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Brain Fitness Tip of the Week: Dietary Supplements for Brain Fitness

April 23, 2009 Brain Fitness, Cardiovascular Disease, Diabetes, Diet, Supplements No Comments

When I have given talks about brain fitness, many people ask me about dietary supplements. A number of supplements are promoted for maintaining brain health, and some may actually have promise. It’s pretty hard for most people to sort out the research on dietary supplements. This is what I suggest to people who ask me about supplements:

First, I warn everyone that supplements aren’t as well researched as regular drugs. This may mean that some supplements work better than we know. It may also mean that they have side effects that we don’t know about, or that may interact with other supplements or regular prescription drugs. So if you intend to take any supplement, be aware of the risks.

Of all the supplements for brain fitness, one of the most promising is already recommended by the American Heart Association. Omega-3 fish oils have been shown to have benefits for the cardiovascular system. Although it may be possible to get enough fish oil from eating fish several times a week, many people can’t eat fish so regularly or are worried about how much mercury they might get from the fish. Fish oil are readily available as capsules. Depending on your condition, you may want to take from 1 to 4 grams of fish oil every day. You can read the AHA’s recommendations here.

As I mentioned, there is little information about any supplement and brain fitness. In one study, a small group of people with very mild cognitive problems appeared to benefit from fish oil supplements. More and more, it’s becoming apparent that there is a close link between cardiovascular risk factors and brain fitness. This means, I believe, that most of the things we can do to improve cardiovascular health are probably good for the brain. The same blood vessels that are critical to keep blood flowing to the heart and the rest of the body are present in the brain. In fact, the most metabolically active organ in the body is the brain. So anything you can do to improve vascular health is likely to help your brain.

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