Tag Archive for: memory

Flavanols: The Real Brain Food

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As I suggested in the last memo, the researchers did not prove their hypothesis that there would be an increase in measures of memory in all participants of the clinical trial. While disappointing, the secondary hypothesis might have been even more important because it was statistically significant.

They found that those with the lowest intake of flavanols from foods and drinks had the most improvement in measures of memory function. Makes sense: people who did not eat enough fruits and other foods containing flavanols saw benefits by supplementing with a specific amount of flavanols every day.

Researchers didn’t test to see if eating little to no foods containing flavanol resulted in a decline in memory function; that would fall into the category of “first do no harm.” Understanding that flavanols are beneficial for more than just memory, it would not be responsible to have a person decrease intake of them.

They also did not find additional benefits of taking the supplement for those with the highest intake of flavanols from their diet. That means that a great diet has great benefits.

There are three points we can take from this study:

  • Regular intake of flavanols from supplements can compensate for weaknesses in the diet.
  • Eating flavanol-containing foods provides a wide variety of flavonoids including anthocyanidins, flavan-3-ols, flavanones, flavones, and isoflavones. In my opinion, eating and drinking plant-based substances is a better approach; using additional flavonoids from supplements is a great insurance policy.
  • The memory tests used in the study focused on one area of the brain: the hippocampal area. Supplementation did not appear to impact the prefrontal cortex component of cognitive aging.

If we want to age with a vengeance, I think we should look at it as though every little bit helps. I also think that the earlier we begin developing the habit of eating more fruits and vegetables, plus drinking teas, coffee, and cocoa drinks, the better our brains will be. And as a bonus, the rest of our body gets to enjoy the benefits as well.

What are you prepared to do today?

        Dr. Chet

Reference: PNAS May 2023. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2216932120h

What’s Brain Food?

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If I ask what you think a good brain food would be, what would you answer? I think for most people, it would probably be fish, especially cold-water fish such as tuna and salmon. I don’t think we can discount how important omega-3 fatty acids are to the function of our bodies, especially our nervous system. But based on recent research, I don’t think we have to get quite as exotic as cold-water fish. I think we can find what we need in the produce section or at farmers markets. I’m talking about the phytonutrient class called flavanols.

Researchers recruited over 7,500 people—men over 60 and women over 65—as potential subjects. After meeting the criteria established for inclusion in this clinical trial, researchers ended up with just over 3,500 subjects. To test the theory that flavanols would improve memory, researchers used three different online memory tests. They used a form of the Healthy Eating Index to evaluate dietary intake of flavanols. They also used a test for the urinary excretion of flavanol by-products to confirm the amount of flavanols in the diet.

Half the subjects got a flavanol extract from cacao that contained at least 500 mg of cacao flavanols, including 80 mg of epicatechin; the remainder of the subjects received the placebo. Subjects were tested before the study began and then at the end of one, two, and three years.

The primary goal was not met; not all subjects saw an improvement in memory after the first year. The secondary goal was met, and it may prove to be even more important. I’ll finish this review on Saturday.

What are you prepared to do today?

        Dr. Chet

Reference:   PNAS May 2023. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2216932120

How Melatonin Affects Memory

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Most people understand that melatonin functions as a neurotransmitter and can help with sleep. What is now apparent is that melatonin also has powerful antioxidant capabilities, especially as it’s related to the mitochondria, as well as other neurological functions related to memory, according to new research papers.

Researchers used an interesting test of memory in this study. When mice are exposed to a new object, they spend a lot of time examining it on first exposure; when they’re familiar with objects, they have a tendency to ignore them. Researchers exposed young and older mice to new objects and then gave some of the mice a dose of melatonin and two of its metabolites. All the young mice treated the new object as something familiar the next day. The older mice that were not given melatonin said, “Huh? What’s that?” However, older mice that were given melatonin 15 minutes after exposure seemed to remember the new object up to four days later.

The conclusion was that this is a first step to see if melatonin can help with memory in people with cognitive decline, an initial stage related to Alzheimer’s disease. There’s not enough research to say it will work the same way in humans, but there seems to be no downside to taking melatonin on a regular basis with the exception that we don’t know the dosing. If you’ve been taking melatonin for sleep, you may be getting side benefits.

Insiders and Members
In the New Year’s Day memo, I talked about assessing your current health and fitness. I’ve just posted a new Straight Talk on Health that delves into the details of how to assess each category of health. When you log in at drchet.com, follow the Straight Talk on Health link and check it out.

What are you prepared to do today?

        Dr. Chet

References: J Biochem Mol Toxicol. 2020 Feb;34(2):e22430. doi: 10.1002/jbt.22430.

Remember the Berries!

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Did you ever forget where you put something? Do you ever have trouble remembering the right word when you’re trying to explain something? Did those events ever make you worry about your memory? Based on the questions I get, many of you are concerned. The second study examined what foods may help your memory.

Researchers tested a group of over 200 subjects using a variety of short-term memory and cognitive tests. They then gave the subjects in the experimental group a blend of polyphenols from grapes and blueberries in capsule form with a total of 258 mg of concentrates daily; the control subjects got a placebo.

After six months, they retested all the subjects. They did not find an overall effect. But when they examined those who began with the poorest memory and learning ability, those subjects gained the most benefit. The researchers estimated that some subjects gained the equivalent of 14 years in memory ability.

Where do you buy this blend? It’s not available in this exact blend that I could find. However, a half cup of red grapes has 100 mg of polyphenols while blueberries have about 400 mg of polyphenols. The amounts will vary by the variety of grape, but that’s something you can start doing today to improve your memory. While we don’t know if other berries will have the same impact, any berry has polyphenols. Even if they don’t help with memory, they’ll certainly have other health benefits.

We’ll wrap this up on Saturday. There’s still time to take the survey to help me decide where I’m going in 2020.

What are you prepared to do today?

        Dr. Chet

Reference: The Journals of Gerontology: https://doi.org/10.1093/gerona/gly166.

Will a Jellyfish Extract Help You Remember?

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For this week’s Memos, I’m reviewing products I get asked about frequently, all products that seem to have a large online or television presence. I’m going to review the base research on the product, and then you can decide whether you want to use it or not.

One of the most prevalent television commercials at this time is for a product called Prevagen, a dietary supplement whose tag line is “Improves Memory.” Prevagen contains an extract called apoaequorin from a type of jellyfish that appears to be well researched; however I found only a single clinical trial on the use of apoaequorin and memory. The 90-day trial of 211 subjects aged 40 to 91 showed no significant differences on a variety of cognitive tests between the placebo group and those using apoaequorin. However when a sub-group of subjects who were concerned about memory were tested using the AD8 test, there were statistically significant differences. When accounting for the actual differences in the reported percentages, the differences did not seem significant in the real world.

The product does appear to be safe in standardized toxicology tests on animals. Beyond that, there doesn’t seem to be any clear benefit for supplement use at this time because of the limited clinical research. It should not harm you, but it’s up to you to decide if the small chance it will help is worth your investement.

What are you prepared to do today?

        Dr. Chet

Reference: Adv Mind Body Med. 2016 Winter;30(1):4-11.

Drinking Your Phytonutrients: The Bottom Line

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To finish this series, I’ll briefly cover two recent research studies on coffee and tea, and then give you the bottom line and a recipe.
 
Research
Green Tea and Neuronal Mitochondria
The mitochondria are the powerhouses of the cells, and that includes brain cells. When they operate at peak activity, they provide our brains with the energy for learning and memory. The downside is that they produce many free radicals in the process, and if we don’t have antioxidants to quench those free radicals, it can cause a decline in mental function. Researchers have recently . . .

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