Top Nutrients for Memory Support

There may not be a single health issue people fear more than memory loss and cognition dysfunction as we age. What's even scarier is that with billions spent on research, there is still no cure. At least the medical community has come around to thinking that diet and lifestyle plays the most crucial part for prevention. While we have focused on diet and lifestyle many times on this blog, we have not listed what we believe are the top nutrients for memory and cognition.

Stalwarts (in alphabetical order)

• B-Vitamins
  B-12, B-6, and Folate especially
  
• Co-Enzyme Q10
  If family history, a dose between 200-400 mg. is essential. If you have the disease, you must take at least 1200-1600 mg.
  
• Fish Oil (including Cod Liver Oil)
  
• Magnesium
• Melatonin
  It is also a great sleep aid.
  
• Phosphatidyl Choline
  Its precursor, citicoline, may be even more effective.
  
• Progesterone
  Because it is a hormone, take only if you are deficient. Use only the natural form and applied topically.
  
• Vitamin D
  Your optimum vitamin D blood level should be 50 or above.
  

Very Promising

• Lithium
  Trace mineral long-used for mental disorders. Can be taken in small amounts supplementally through your physician, pharmacist, or licensed health professional.
  
  
• Citicoline
  Citicoline is a brain chemical that occurs naturally in the body. It is taken by mouth as a supplement or given by IV or as a shot. Citicoline is used for Alzheimer's disease and other types of dementia, head trauma, cerebrovascular disease such as stroke, age-related memory loss, Parkinson's disease, and glaucoma.
  
  Citicoline was originally developed in Japan for stroke. It was later introduced as a prescription drug in many European countries. In these countries it is now frequently prescribed for thinking problems related to circulation problems in the brain. In the US, citicoline is marketed as a dietary supplement.
  
  Citicoline seems to increase a brain chemical called phosphatidylcholine. This brain chemical is important for brain function. Citicoline might also decrease brain tissue damage when the brain is injured.
  
  Researchers at the American Society of Clinical Psychopharmacology (ASCP) Annual Meeting think these changes in cognition include improvement in attention, perhaps due to an increase in brain dopamine levels. The investigators of one study found that participants who received low- or high-dose citicoline showed improved attention, demonstrating fewer commission and omission errors on the CPT-II compared with the placebo group. The improvement was quite noteworthy for the 250-mg dose and 500-mg dose, after just 28 days.
  

References
Citicoline
http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/726028_6
http://stroke.ahajournals.org/content/42/1_suppl_1/S40.abstract
http://stroke.ahajournals.org/content/42/1_suppl_1/S33.abstract
http://www.jrms.gov.jo/Portals/1/Journal/2011/pdf%20mar2011/98-09%20Mubaidin.pdf (essential tremor)
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0022510X10003941
Progesterone
http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/715373