Remembering appointments, anniversaries, birthdays, that grocery item, information for an exam...a good memory improves the quality of life. This may be more poignant for the aging populace who are in a position most likely to seek to improve this particular mental facet. Regardless of age, there are factors under human control that affect memory. It is of benefit to anyone to have an intact memory.
What Makes Memory Fade?
A number of factors can affect a person’s recall ability.
- Injury resulting in brain damage can mean the removal of portions of the brain that need to communicate.
- Lack of sleep can cause a failure of the body to rejuvenate for further activity including the energy it takes to simply think and remember information.
- Information overload, as in stress upon the mind, can cause a desire to shut down as our emotions are highly involved in, well, everything including mental ability.
- Poor nutrition can interrupt the necessary process of adequate brain function, especially the need for oxygen to its cells which is supplied by food.
- Last, but not least, everyone’s reality: aging. Scientific American summarizes well: brain matter decays over time. So as people age, the white matter portion of the brain that transmits information from one part to another wears out becoming less capable.
Eating Better to Remember Better
Certain nutrients help memory by helping to supply the necessary oxygen and energy necessary for remembering. The major players in a diet for memory benefit are:
- Folic acid (folate) directly helps memory retention and speed of recall. Foods rich in folate include peas, broccoli, spinach, soybeans, lentils, and oranges.
- Vegetables, particularly the cruciferous kinds, have been shown to help memory retention. These vegetables include: broccoli, cauliflower, brussels sprouts, kale, and cabbage.
- Phytochemicals called anthocyanin and quercetin have been shown to reverse some age-related memory problems. To obtain anthocyanin the consumption of eggplant, rhubarb, red onion, red/purple cabbage, and red beets contain adequate supplies. On the sweeter side of anthocyanin, it can also be gained by eating cherries, all types of berries, grapes (black, red, purple, but not green), plums, and red apples. Quercetin can be found in broccoli, kale, onions (red, yellow, or white), and leeks. The sweeter side of quercetin, other foods containing this phytonutrient include blueberries, apricots, red apples (skin on), and grapes (black, red, and purple),
- Green, leafy vegetables have also shown the ability to help people stave off memory loss. These vegetables are: spinach, collard, and mustard greens.
- Fish eaten once a week also makes an impact. It can allow a person to remember as he could 3 years before.
What to Do to Help Memory
Beyond tweaking the diet, there are certain things that a person can do to help maintain and stimulate recollection. Actually, a couple of surprising things can help…
- Learning another language or using more than one language can stimulate the brain in more complex ways causing more connections to remain healthy. It is harder to forget things, especially if those things are known in two or more languages!
- Chewing gum, yes, seriously, gum. For reasons still unknown, gum helps recall information and helps store short term memory.
- Exercise in general, even if it is just taking a walk regularly, helps keep the brain healthy and so naturally helps stave off forgetfulness and maintain memory. As it turns out, the memory saved by exercise remains improved even after the exercise behavior has stopped.
Although there are pharmaceutical drugs for conditions of memory loss like Alzheimer's disease, there are natural proactive things that an individual can do to keep the mind sharp.
Sources
- Joy Bauer Diabetes & Metabolic Diet and Nutrition News and Views TODAY TODAY updated 5/16/2007 today.msnbc.msn.com/id/18264218/ns/today-today_health/
- New Scientist Chewing gum improves memory © Copyright Reed Business Information Ltd. Web reuse/Linking www.NewScientist.com
- Dr. Kenneth Woliner on 03/18/2011 Easy “Anti Aging” Tricks for Staying Sharp As A Tack
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