Memory - PsyBlog

The Mild Nutrient Deficiency Linked To Memory Loss

Supplementation reversed the effects of age-related memory loss.

A diet low in flavanols is linked to age-related memory loss.

However, taking a daily flavanol supplement over three years reversed these losses.

Many people already get enough flavanols from a healthy diet, however, those with a poorer diet will probably benefit.

Flavanols, which are a type of flavonoid, are found in nearly all fruits and vegetables, as well as in tea.

Participants in the study with a mild flavanol deficiency experienced boosts to their cognitive functioning of 16 percent over the three years of the study.

Professor Adam Brickman, the study’s first author, said:

“The improvement among study participants with low-flavanol diets was substantial and raises the possibility of using flavanol-rich diets or supplements to improve cognitive function in older adults.”

Neurons in the hippocampus

Professor Scott Small, study co-author, has been studying age-related memory loss for many years.

His lab has shown that changes in the dentate gyrus, a part of the hippocampus, are central to memory decline.

Flavanols, though, enhance neuron and blood vessel growth in this region.

Professor Small said:

“The identification of nutrients critical for the proper development of an infant’s nervous system was a crowning achievement of 20th century nutrition science.

In this century, as we are living longer research is starting to reveal that different nutrients are needed to fortify our aging minds.”

The current study included over 3,500 healthy adults given either a flavanol supplement or a placebo over three years.

The supplement contained 500 mg of flavanols, including 80 mg of epicatechins, a type of flavanol thought to be particularly effective.

The memories of those with mild flavanol deficiencies improved by 10.5 percent compared to the placebo and by 16 percent compared to their scores at the start of the study.

Dramatic improvements

While the study provides strong evidence for the benefits of a healthy dietary flavanol intake, Professor Small is cautious:

“We cannot yet definitively conclude that low dietary intake of flavanols alone causes poor memory performance, because we did not conduct the opposite experiment: depleting flavanol in people who are not deficient.”

Next, Professor Small wants to look at the effects of rectifying a severe flavanol deficiency:

“Age-related memory decline is thought to occur sooner or later in nearly everyone, though there is a great amount of variability.

If some of this variance is partly due to differences in dietary consumption of flavanols, then we would see an even more dramatic improvement in memory in people who replenish dietary flavanols when they’re in their 40s and 50s.”

High-flavanol foods

Foods containing high levels of flavanols include:

pears,
olive oil,
wine,
tomato sauce,
kale,
beans,
tea,
spinach,
broccoli,
apples,
and oranges.

12 Proven Ways To Prevent Memory Loss As You Age (P)

The study was published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (Brickman et al., 2023).

This Vitamin Provides Triple Protection Against Memory Loss

The memories of people with low levels of this vitamin decline three times faster.

Low levels of vitamin D among older people are linked to memory loss.

Those with low levels of vitamin D decline three times faster than those with adequate levels.

Professor Joshua Miller, one of the study’s authors, said:

“Independent of race or ethnicity, baseline cognitive abilities and a host of other risk factors, vitamin D insufficiency was associated with significantly faster declines in both episodic memory and executive function performance.

This work, and that of others, suggests that there is enough evidence to recommend that people in their 60s and older discuss taking a daily vitamin D supplement with their physicians.

Even if doing so proves to not be effective, there’s still very low health risk to doing it.”

The study included almost 400 older people and around 60% had low levels of vitamin D.

In fact, around one-quarter were found to be deficient (very low) and 35% insufficient (just low) in vitamin D.

African-Americans and Hispanics were more likely than white people to be low in vitamin D.

These are high-risk groups because those with darker skins cannot absorb as much from the sun.

The results showed that the cognitive abilities of people deficient in vitamin D declined two to three times faster than those with adequate levels.

Professor Charles DeCarli, the study’s first author and director of the Alzheimer’s Disease Center at UC Davis, said:

“We expected to see declines in individuals with low vitamin D status.

What was unexpected was how profoundly and rapidly [low vitamin D] impacts cognition.”

The other major source of vitamin D is the diet — particularly the consumption of dairy products.

Professor DeCarli said:

“I don’t know if replacement therapy would affect these cognitive trajectories.

That needs to be researched and we are planning on doing that.

This is a vitamin deficiency that could easily be treated and that has other health consequences.

We need to start talking about it.

And we need to start talking about it, particularly for people of color, for whom vitamin D deficiency appears to present an even greater risk.”

12 Proven Ways To Prevent Memory Loss As You Age (P)

The study was published in the journal JAMA Neurology (DeCarli et al., 2015).

12 Proven Ways To Prevent Memory Loss As You Age (P)

Research reveals everyday habits that shape how well our memory holds up with age.

The number one cause of memory loss is simply aging and a little forgetfulness is normal and does not necessarily indicate a problem.

Around 1 in 6 people over 70 have mild cognitive impairment, with half going on to develop Alzheimer’s within five years.

However, across the lifespan, everyday choices and experiences shape how well memory holds up over time.

From the items in your grocery cart to managing daily routines, these 12 studies reveal the lifestyle factors that shape how well memory holds up with age.

Keep reading with a Premium Membership

• Read members-only and premium content
• Access courses
• Adverts removed
• Cancel at any time
• 14 day money-back guarantee for new members

Join Premium

These Blood Pressure Meds Fight Memory Loss

Almost half of Americans are living with high blood pressure and it is a risk factor for cognitive decline and dementia, along with other diseases.

Two types of blood pressure medications are linked to better memory over time, a review of the research reveals. Both ACE-inhibitors and angiotensin receptor blockers could reduce the risk of mild cognitive impairment by almost one-fifth. Mild cognitive impairment, characterised by problems with memory, language and thinking greater than those expected with age, can be a precursor to dementia. Dr Daniel A. Nation, study co-author, said:

“Research has been mixed on which medicines have the most benefit to cognition. Studies of angiotensin II receptor blockers and angiotensin-converting-enzyme (ACE) inhibitors have suggested these medicines may confer the greatest benefit to long-term cognition, while other studies have shown the benefits of calcium channel blockers and diuretics on reducing dementia risk.”

The researchers looked at 14 different studies including almost 13,000 people across six countries. The results showed that the drugs linked to better memory recall crossed the blood-brain barrier. People in the studies were primarily taking the drugs for high blood pressure. Almost half of Americans are living with high blood pressure and it is a risk factor for cognitive decline and dementia, along with other diseases. Dr Nation said:

“Hypertension occurs decades prior to the onset of dementia symptoms, affecting blood flow not only in the body but also to the brain. Treating hypertension is likely to have long-term beneficial effects on brain health and cognitive function later.”

These are the names of common drugs that do cross the blood-brain barrier that are used to treat hypertension:

Angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors (ACE inhibitors): enalapril, lisinopril, ramipril, captopril, benazepril.
Angiotensin-receptor blocker (ARBs, sartans): valsartan, candesartan, losartan, irbesartan.

Dr Jean K. Ho, the study’s first author, said:

“These findings represent the most powerful evidence to-date linking brain-penetrant ACE-inhibitors and angiotensin receptor blockers to better memory. It suggests that people who are being treated for hypertension may be protected from cognitive decline if they medications that cross the blood-brain barrier.”

Blood pressure is considered elevated above 120/80 mm/Hg although medication is not normally recommended until the reading is 140/90 mm/Hg. Between the two readings, people are told to modify their diet and exercise habits. The study was published in the journal Hypertension (Ho et al., 2021).

The Everyday Snack That Boosts Older Adults’ Brain Function (M)

A daily handful of a familiar food may improve cognitive performance by enhancing vascular function in the brain.

Keep reading with a Membership

• Read members-only articles
• Adverts removed
• Cancel at any time
• 14 day money-back guarantee for new members

Become a member

A Simple Mental Command That Controls Remembering & Forgetting (M)

Memory is more obedient than most people would guess.

Keep reading with a Membership

• Read members-only articles
• Adverts removed
• Cancel at any time
• 14 day money-back guarantee for new members

Become a member

The Diet That Cuts The Risk Of Memory Loss

The supplement that may slow brain aging.

A diet sufficient in omega-3 fatty acids helps reduce the risk of memory loss.

People with low levels of fatty acids score worse on tests of memory, attention and problem solving.

People’s brain volume is also affected, said Dr Zaldy S. Tan, the study’s first author:

“People with lower blood levels of omega-3 fatty acids had lower brain volumes that were equivalent to about two years of structural brain aging.”

The most important omega-3 fatty acids are eicosapentaenoic acid and docosahexaenoic acid, known as EPA and DHA.

Even healthy young people can improve their memory by increasing their omega-3 intake, other research finds.

This study, though, included 1,575 older adults who were all free of dementia.

They were given tests of their memory, attention and problem-solving, as well as levels of DHA and EPA in their bloodstream.

The results showed that those in the bottom 25% for fatty acid levels had lower brain volumes and had poorer scores on cognitive tests.

12 Brain-Boosting Strategies That Protect Against Mild Cognitive Impairment (P)

The study was published in the journal Neurology (Tan et al., 2012).

These Are The Most Memorable Sentences & They Reveal How Memory Works (M)

The most memorable words and sentences reveal a crucial fact about how memory works.

Keep reading with a Membership

• Read members-only articles
• Adverts removed
• Cancel at any time
• 14 day money-back guarantee for new members

Become a member

This Beverage Reversed Normal Age-Related Memory Loss In Three Months

Drinking this could reduce your brain age twenty years in just three months.

Cocoa flavonoids — like those contained in a cup of cocoa — can reverse age-related memory loss in older adults.

This is the first direct evidence that an important component of memory decline that comes with age can be improved with a simple dietary change.

Typically, normal age-related memory declines are noticeable to people in their fifties and sixties: things like forgetting where the keys are or having trouble recalling a name or word.

These changes are much less severe than those which typically occur as a result of devastating dementias like Alzheimer’s disease.

The study, published in Nature Neuroscience, found a high-flavanol diet could restore aspects of older people’s memory back to that of a typical 30- or 40-year-old (Brickman et al., 2014).

The changes were clearly visible in brain scans, as Dr Adam M. Brickman, the study’s lead author explained:

“When we imaged our research subjects’ brains, we found noticeable improvements in the function of the dentate gyrus in those who consumed the high-cocoa-flavanol drink.”

The image below shows the dentate gyrus in green (this is part of the hippocampus).

Previous research has shown that it is changes in this area of the brain that are associated with normal age-related memory loss.

Image credit: Lab of Scott A. Small, M.D.

Participants in the study were 37 healthy people aged between 50 and 69.

They were randomised into two groups, one of which was given a high-flavanol diet (900mg of flavanols per day) and the other given a low-flavanol diet (10mg per day).

At the end of the three-month period of the study, participants on the high-flavonoid diet showed improvements on memory tests.

Professor Scott A. Small, one of the study’s authors, explained the results:

“If a participant had the memory of a typical 60-year-old at the beginning of the study, after three months that person on average had the memory of a typical 30- or 40-year-old.”

Flavanols are also found in tea leaves, and certain fruits and vegetables, although the exact amounts and forms vary widely.

The researchers cautioned that people should not eat more chocolate as the critical flavonoids are not present at the required levels — the dietary supplement used in the study was specially formulated.