For example, any food, nutrient or drug can be tagged with a radioactive isotope and then followed as the stomach processes it and sends it to its ultimate destination. Molecular biologists, using three-dimensional computer displays and advanced chemical analysis, can illustrate exactly what happens to a vitamin or drug when it reaches the brain or any other organ.

Using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), scientists can watch the activity in your brain when you are asked a question involving short-term or longterm memory.

Scientists Get Older And Have Memory Problems, Too!

If you were a medical scientist and your memory began to fade, wouldn't memory research be particularly interesting to you? For that reason, brain research has attracted the best and most experienced scientists, and consequently, new discoveries have come along fast and furiously.

One of the most significant findings shows that how we think has to do with what we eat! Like most people, you've probably had days when you were mentally slow what I call "my dumb days." The cause may be what you didn't eat that day.

Diet Caused Animals To Forget

Tests with animals have shown that by withholding certain nutrients from their diets, the animals forgot tricks they had learned or could not find their way out of a maze which they had easily transversed many times before their diet was changed.

In animals and humans, the problem is compounded by the natural aging process. Our bodies start a slow deterioration beginning between the ages of 25 and 30. By the time we reach the age of 50, we begin to notice the changes because the mechanical efficiency of every organ has dropped.

How Our Stomach Tells Us We're Getting Older

After 50, the decline accelerates. The first organ that makes us painfully aware that we're getting older is the stomach as we experience heartburn, acid indigestion, constipation, etc. Even the most robust eaters, who formerly could eat anything without problems, begin to avoid certain foods to prevent potential discomfort.

Most 20 year olds can eat voluminous amounts of foods of all kinds without the slightest problem. The reason is that their stomachs are operating very efficiently. Indigestion, etc., are the result of a deteriorated digestion system.

Seniors Need More Nutrients Than Teenagers!

It's not the discomfort of digestive problems that the scientists are concerned with; it's the loss of important nutrients. No matter whether you have digestion problems or not, many scientists believe that by the age of 60, your body is absorbing an estimated one third less nutrients from food than a 20-year-old.

So, what does that have to do with your memory? A lot, according to scientists. They have found that your brain needs a daily supply of 15 different nutrients in order to operate efficiently. A shortage of any one of those nutrients can affect your memory and mental ability.

Nutrients Are Not Where They Are Supposed To Be

Literally dozens of clinical tests have shown that the majority of people over 60, who enter hospitals, have a deficiency of one or more nutrients. Poor eating habits and insufficient absorption of nutrients by the stomach are two causes, but there is another more important one lack of nutrients in our food!

Before World War II, farmers used manure to fertilize crops, but after that era, chemical fertilizers became the vogue. Manure replaced all the nutrients in the soil, but chemical fertilizers contain only nitrogen, potassium and phosphorus. Enzymes in the soil can only make a limited variety from those three chemicals.

Animals Got Human Diseases In the fifties, tremendous numbers of livestock (cattle, hogs, sheep, chicken and turkeys) began getting diseases never seen before to any extent in animals, such as heart disease, cancer, arthritis, etc. In most cases, veterinary scientists traced the cause to specific nutritional deficiencies.

To give you an example, when turkey ranching became automated, with the birds never leaving their cages or touching the ground' several hundred thousand died due to cerebral hemorrhages strokes.

It was a tragedy that financially wiped out many turkey ranchers. Scientists finally traced the cause to a lack of nutritional copper in the turkeys' diets. Today, with copper supplementation, turkeys rarely get strokes.

You Can't Take A Chicken To The Doctor!

Farming and ranching is strictly business, and the owners don't spend money unless it is a necessity. Let's face it. You can't take a chicken worth $2.00 or even a lamb worth $50.00 to a doctor. Today, all livestock producers supplement their animals' diets with a variety of vitamins, minerals and other nutrients out of necessity!

Before 1960, most people ate a lot of fresh fruit and vegetables; however, the sixties gave birth to fast-food franchises and factory processed, just re-heat, ready to-eat foods. Today, it is estimated that over 60% of the population lives on ready-to-eat foods, rarely ever touching fresh fruits and vegetables.

Up To 93% Of Nutrients Are Destroyed

A study by the National Food Review Board showed that freezing and re-cooking food destroys up to 93% of the nutrients in some foods. All the important enzymes are destroyed at temperatures above 129° F. which is way below normal cooking temperatures. Many enzymes help digestion and are a vital necessity in extracting vitamins and minerals from food.

As you can see, eating a balanced diet is absolutely no guarantee that you are getting all the vitamins, minerals and other nutrients your body and brain need.

Your Brain Uses 50% Of Your Energy

The brain occupies only a small portion of your total body volume, yet it uses over 40% of the energy you produce. If you are tired frequently, you may not be feeding your brain properly.

Also, the brain uses almost 20% of all the oxygen you take in your lungs. Your blood carries the oxygen to your brain. This is why the condition of your arteries can affect your memory.

During the Korean War, doctors who were performing autopsies on soldiers killed in action noticed that practically all the young men had plaque building up in their arteries the beginning of arteriosclerosis (hardening of the arteries.) These men were only in their twenties. Imagine how clogged your arteries are if you are over 50.

Clogged arteries restrict the flow of the blood and therefore reduce the amount of oxygen that reaches your brain. For many years, scientists have known that reduced oxygen to the brain can cause headaches, depression, ringing in the ears and memory loss.

You may be thinking that because your arteries are probably partially blocked, there's no hope of correcting the lack of oxygen to your brain. Not true. Researchers have found an uncommon nutrient that increases the blood's capacity to carry oxygen. I'll tell you more about this wonder substance, called GBE, shortly.

One In Three Will Get Mental Disorder

Considering the foregoing, it is not surprising that mental illness is the fastest growing part of the health industry. Before World War II, Alzheimer's disease was very rare, according to government health statistics published in a Los Angeles Times article. Today, there are over 4,100,000 cases in the U.S., making it the nation's fourth most deadly disease. Another 8,000,000 people suffer from senile dementia (insanity).

Researchers believe that over 80% of the population over 60 has some memory problems, and scientists estimate that over 30% of those people will eventually develop senile memory problems, dementia or Alzheimer's.

You Can Relieve Memory Problems

Will your memory problems inevitably get worse? Yes, if you don't alleviate the causes. Extensive research shows that deficiencies of any one of 12 specific nutrients can cause memory problems. However, research also shows that supplementation of those nutrients can not only stop the deterioration of your memory, but they can also restore your ability to recall.

The brain brings memories from their storage area to your conscious mind with substances called neurotransmitters. They are electrochemical messengers. There are a variety of these messengers that perform other essential tasks along with stimulating your memory. The major ones are acetylcholine (ACh), norepinephrine, epinephrine, dopamine and serotonin.

Deficiency Reduces Your Intelligence

ACh is the most important neurotransmitter for memory and even intelligence. A shortage of ACh causes memory loss, reduces your ability to learn and restricts intelligence. In individuals with Alzheimer's disease, the activity of the enzyme that produces Ach is reduced by 60% to 90% (Coyle 1983).

Other research indicates that a lack of ACh causes a variety of memory problems and may be the direct cause of senility.

Short-term memory (from one minute ago to a month) steadily declines when there is a deficiency of oxygen to the brain due to clogged arteries and a short age of nutrients and antioxidants reaching the brain. When those conditions are corrected,. there's little or no loss of short-term memory as you get older. Fortunately, your long-term memory (from childhood to a month ago) is fairly safe. Even in cases of Alzheimer's or plain insanity, some long-term memories are retained.

Memory Improved 65.9%

Your body makes ACh from a nutrient called choline. In a controlled clinical test, Dr. Lozano Fernandez gave choline to 2,817 subjects between the ages of 60 and 80 who had memory problems. In just two months, their memory improved 65.9%, headaches were reduced by 73.2%, insomnia by 63.5%, depression by 61% and dizziness by 73.6%.

Even faster results can be obtained with some of the brain nutrients I will discuss shortly, but overall, the longer you take all of them, the more effective they become.

Lose Weight Naturally

There is a nice side benefit from choline. It supplies the chemistry necessary for fat metabolism. Without sufficient choline in your body, fat accumulates. Women often see it as those unattractive cellulite dimples on their legs and behinds.

Unfortunately, just taking choline by itself is not the answer. First, choline needs the nutrients folate and cobalamin to be present in order for it to be converted to ACh. Second the quantity of ACh released in the brain is often dependent on a brain protein (amino acid) called pyroglutamate (PCA).

Even Restores Alcoholics' Memories

PCA is supposed to be present in all nerve cells and is a prolific neurotransmitter by itself. Normally, PCA is released in the brain when you use your memory.

Dr. S. Grioli found that when he gave subjects PCA or a placebo (fake pill) in a double-blind clinical test, those taking PCA showed significant improvement in verbal memory function as compared to those taking the placebo.

Even in cases where alcoholism has reduced memory substantially, Dr. E. Sinforiani found PCA helped restore part of the memory. Dr. R. Cocchi discovered that alcoholic patients automatically and unconsciously reduced their consumption of alcohol dramatically after regular use of PCA.

You may not be aware of it, but as you get older, your IQ declines (for the same reasons that your memory becomes less responsive). The good news is that Dr. C. Pfeiffer reported in the medical journal Nutrition Reviews that he found PCA to be effective in restoring the IQs of patients over 60.

Makes Flabby Muscles Firm Up

PCA also has some valuable side benefits. Muscles tend to get flabby as you get older due, in part, to a deficiency of a hormone called the "human growth hormone (hGH)." Clinical tests show that PCA stimulates the production of hGH, which strengthens and tones your muscles.

Dr. Lorraine Young found that PCA-supplemented patients were happier with less depression and were released from the hospital sooner than non-supplemented patients. By the way, PCA must be taken with the nutrient pyridoxine in order to be used by the body.

Helps Reduce Stress

Another natural substance that causes the production of several neurotransmitters is the protein, tyrosine. Tyrosine is often used along with drugs in treating Parkinson's disease because it helps replace the neurotransmitters destroyed by the drugs.

As you grow older, your ability to handle stress declines. Hectic, chaotic situations fluster you more than when you were younger. One of the reasons is that stress gobbles up neurotransmitters which you already have a shortage of, according to Dr. Agharanya and his colleagues at M.I.T. Some of the neurotransmitters produced by tyrosine calm your nerves and help you handle stress better.

Cold Weather Can Inhibit Your Memory

Your ability to handle cold weather declines as you get older, often due to poor circulation. Did you know that severe cold induces memory loss? The reason is that the exposure to low temperatures causes stress, and therefore neurotransmitters are destroyed.

Dr. David Shurtleff of the Naval Medical Research Institute was very concerned with this phenomenon because the Navy's sailors are often exposed to very cold weather in northern seas. A lack of mental quickness had been observed in many young sailors, which could be dangerous.

Memory Drops During 30 Minutes At 25°F

Dr. Shurtleff conducted two studies with the same group of sailors. First, he measured their mental agility after a 30-minute exposure to 25°F. After two days, he gave the men tyrosine and sent them out into the cold again.

Their mental agility and memory improved substantially after taking the tyrosine.

Dr. Louis Banderet confirmed the value of tyrosine with similar tests of Army personnel. Tyrosine significantly improved performance impairments following a 4.5-hour exposure to cold and hypoxia.

Relieves 12-Year Depression There are several other benefits from taking tyrosine. It improves your mood, stops dizziness, normalizes blood pressure if it is high, chases the "blues" away, improves appetite and often enhances libido.

Dr. Eric Braverman reported two cases where tyrosine was the last resort. In the first case, a patient had been chronically depressed for 12 years. None of the multitude of antidepressant drugs helped him. Within a month of taking tyrosine, his depression disappeared completely. Harvard researchers also found that it was very effective on their depressed patients.

Corrects Impotence In 30 Days

In the second case, an impotent patient had not responded to any type of treatment, so Dr. Braverman decided to give the patient tyrosine. Within a month, the patient was back to normal. Both men and women taking tyrosine report a renewed interest in sex.

The absolutely essential vitamin-type nutrient needed in the production of all neurotransmitters is pyridoxine. It is also involved in all nerve functions. Dr. J. B. Deijen reported in the journal, Psychopharmacology, that in a double-blind, placebo controlled test, pyridoxine substantially improved the memories of those who were over 60 years old.

Hardest Nutrient To Get From Food

Unfortunately, it is one of the hardest nutrients to get from food because cooking and refining destroy pyridoxine. Even whole wheat bread, which undergoes very little refining, has lost most of the pyridoxine by the time it reaches your table.

Alcohol, birth control pills, yellow food coloring (dye), and drugs such as Premarin and penicillin destroy pyridoxine. Yellow dye is used extensively in processed food, as you will see by examining ingredient labels in your supermarket. Of all the nutrients that most people have a shortage of, pyridoxine stands at the top of the list especially if they have memory or mental problems.

Throw Away The Prozac

Many natural medicine doctors have found that patients who were taking Prozac or other antidepressants and tranquilizers actually had a pyridoxine deficiency. Most of those returned to normal after taking pyridoxine and throwing away the drugs.

Stops Kidney Stones

A pyridoxine deficiency is one of the major causes of the excruciatingly painful kidney stones. Its shortage also increases the risk, of heart attack and contributes to osteoporosis. A severe deficiency will show up as cracked corners of the mouth or eyes, sores that don't heal or a diminished sex drive, according to Dr. Pat Bermond at the medical school of the University of Reims in France.

Pyridoxine must be taken with the nutrient riboflavin in order to be used by the body. Riboflavin is also a powerful antioxidant for the nervous system, but it is not stored in the body, so it must be taken daily. A deficiency of riboflavin usually makes a person nervous, but sometimes it also causes eczema in women, and in men, the atrophy or shrinking of the testicles.

Thiamine should also be included with riboflavin because it is a coenzyme in the production of ACh and a mental stimulant. Dr. John Blass at Cornell University Medical College found that Alzheimer's patients taking thiamine for 90 days showed much more mental clarity than before the treatment began.

The Wonder Tree From The Dinosaur Age

The most remarkable substance for improving memory comes from an extract obtained from the fruit and leaves of the maidenhair tree. The extract is called GBE (Ginkgo biloba extract). The maidenhair tree is one of the longest living trees in the world with a thousand-year-plus life span. It was around during the time of the dinosaurs because fossils of its distinctive leaves have been found and dated at 250 million years ago.

GBE is the ideal supplement for people over 50, as it solves the problem of getting enough oxygen to the brain through clogged arteries. It dilates the arteries (makes them bigger), thins the blood (which deters dangerous blood clots) and enhances the blood's ability to carry oxygen.

Memory Improves 46%

Dr. G. S. Rai conducted a rigid placebo-controlled, double-blind study of GBE on people between 50 and 89 years old who had moderate to severe memory impairment. The results were spectacular. Those taking GBE recalled an amazing 46% more than those taking the placebo, and they answered memory questions almost 30% faster. The tests were conducted at the end of 24 weeks of daily use of GBE or the placebo.

The longer you take GBE, the better the results. Dr. B. Gebner found in a double-blind, placebocontrolled trial that the quickness of recall grew faster and faster over a three-month period.

Improves Memory In One Hour

However, you don't have to wait three months for results. Dr. Herve Allain found that within one hour of taking GBE, patients in his clinical trials (average age 70) recalled 7% more than those taking placebos.

No More Ringing In The Ears

Dr. G. Vorberg reported in the Clinical Trials Journal that elderly patients taking GBE over a 12-month period had a significant reduction in dizzy spells and ringing in the ears. Both conditions are a result of poor circulation.

There are other bonuses with GBE. Dr. H. Schubert found that GBE caused a 50% drop in occurrences of depression in just four weeks of taking the supplement. For centuries, Chinese doctors have used it for treating asthma and bronchitis.

Reduces Pain In The Calf

There's considerable evidence that GBE normalizes circulation and breaks down clots, thereby deterring strokes. Dr. G. Thomson reported in the journal, International Angiology, that he has had tremendous success using GBE for treating intermittent claudication (pain in the calf while walking due to poor circulation).

GBE increased pain-free walking distance up to 110%. It increased total walking distance up to 119%, and after two years of steady usage, walking distance had increased to almost 300%.

Much Better Sex

Poor circulation plays a big part in sexual activities of men and women because blood is pumped to the genitals during sexual arousal where it increases sensitivity and stimulates lubrication. In men, blood fills the penis to create an erection. Obviously, men with circulation problems will have difficulty getting or maintaining an erection.

Dr. R. Skikora showed in clinical tests of impotent men that GBE steadily improves erectile ability. Good results began to show up after six weeks, and within six months, over half of those participating in the study had regained full potency. Dr. Skikora concluded that double dosage may increase the response time, and continued usage past six months might increase the success ratio.

Most Powerful Antioxidant

GBE is a free radical fighter because it contains a group of powerful flavonoids, such as quercetin and proanthocyanidins. With all its attributes, it is not surprising that GBE is the best-selling over-the-counter medication in Europe, where natural medicines have enjoyed popularity for many decades.

Another nutrient that helps increase the production of ACh is acetyl-L-carnitine (ALC). In separate double-blind, placebocontrolled trials, Dr. G. Rai and Dr. E. Tempesta showed that ALC significantly enhances short-term memory. (Scientists don't understand why, but we don't lose much long-term memory as we age.)

ALC has been used successfully in helping Alzheimer's and dementia patients improve their daily lives by retarding the progress of the diseases.

It also helps improve alertness and physical reaction time in all ages.

ALC is one of the most important nutrients for the heart. Heart muscles require a lot of it for proper function and is recommended to everyone who has a weak heart or any abnormalities. In order for ALC to be absorbed and used by your body, you must take it with ascorbic acid, nicotinic acid and pyridoxine.

Brown Slime On Your Nerves!

Those brown age spots that pop up on the skin as we age contain lipofuscin. If you have any age spots, this is an indication that you have lipofuscin on your brain where it appears as a brown slime coating the neurons.

At first, it restricts the firing of the neurons which slows down thinking and remembering. Over time, if we allow the lipofuscin to, accumulate, it will dramatically slow down your mental reaction time and alertness. You'll suffer from muddled thinking, which can evolve into total senility.

Stopping The Slime

There are a couple of substances that reduce lipofuscin accumulations substantially. ALC is one of them, according to studies by Dr. Frank Amenta. The other nutrient that stops or slows the lipofuscin is RRR-alpha-tocopherol (RRR).

Animals get lipofuscin on their brains as they age just like humans. Dr. A. Monji reported in the journal, Brain Research, that animals fed RRR in their diets accumulated over 50% less than animals not getting RRR.

Even Wealthy People Don't Have Enough

When RRR is added to the diets of Alzheimer's patients, it slows down the progress of the disease, which indicates that it is a good deterrent of this devastating scourge.

Usually when someone has any neurological dysfunction, they have a deficiency of RRR, according to numerous clinical trials. However, RRR is one of the most important nutrients required by the body, and its shortage has been implicated in heart problems and abnormal growths.

A deficiency of RRR is very common among Americans. In fact, a test of wealthy elderly people in the midwest showed that over 45% had deficiencies of this nutrient. Perhaps the reason is that RRR is not stored in the body. If you take it in the morning, none is left in your body by evening, so you must take it twice a day.

Another Memory Improver

Nicotinic acid seems to balance activities in the neurological systern deficient in those suffering from mental disorders. Dr. Abram Hoffer said, "I have found nicotinic acid very effective in restoring memory, increasing alertness and energy."

Extensive clinical testing has been done on this important nutrient with some amazing findings. It helps lower cholesterol, relieves migraine headaches, reduces high blood pressure, stimulates the sex drive and detoxifies the effects of drugs, alcohol and environmental pollutants.

No More Cold Feet

Folate, which is required for the metabolism of tyrosine, appears to be even more involved in the brain than originally thought. Dr. E. H. Reynolds found that the majority of people suffering from depression had deficiencies of folate.

Alcohol destroys folate in your body, and its deficiency has also been related to various circulation problems, particularly chronic coldness of the hands, feet and legs. Folate also has been used successfully in moderating lung damage from smoking and improving the vision of those suffering from peripheral vascular diseases.

A Safe, Natural Painkiller

D-phenylalanine (DPA), which is also required for the metabolism of tyrosine, has other rather impressive qualities as a brain nutrient. Dr. H. C. Sabelli found it works well as an antidepressant, relieving over 75% of patients suffering from this sad mood disorder.

Dr. S. Ehrenpreis posted some dramatic results using DPA as a painkiller in a study published in the journal Advanced Pain Research & Therapy. He found that patients who no longer responded to drug-type painkillers could find relief if DPA was added to the anti-pain regimen. People with whiplash, back injuries and arthritis responded more quickly, and the longer they took DPA, the better it worked.

Protects Against Pollutants

The final brain nutrient you need is cysteine. Its deficiency apparently triggers emotional outbursts, while supplementation calms the nerves. Generally, cysteine is a powerful antioxidant and detoxifies.. It was used extensively in treating people exposed to the 1985 giant chemical spill in Bhopal, India, which killed over 200 people.

Each day we are exposed to more and more environmental pollutants, so taking a detoxifying nutrient daily is very prudent. Cysteine is commonly used in treating bronchitis and should be taken regularly by smokers and those exposed to smoke because it protects the lungs.

Dead Brain Cells Don't Grow Back

Unlike other parts of the body where old cells die and new ones are built daily, brain cells do not regenerate. You must protect what you have. Fewer brain cells means less memory.

Memory is a key factor in thinking because you must be able to recall experiences from the past in order to make decisions about the present and the future.

Life Is Worthless With A Muddled Brain

Imagine how vulnerable financially you would be if you were senile. Imagine what a burden you would be on your loved ones. Imagine how awful it would be to live every day with a muddled mind' not grasping what was going on around you.

Thankfully, the recent scientific discoveries I've outlined in this article make it possible for you to remain alert with a good memory and awareness until you die. Feeding the brain what it needs daily is all that it takes.