Articles of Interest   Enhancing Your Brain Power by Cathy Oats   “A wise man ought to realize that health is his most valuable possession.” — Hippocrates   In a recent national study, nearly 50 percent of those surveyed said their number one health fear — once they reached the age of 50 — was Alzheimer’s. And they have good reason for that fear. Today, there are more than 4,100,000 cases of Alzheimer’s in America, and about 8,000,000 cases of senility and dementia (severe mental problems) according to the April 1997 issue of Harvard Health Letter. This prestigious newsletter forecasts that the number of Americans with brain and memory dysfunction is going to increase by more than 300 percent during the next 50 years as the baby boomer population ages. What’s equally alarming is that brain dysfunction is not just a problem of the elderly. Because of a variety of factors — everything from pollution and diet, to alcohol, drugs, and free-radical induced damage — brain and memory impairment is striking people at a younger age.   That’s the bad news … but there is some good news, too. Scientists have made recent breakthroughs: Nearly every problem with brain function has been traced to a chemical and/or nutrient imbalance. And, according to pioneers in orthomolecular and nutritional medicine, nutritional supplementation is one effective application that we can each use to help deter the loss of brain and memory function.   What Happens To Your Brain As You Age? At birth, the brain weighs less than a pound, but by the time we are 20 years of age, it has obtained full size and weighs approximately 3 pounds. However, the brain shrinks as we age. The shrinking occurs slowly, but scientists estimate that nearly 30 percent of your brain’s mass will be lost by the time you are in your 70s.   Your brain goes through natural, age-related changes. Your memory is affected because there are fewer neurons (brain cells) on which to impress memories, as well as fewer connections for retrieving those memories. The loss of brain cells may come about because the neurons have died, or because the spaces between the neurons, called synapses, have shrunk. Additionally, dendrites — the important neurotransmitter site — can be damaged. Dendrites are thin and fragile, and either injury, disease, or aging can damage or destroy them. “Tangles” also can affect dendrites. Researchers don’t know why, but for some reason, the ends of dendrites tangle and knot.   Oxygen Starvation One major factor in mental deterioration is the high degree of atherosclerosis in this country, which hinders the ability of the brain to take up oxygen and nutrients. Twenty-five percent of the blood pumped from the heart goes to the brain, and if the blood flow to a part of the brain is interrupted for any reason, the affected blood cells are deprived of oxygen and die. High levels of oxidized cholesterol also contribute to the process of plaque buildup in the arteries and create chain reactions of ever-increasing damage by free radicals. When one of these free radicals hits a brain cell, it either damages the cell, thereby reducing its function, or destroys it completely. If you had to choose one single place to protect from free-radical damage, it should be the brain. Life is simply no fun when you have a muddled brain.   Contributing further to mental dysfunction is the use of tobacco in this country. It is estimated that 350,000 deaths occur each year as a result of tobacco use. Nicotine constricts blood vessels and interferes with circulation throughout the body, including the brain. Hence oxygen supply to the brain is reduced, which has a negative impact on mental functioning. Chronic smokers suffer brain cell death from oxygen depletion.   Deterioration from free radicals isn’t inevitable, however. The process can be slowed down or interrupted by substances called antioxidants. These substances have the ability to neutralize the destructive power of the free radical. However, if you smoke, remember you’re still putting not only your life, but your brain at risk — so do anything you need to do to quit. And … take lots and lots of antioxidants!   Age Spots: First Sign of Senility Another problem we face as we grow older is lipofuscin — a fatty pigment that accumulates not only in the brain cells but in the retinal nerves of the eyes, the heart muscle, the liver and other organs with spots — known as age spots — surfacing on the skin. Age spots or lipofuscin are well-accepted in medical science as the first warning that we are progressing in the direction of senility or dementia. In a classic study, Dr. J.H. Lawrence of Cambridge University examined brains of people of comparable ages who died with and without dementia. The normal people had up to 44 percent less lipofuscin than those with dementia.   It is also well known that heavy drinking over many years destroys brain cells. Professor B. Volk at the University of Freiburg in Germany found that alcohol also increases lipofuscin. Animals fed alcohol steadily over 18 months had almost twice as much lipofuscin on their brain cells as teetotaling animals.   This waste product, cellular garbage, is left over from cellular activity and remains as a deposit in the brain cells. Forming a brown slime on the delicate neurons, this slimy substance decreases the ability of the brain to send vital electrochemical messages to other parts of the brain. As the slime thickens, senility and dementia increase. Biological gerontologists have reported that lipofuscin piles get so big that they take up as much as 75 percent of the cell’s volume in old age. Anyone who’s ever been to New York City during a garbage strike can instantly see both the analogy and the theory: Garbage can indeed be paralyzing. On the level of the cell, it can cause cross-linking and other kinds of malfunctions that are among the signposts of aging.   Loss of Vital Neurochemicals Another cause of memory problems is a lower level of neurotransmitters and other chemicals in the brain, which inhibit the encoding of memories and slows recall. Alzheimer’s seems to be caused by a depletion in central nervous system reserves of the neurotransmitter acetylcholine. It has also been found that patients with Alzheimer’s syndrome are not only deficient in acetylcholine, but also the enzyme that catalyzes its production — choline acetyl transferase.   Levels of these important neurotransmitters — which are responsible for shooting the message across the synapse — have to be in balance. If there is too much of any one of these, an enzyme known as monoamine oxidase (MAO) swings into action. MAO is like a molecular “Pac Man” roving through the system gobbling up brain chemicals. However, starting around 35 or 40 years of age, we begin to produce too much MAO and it eats too many of the neurotransmitters. The results are predictable: The balance is upset and, as a result, there is a decline in the ability to think and remember.   The crucial role that this balance of brain chemicals plays in a state of mind is impressively demonstrated by the example of mental illness. Scientists now know that imbalances in the neurotransmitters — including noradrenaline, dopamine and serotonin — are closely linked to mental disorders such as mania, schizophrenia and depression. Perhaps it’s no coincidence that people suffering from these disorders are sometimes called “unbalanced.”   Since there are so many chemicals that make up the harmonic mix, there are many ways in which our brain chemistry can go out of balance. Correspondingly, there are many ways in which we can intervene with nutritional supplementation to restore harmony.   Feed Your Brain Very exciting news: Scientists have found that the proper nutritional supplements can significantly slow aging in the brain and even help with some problems associated with dementia and Alzheimer’s. In fact, it’s even been shown that by taking more of the nutrients that the brain needs to make the neurotransmitters, you can restore your brain’s vital messengers to more youthful levels. One such nutrient that has been demonstrated to improve animal and/or human intelligence (learning and data processing in particular types of tasks) is ribonucleic acid (RNA). As people age, production of RNA declines and, consequently, people have less RNA available for use in storing memories. Since RNA is believed to be the molecule upon which all memories are stored, studies have shown that RNA is one nutrient we can use to help keep our minds functioning at a level younger than our years.   Antioxidants Other important nutrients include antioxidants that have the power to neutralize most of the free radicals that are produced. Certain enzymes and nutrients like vitamin C, E, B2 (riboflavin), B3 (niacinamide) and A (beta-carotene); minerals like selenium, zinc, copper, iron and magnesium; amino acids like cysteine, methionine and glutamic acid; as well as DHEA can counter the production of free radicals by promoting the body’s own production of antioxidants. Vitamin E recently made national headlines when the results of a two-year study, conducted by the National Institute of Aging, were announced by the New England Journal of Medicine. Alzheimer’s patients were split into two groups: one was given vitamin E (tocopherol), while the other was given a placebo. The results were startling. At the end of the study, the Alzheimer’s group given tocopherol showed a definite slowdown in the progression of the disease. In most cases, deterioration was actually put on hold. Those given the placebo continued to deteriorate (Sano 1997). In other studies, well known neuropsychiatrist Dr. Akiri Monji found that animals fed diets deficient in tocopherol had 31 percent to 51 percent more lipofuscin deposits than those with sufficient tocopherol in their diets. And Dr. Albert Burns reported in the British medical journal, Lancet, that nearly 60 percent of Alzheimer’s patients have a deficiency of tocopherol.   The research on antioxidants is so convincing and voluminous that the medical research papers would probably fill a decent sized room. Throughout this article, I have mentioned only a few of the deficiency-caused health problems that may be caused or aggravated by particular nutrient deficiencies. No matter how healthy you are, you should consider this when making a decision about food and supplements.   Ginkgo Biloba The star of herbal brain boosters is the extract of the ginkgo biloba tree, which is revered for its ability to improve memory, thinking, reasoning and general mental alertness. Over the past 47 years, more than 400 scientific papers have been published on the uses of ginkgo biloba. And more than 50 controlled chemical trials confirm the benefits of ginkgo biloba for diminished memory and concentration, increased absentmindedness, confusion, energy loss, tiredness, depression, dizziness and tinnitus, and other symptoms related to “senility.”   Two well-designed German studies highlighted the efficiency of ginkgo. One study was conducted on 99 elderly patients who had been suffering brain disturbances for about two years. It showed that ginkgo improved brain function by an astounding average of 72 percent after just three months of use. In the other study, 200 test subjects (average age 69) who had suffered memory lapses for about four years showed a 71 percent improvement after three months of ginkgo supplementation compared to 32 percent improvement for those taking the placebo. The typical dose used in the studies was approximately 120 mg daily. Improvement was noticeable after only four to six weeks.   Choline Choline has a significant effect on the structure and functioning of neuronal membrane and brain neurotransmissions producing some changes that are important in memory alteration. Neurotransmitters are made by the brain from nutrient substances you eat. The brain makes acetylcholine from choline you get in your diet (fish, for instance) and from lecithin. In one study, MIT students taking 3 grams of choline a day had improved memory and ability to learn a list of words. In another study, 80 grams of lecithin a day produced similar results. As your brain ages, the ability of your brain to make and respond to some of these vital messenger chemicals drop off. And as these levels decline, forgetfulness and lack of ability to concentrate in old age can occur. The old wives tale that fish is brain food really has a degree of truth, since fish contains relatively large quantities of both choline and RNA.   Bee Pollen Bee pollen, which is a natural and unprocessed food, contains many brain-boosting substances. It is one of the world’s richest sources of pantothenic acid (vitamin B5), sometimes called the stress vitamin. It is also rich in B1, B2, B3, B6, B12, biotin, folic acid and the vitamin B-like substance inositol. It is a natural source of acetylcholine and contains vitamins A, C, D and E, so it is not too surprizing that bee pollen rejuvenates and improves mental alertness and concentration. It's probably safe to say that if one were going to add any brain foods to their diet, one of them should be bee pollen for the maximum benefit.   In Summary Millions of people take brain-boosting nutrients to improve brain function and to excel in every aspect of life. They include professionals, business people, seniors anxious about senility, patients suffering from Alzheimer’s or other neurological impairment, as well as parents, students and athletes. If you are interested in improved mental performance, Ralph and I challenge you to educate yourself about the benefits of brain-boosting substances so that you can make an informed decision that can help prevent the inevitable aging associated memory impairment (AAMI) to which we are all susceptible. After all, a mind is a terrible thing to waste!     Main Article Index click here Our copyright and Privacy statements / Medical Disclaimer © 2002, Makena Werks, Int'l, All Rights Reserved.