Brain Fitness Tip of the Week: More on Supplements for Brain Fitness
Dietary supplements for brain fitness are controversial. This is at least in part because of two important facts:
- Very little research shows that any supplement has a positive effect on brain fitness, and
- Many supplements are costly, and some may have negative side effects such as interactions with prescription medications.
The first fact means that it’s very hard to know whether any supplement measures up to the claims that some people at least make for it. The second means that you may have to make a substantial investment in something that may or may not help you, and that the makers of the supplements may have a lot of money to promote them.
Having said that, some dietary supplements have limited evidence to support their inclusion in a brain fitness program. Probably the best-supported supplement for heart health, omega-3 fish oils, is a likely candidate for brain health. The American Heart Association recommends that everyone get some omega-3 fish oils from their diet, and from supplements if they to lower their triglycerides.
Another supplement that has been touted as possibly effective in reducing your risk of getting Alzheimer’s disease is curcumin. It’s a substance that occurs in turmeric, a common spice. Consumption of turmeric in some parts of India, some researchers have suggested, may account for low rates of Alzheimer’s disease in those areas. In one study with mice, those fed curcumin seemed to have a reversal of amyloid plaque formation in their (those are one of the key things that happen in the brain in Alzheimer’s).
Large scale studies have shown that people who get more antioxidants in their diet, and possibly those who take supplements of antioxidants like vitamins C and E, may have lower risk for developing Alzheimer’s disease. A group of researchers in New York have shown that people who follow the antioxidant-rich Mediterranean diet more closely have a lower risk for Alzheimer’s disease.
At the moment, these are our best guesses for supplements that may help maintain brain fitness. As interest increases in brain fitness, we may know more about these and other supplements.
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I saw an interesting blog post yesterday evening on the site of the Huffington Post about the potential benefits of meditation – or at least about what one woman thinks might be the benefits. Priscilla Warner writes about the contrast between Tibetan monks’ apparent calm, evident even on brain scans, and her own anxiety disorder. Ms. Warner says that she suffers from panic disorder, a severe form of anxiety in which a person can have multiple anxiety attacks every day, even in the middle of the night. Her post is titled “I Want the Brain of a Monk” Although most people don’t suffer from anxiety this severe, many people have symptoms of anxiety. And research has consistently shown that higher levels of anxiety are related to more memory problems.
What’s the relation to brain fitness? In my brain fitness class, I often mention the usefulness of meditation in helping reduce stress and anxiety, both of which have negative effects on memory. You don’t have to go to Tibet to get the benefits of meditation. If you simply take 10 minutes several times a day to break in to the ongoing rush of getting things done, you’ve made a start. Use those 10 minutes to sit quietly, relax your muscles, and breathe deeply.
If you do that every day for two weeks, I think you’ll notice that you feel calmer and better able to focus. And if you’re better able to focus, you will be better able to pay attention and remember things.
Although many people are excited about the potential for using computers to train their brains, we shouldn’t forget that other techniques have been used to the train the brain for many centuries. I’m thinking about the large number of techniques for meditation. While free computer software still requires an investment in a computer, meditation only asks you to sit or lie quietly and focus your mind.
A recently-published study shows parts of the brain in long-term meditators are larger than the same parts of the brain in people who don’t meditate. The article by Eileen Luders and her colleagues appeared in a recent issue of the journal Neuroimage (Vol. 45, No. 3, pp. 672-678, April 15, 2009). The study showed that portions of the orbitofrontal cortex and the hippocampus were larger in persons who had been regular meditators for 5 or more years. The study is interesting because the parts of the brain that were larger are often thought to be important in helping people keep themselves emotionally balanced.
A number of strategies are likely to be helpful for meditators. There has been a great deal of interest over the last several years in mindfulness meditation. Researchers have studied how it can be used in reducing anxiety and depression. Mindfulness is based on Buddhist meditation (for a brief article, click here) but you don’t have to be a Buddhist to practice meditation. In fact, one of the most important persons who has promoted mindfulness is Jon Kabat-Zinn, a researcher at the University of Massachusetts. You can see a video presentation by him on YouTube by clicking here.
Vitamin Supplements seem to have the same problems that FDA approved drugs
have, except drugs are over priced, & all have side effects, that are brushed off as acceptable.
Same issue, Drugs are more costly, less safe, & all drugs have side effects that can be
harmful.
I agree with you completely! I’ve spent lots of money on supplements without getting any tangible benefits. Frankly, I’m kind of burned out. But according to all the research I’ve done–I’m always researching–omega-3 fish oils are highly beneficial. So is turmeric. Incidentally, an Indian ayurvedic doctor recommended that I take turmeric years ago, long before I ever started reading studies about its possible effect in reducing the risk of Alzheimer’s disease.