For those of you concerned with memory loss, here is a chart of commonly prescribed prescription and over the counter medications which can cause short-term memory loss.
Archive for Memory
Memory Loss Drug Chart
Herbal Supplements for Your Brain: Health or Hype?
Hearing about herbal remedies is easy, but finding reliable information about them is hard. One problem is that many magazine articles, books, TV advertisements, and now web sites are not as interested in informing you as trying to sell you something–a technique, a drug, or a combination of approaches. With no objective standards and few rules to go by, it is increasingly difficult to sort through all the grand claims for the products being sold.
Another problem is that some advertisements refer to, or show, an expert praising the benefits of the product. All too often, what is left unsaid is that this expert has a financial interest in the product. We feel that it should be mandatory to disclose that kind of vested interest.
But perhaps the biggest challenge is finding out for yourself what claims are based on facts. A major source of health information today is health-related web sites. These sites are like a two-edged sword. A wealth of information is immediately available to you, much of it valuable. The problem is that anybody can say anything they want on a web site; they don’t have to know what they are talking about. In addition, the site might be using old, out of date information.
How can you tell what is valid? We recommend that you rely on sites associated with government agencies, major medical centers such as Johns Hopkins (you can sign up for free health alerts at http://www.johnshopkinshealthalerts.com), universities, and respected health organizations, such as the American Heart Association.
In the field of nutrition, Tufts University maintains one of the best sites: http://navigator.tufts.edu/. It gives you not only advice from Tuft’s own experts, but also their opinions of the accuracy of information at other sites.
The German government, unlike the U.S. government, has taken steps to monitor the safety and effectiveness of herbal preparations. Germany has formed a commission that periodically publishes evaluations and specific recommendations about herbal preparations used in Europe. This publication is called the Commission E Report.
Recently, several other organizations have published English-language reports based on the German report. The most comprehensive of these is the American Pharmaceutical Association Practical Guide to Natural Medicines.
Both the German and American publications recommend products that have known amounts of ingredients and have been evaluated for safety and efficacy. They also tell you about side effects and possible interaction with other drugs. It is important to note, however, than even when an herb or supplement is said to be effective, there is no standardization of dosing.
In fact, a recent study showed that over 50% of the supplements tested had less than the claimed dosage of active ingredients. Only 3% had more than the recommended dose. But too much of a good thing can also be harmful.
When it comes to nutrition, brain health, and herbs and supplements, buyer beware.
Herbal Preparations and Brain Power
Herbal preparations have received enormous attention as potential preventive strategies or treatments for age-related problems or changes in the brain. A visit to your local health food store or pharmacy will help you appreciate the large variety of herbal diet supplements available.
Herbals have become a genuinely big business in the last few years. By some estimates, at least one-third of Americans have tried herbal medicines, for which they spend at least $4 billion per year.
The major difficulty with this burgeoning ‘nutraceutical’ industry is the scarcity of systematic studies to tell us which of these preparations really work. How do you know whether these compounds are what they claim? Since they are not considered to be either a food or drug, there is no regulation by the FDA of the safety, potency, or claims made regarding these products.
If you are thinking about taking a supplement to boost your memory, you should ask three basic questions about it, or indeed about any health product you take:
What is in it?
Is it safe?
Is there any evidence that it works?
You should also think about what you can afford, and any other drugs and medicines you might be taking. For example, gingko is often touted as an herbal supplement to aid memory, but it often interacts with other over the counter and prescription medicines.
As with all pills, if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.
One other caveat: just because it is ‘natural’ does not mean it’s safe.
Herbal Supplements and Brain Health: More Harm than Good?
Many herbal preparations can interact with conventional medicines. It is important to tell your physician or pharmacist what you are taking. Pharmacists have plenty of information in their computers about both conventional medications, and herbal preparations and can look for possible interactions and precautions.
The information in these computer databases should also be of enormous benefit as time goes on. Not only will they provide new knowledge as it is developed, they will provide more knowledge of which substances interact poorly with one another.
Always remember to tell your doctor and pharmacist about any pills you are taking, even vitamins, to ensure the best treatment. Keep a list handy, with the brand and dosage, and update it frequently. As we age, we are more likely to take an increasing number of medicines, all with the possibility of interacting.
One other point is that many over the counter medications can cause temporary memory loss. You will usually go back to normal once you stop taking them. Antacids, for example, may seem harmless, but can disrupt memory, and block nutrients from being absorbed.
Nutrition, Protein, and the Brain
Your brain needs glucose (sugar) for energy. But to build cells, to produce chemicals necessary for nerves to communicate, and to repair damage, you need the basic building blocks of cells, proteins.
The proteins you eat do not go directly into the brain because a filter, called the ‘blood-brain barrier,’ protects the brain. Even though the level of some substances might be quite high in your blood, this filter keeps them from getting into your brain.
Otherwise rapid fluctuations and surges of substances that might be helpful at low levels, but harmful at higher levels, would pummel your brain. The blood-brain barrier excludes from the brain many substances, including protein from the foods you eat and medications, such as antibiotics.
In contrast, other substances, such as glucose, pass freely into the brain. The more glucose in your blood, the more there is in your brain. Other substances do get into the brain but at slow, controlled rates.
Since proteins cannot pass directly into the brain, your brain makes its own, using the substances that do cross the blood-brain barrier, namely, amino acids. Amino acids are the basic structural units of proteins, which connect together like beads on a string. When you eat protein in, say, soybeans or steak, your intestinal tract and liver digest it, breaking the protein’s long strings of amino acids into individual amino acids. These amino acids then circulate in your blood. Like glucose, these lone amino acids can enter the brain, which then assembles them to make the specific proteins it needs. At this level it does not make any difference to your brain if the source of the protein is beef or soybeans.
Of course, the other parts of the food consumed, like fat, do make a difference in your overall health, so a good quality diet rich in protein but not excessive amounts of animal protein is recommended.
Fish has often been touted as ‘brain food’ due to its high protein content, and other very good minerals known to affect the brain, such as zinc. It also has a good calories to protein ratio, and protein helps you feel full after eating (as does fat, but again, we want to limit it in the diet).
More studies need to be done on the role of fish in a brain-healthy diet, but one things is for sure, fish is generally a healthy food choice, though with increasing levels of mercury in the world’s oceans, you should do your research on which types of fish are considered least risky.
Nutrition, Co-enzyme Q10, and Brain Power
Co-enzyme Q10, sometimes called vitamin Q10, has a special role in maintaining healthy mitochondria, the small packets of enzymes that produce energy in all cells. Many physicians prescribe co-enzyme Q10 for prevention of heart disease.
Its beneficial role is believed to extend to the brain: One of the conditions suspected as a cause of Parkinson’s disease is a deficiency in how mitochondria function. That suspicion is strong enough that studies are in progress to determine if co-enzyme Q10 can either prevent or slow the progression of Parkinson’s disease. It is included in multi-vitamins, and can also be bought as a stand-alone supplement.
Vitamin E and Brain Power?
Most diets recommend vitamin E for daily use. It has been touted for everything from preventing memory loss, to prostate health, to reducing the risk of cardiovascular disease and heart attack.
Vitamin E has become of great interest because studies show that it delays the onset and may slow the progression of Alzheimer’s disease. It may also lower the risk of other degenerative diseases such as Parkinson’s disease.
It is not clear whether vitamin E will actually prevent these memory problems or disorders or can reduce memory problems in normal people, but new studies recently completed have not proven effectiveness.
The recommended does is 1,000 IU of vitamin E daily, because such a dose almost never has side effects. But the verdict is still out on this one. In most cases it will be included in a good multivitamin, so there should be no need for additional supplementation. Save your money.