The brain is a complex network that retrieves, extrapolates and regurgitates information constantly. Your memory is a lifetime of information with continual input and output, courtesy of the healthy workings within your brain. Problems in memory can happen because of the natural process of aging, from head injury or due to nutrient deficiencies. Vitamins obtained in a healthy diet or supplements may reduce your risk of chronic memory impairments. Before taking supplements, consult your physician for recommendations.
Normal Versus Abnormal Memory Problems
Memory is declarative or explicit, procedural or implicit and long-term or short-term. These simple terms characterize very complex processes that form how you receive, store and retrieve information. As you grow, your ability to store information in your memory expands, but once you reach adulthood, your body makes less of the chemicals needed by your brain to maintain memory, notes FamilyDoctor.org. Minor forgetfulness in the form of absentmindedness or not being able to retrieve a memory fully is normal as you age. However, serious memory problems affect your daily life and can take the form of forgetting patterned things you have done numerous times.
Vitamins and Diet
According to Harvard Health Publications, a diet containing vitamins A, C and E may improve your chances of a strong memory well into your 60s. These vitamins are antioxidants that protect your cells from free radicals produced during the normal process of oxidation. Research is ongoing to determine the effectiveness of supplemental use of these three vitamins in preventing memory problems, but you may stave off mental decline with a vitamin-rich diet. Carrots, squash, oranges, strawberries, broccoli and mixed greens are among the many vitamins A and C-rich foods you can eat daily. Olive oil on your salads or a snack of mixed nuts once a day adds vitamin E to your diet. Consult your physician before adding supplements to your diet to ensure safety.
Vitamins B-6, B-9 and B-12
The B-vitamins help your body metabolize food into energy and the combination of vitamins B-6, B-9 and B-12 may slow brain atrophy, or shrinkage, that occurs with age. A 2010 study conducted at the University of Oxford concluded that brain atrophy in the elderly slows with supplemental treatment of the homocysteine-lowering B-vitamins. Vitamins B-6, B-9 and B-12 control levels of the amino acid homocysteine in the blood. High homocysteine links to an increased risk of Alzheimer's disease, especially in the elderly with pre-existing cognitive impairments. Research is ongoing to determine dosing and the standard age of supplemental use of these vitamins. Consult your physician before taking B-vitamin supplements to determine safety and dosing for your specific needs.
Thiamine and Niacin
Vitamin B-1, or thiamine, and B-3, or niacin, are important for memory health if you abuse alcohol. Chronic alcohol use leads to poor nutrient absorption and in many cases poor nutrition resulting in thiamine and niacin deficiency. In severe cases of alcoholism, the condition Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome occurs from thiamine deficiency, causing short-term or long-term memory loss, confusion and profound memory disorder. Nutritional changes, stopping alcohol use and the addition of vitamin supplements can prevent progression of memory loss related to deficiency of these B-vitamins. Consult your physician for recommendations before taking vitamin supplements.
References
- PLOS One; Homocysteine-Lowering by B Vitamins Slows Rate of Accelerated Brain Atrophy ...; A. David Smith, et al.; 2010
- Oxford Journals; Disorders of Memory; Michael D. Kopelman; 2002
- FamilyDoctor.org: Memory Loss With Aging; What's Normal, What's Not?
- Harvard Health Publications: Preventing Memory Loss
- Office of Dietary Supplements: Vitamin E
- Linus Pauling Institute: Vitamins
