following supplements may be helpful for boosting aging memories:

• Vitamin E 800-1,000 IU
• Coenzyme Q10 100 mg
• Lipoic acid 100 mg
• Acetyl L-carnitine 100-1,500 mg
• Phosphatidylserine (PS) 300 mg
• DHA (Omega-3 fatty acids) 1,000 mg

Taken together, PS and DHA can achieve more for brain function and memory than either taken alone. PS is essential to the formation of brain cell membranes. These membranes take part in nerve impulse transmission. The beneficial effect of PS supplementation on thought processing has resulted in two FDA-approved qualified health claims for the elderly: PS may reduce risk of dementia and cognitive dysfunction.

DHA is an omega-3 fatty acid. Brain cell survival is dependent on the presence of DHA to help integrate PS into its membranes. DHA deficiency can result in depression, memory loss, and dementia. This is an important supplement, since most of the population takes in far too little of the essential omega-3 fatty acids from dietary sources.

Helpful Herbs

Ginkgo biloba, the well-known memory- enhancing herb, is a blood-flow enhancer and antioxidant. Research supports this herb’s effectiveness. One study investigated its effects on more than 200 volunteers aged 60 and older. After six weeks, participants reported—and researchers verified—improved memory.

Recently, ashwaganda, the Ayurvedic herb often called Indian ginseng, has demonstrated memory-enhancing properties. In animal trials, researchers discovered that ashwaganda works much the same way as a prescription drug currently used with Alzheimer’s patients. Further tests showed that memory was improved and that ashwaganda may also provide protection against stroke.

Food-Based Antioxidants

Finally, there is the power-packed potential of antioxidants, including the petite blueberry. In groundbreaking studies at Tufts University, elderly rats were fed the human equivalent of one-half cup of blueberries daily in the form of dried blueberry extract. After eight weeks, the animals were evaluated using various tests of memory function. The rats not only overcame the age-related neuromotor dysfunction suffered by their peers (the controls), but they also demonstrated improved learning and memory skills. Most important, their dopamine levels were elevated. Dopamine is an essential neurotransmitter that enables effortless muscle movement as well as efficient memory, attention, and problem solving.

Researchers speculate that the dried blueberry extract might also increase the fluidity of brain cell membranes while the antioxidant capacity of the blueberry reduces inflammation, slowing the brain’s normal aging process. Don’t you want eat a bowl of blueberries right now?