There can be many diverse causes for memory loss, including depression, emotional stress or disease, We will focus on what is considered the most prevelant reason for memory loss, that being aging.



Beginning in our 20's, we can expect to lose about 1% of our brain's nerve cells annually. So an average 75 year old could expect to operate with as little as about one-half of the memory function of his youth.

Fortunately there are a number of things one can do to reduce the rate at which we lose our memory as the years pass. In this article we will discuss just a few of the more important ones. For our discussion, we shall assume that no neuropsychological issues exist and that we are dealing with a relatively healthy person, whose memory loss is due exclusively to the passage of time.

Our memory may be greatly influenced by both our diet and our general lifestyle, and consequently certain revisions to either of these may bring noticeable improvements in our memory. Amongst these are lessening our alcohol consumption, giving up smoking, and eating foods rich in fiber, vitamins and especially antioxidants (including vegetables and fruits), as the latter can contribute to the health of the brain.

Other possibly beneficial dietary adjustments are consuming fewer red meats and substituting instead fish rich in Omega-3 fatty acids, and avoiding foods prepared with chemicals such as MSG and preservatives. In addition, reducing the stress you deal with in your daily life can help to reduce the rate of memory loss. Of course, participating in an exercise program or a daily yoga program can substantially lower stress.

One often forgotten area is nutritional and herbal supplements. A lot of us take a daily supplement intended to help in maintaining the health of our liver, heart, etc. ? but totally ignore the beneficial that can improve our brain's functioning. Let us briefly touch on a few of them. The well-known Ginkgo biloba and Vinpocetine (from the periwinkle plant) are blood vessel dilators that permit more oxygen to reach the brain. Two vitamins that are useful are Vitamin B and thiamine, being antioxidants that can help protect brain cells from the damage caused by free radicals. Two other possible supplements to consider in order to reduce the rate of memory loss caused by our aging are acetylcarnitine and phosphatidylserine, both of which have been employed with Alzheimer's patients with some success. Also, Korean ginseng and bacopa apparently can improve the brain's functioning, especially short term memory.

A number of mental activities have proven very helpful in improving the brain's functioning, especially our memories. An active brain is more likely to stave off the ravages of age. Engaging in a new mental activity, including learning to play a new instrument, studying a foreign language and taking flying lessons, are just a few examples. Making a conscious effort to remember particular things, like people's names or birthdates, may seem trivial but when done regularly often helps maintain the level at which the brain operates. Also there are various memory tricks that can assist with specific things one wants to be able to easily recall later, including repetition, mnemonics (these are mental games designed to aid in memorization, such as the invented name Roy G. Biv where each of the letters in the name stands for one of the primary colors) and just taking the time to write the words you wish to remember on paper and repeating them orally a number of times.

Clearly if one leads an active mental and physical life, is prudent in selecting the foods that will be the basis of one's diet, complements those with appropriate nutritional and herbal supplements, and foregoes some vices, the rate at which our brains lose their ability to remember things and events can be substantially reduced.