Ginkgo biloba contains flavonoids, potent antioxidants that help protect your brain cells from free-radical damage. Ginkgo biloba improves circulation and delivery of oxygen and nutrients to the brain and has been shown to be helpful in combating memory loss, improving mental function, and alleviating depression, dizziness, ringing in the ears and headaches. The recommended dosage is 120-160 mg per day to be taken in three divided doses. You will probably need to give Ginkgo biloba at least six months to start seeing results.

Another herb to use to improve mental function is ginseng. Ginseng is an adaptogen, which improves the body's ability to adapt to a broad range of physical and biochemical conditions and stressors. Ginseng normalizes a wide range of body functions, improves immune response, and increases physical and mental energy and stamina. The recommended dose of ginseng is 500 – 600 mg of a liquid extract or 1 to 2 grams of the dried root. After you've taken it daily for two or three weeks, take a two-week break before starting up again.

Heart disease, cancer, high blood pressure, obesity, diabetes, senility, and Alzheimer's disease all share a single hormonal deficiency: low blood levels of DHEA, or dehydroepiandrosterone, a hormone that is produced by your adrenal glands. DHEA, often called the "mother hormone," is considered a precursor hormone, because the body uses it to make other hormones such as testosterone and estrogen.

DHEA has been shown in double-blind, placebo-controlled studies to have restorative and revitalizing effects. Unfortunately, natural DHEA levels decline dramatically with age. By age 70, your DHEA levels will likely be less than 30% of what they were at their peak in your 20s. And low blood levels of DHEA have been associated with many degenerative conditions.

DHEA is available without a prescription. I recommend that both men and women take between 25 and 50 mg of U.S. pharmaceutical-grade DHEA daily.

Cancer Selenium prevents cancer. It’s been proven time and time again. One study involved 1,312 patients with no melanoma skin cancer. Half received a placebo and the other half received 200 mcg of selenium for an average of 4½ years. Those who took the selenium had an overall decrease in all cancers of 35 percent compared to those on the placebo. Prostate cancer decreased by 63 percent, lung cancer by 46 percent, and colorectal cancer by 58 percent. The effect was so dramatic that the blinded part of the study was ended early so those on the placebo could be told the benefits of taking selenium. (JAMA 96;276:1957–1963)

Other research has now found that increasing levels of selenium could cut the incidence of bladder cancer by as much as 70 percent. And it also appears that breast cancer is far more prevalent in individuals with low selenium levels—and supplementation could lower those rates as well. (J Surg Oncol 80;15:67–70) (Mol Carcinog 99;26:213–225) A study in Arizona of 1,763 individuals found that those with lower levels of selenium were more likely to have polyps in their intestinal tract than those with higher levels of the mineral (33 percent compared to only 9 percent). Polyps are considered pre-cancerous. (J Natl Cancer Inst 04;96:1669–1675)

Arthritis This is another area where there hasn’t been enough research concerning selenium. We do know that with inflammatory arthritic conditions like rheumatoid arthritis there are consistently lower levels of selenium in the blood, and oftentimes a low intake of the mineral. Selenium is a part of not only antioxidant proteins, but anti-inflammatory ones as well. Along with omega-3 fatty acids, selenium can prove to be a godsend to many with rheumatoid arthritis. (Biol Trace Elem Res 96;53:51–56) (Ann Rheum Dis 94;53:51–53) (Semin Arthritis Rheum 97;27:180–185)

Most people should take of selenium supplement between 200–400 mcg/day. This has been proven to help in cancer, AIDS, and other conditions, on top of whatever one consumes in their diet, wouldn’t be a problem. Research consistently has shown these levels to be totally safe and effective.

Prior to this study, the general feeling was that once a neuron or nerve cell was damaged there was no way it could be repaired. While these studies involved mice, the findings have led to ongoing tests in China involving humans to see if EGCG can slow the progression of the disease. Many aspects in the mouse brain mimic ones found in humans. We would strongly suggest not waiting for the results from the establised medical to start but for you to including two to four cups of green tea in your current regimen. We have previously written about its protective effects when it comes to cardiovascular disease, cancer, and diabetes. Knowing that it might be the first natural substance to both prevent destruction and restore neuron function in the brain should be an incentive to start drinking green tea now.

Here's a superior new phytoestrogen product called PhytoEstrogen Ultra VitaCost Supplements . Each two soft gels contain 750 mg of borage seed oil, 600 mg of evening primrose oil and 150 mg of Novasoy, standardized to 40% isoflavones. Novasoy is the finest quality standardized isoflavone extract from ADM (Archer Daniels Midland Company) with high levels of genistein. The 60 mg of elemental isoflavones this product provides is considered the most effective level based on clinical studies. There are also numerous studies that prove the wide ranging benefits of gamma linolenic acid (GLA) both borage oil and evening primrose oil provide. These include healthy skin, joints, immune function and many other health benefits. This comprehensive product also contains standardized wild yam extract, organic flax seed oil, black cohosh and dong quai. Dong quai has been shown to help balance estrogen levels, whereas wild yam extract may help balance natural progesterone levels to promote enhanced mood. I have seen a lot of phytoestrogen products on the market, but none this complete. Sixty soft gels cost less than $14.

If you can get to an emergency room, that’s probably the best option but this is assuming a doctor will see you in time and assuming they know what to do. You can easily perform the same procedure a doctor would perform with no difficulty.

To move the foreign material that’s blocking the retinal artery, you need to rapidly increase the blood pressure flowing through the retina. The easiest way to do this is to firmly press your fingertips over the closed eye until you feel pain, then quickly release the pressure. As you apply pressure to the eye, the fluid within the eye collapses the retinal blood vessels, building up blood pressure. Upon release, the blood quickly surges through the small arteries and will dislodge the clot. It should then move further downstream into a narrower artery—improving the chances that only a smaller part of the retina will be harmed.

This technique generally restores almost all the lost vision immediately—and will be the same procedure utilized if you’re seen in the emergency room. (Lancet 07;370(9587):590) The event is an indication that there is an active clotting problem, so you should follow up with the use of the natural clot buster nattokinase, and taking the other necessary steps to reduce the formation of atherosclerosis throughout the body.

Protect or improve your emotional and cognitive health with regular physical activity. While exercise produces chemicals in the body that promote emotional well-being, inactivity can worsen depression, anxiety, and stress.
Replacing a "lost" activity is a key to staying active and feeling good about yourself.

For instance, if you can no longer run, you might try walking, biking, or swimming. If your favourite activity was dancing, you might try something else that combines social and physical activity, such as joining a water aerobics class. Protect or improve your emotional health by staying in touch with friends, family, and the greater community. Whether physically healthy or ill, people who feel connected to others are more likely to thrive than those who are socially isolated. Volunteering in your community and sharing your wisdom and talents with others is a gratifying and meaningful way to enrich your life

You should challenge your intellect on a daily basis. Read, learn a new musical instrument or language, do crossword puzzles, play games of strategy with others, learn a computer program, build a website or blog. Just like an active body, an active brain continues to develop and thrive, while an inactive brain loses its power over time.

Write down dates, names, and other important information that you easily forget. And use routine and repetition by keep daily items such as keys and eyeglasses in a specific place. Remember the names of those you meet and when you learn a new name, repeat it out loud in conversation or to yourself several times to commit it to memory. Regardless of your age, having too much on your mind can interfere with your memory of new information. And as you age, it's normal to take longer to retrieve new information from your memory banks.

Preventing depression, which is a common yet treatable cause of cognitive decline in older people. In addition to getting regular exercise and social contact, avoid the depressant effect of alcohol and sedative use, eat a healthy diet, and include meaningful activity in your daily life like learning, creating, working, volunteering. If depression strikes, seek professional help. Don't abuse antidepressant medication but if necessary use it and/or counselling as treatments for depression. If you find that a physical condition or disability is making your depressed mood worse, get the medical treatment you need. Too much life stress can take a toll on your body, your mind, and the people who are closest to you. In addition to getting regular exercise, you can take charge of how stress affects you by taking 20 minutes per day for relaxation time. Daily meditation is used for managing a spectrum of physical and emotional conditions, including high blood pressure, anxiety, depression, and chronic pain. Progressive muscle relaxation reduces muscle tension and general anxiety and may help you get to sleep. Full, deep breathing is a good way to reduce tension, feel relaxed, and reduce stress.

Positive thinking may help you live a longer, happier life. Whether it be through your faith in a loving, all-powerful God or your connection with nature or a collective unconscious, your sense of spiritual wellness can help you through personal trials and enhance your joy in living.

Lipitor is the best-selling drug in the United States. The Physicians’ Desk Reference includes mentions of the potential for liver toxicity, muscle aches, and weakness. However, nowhere does it touch on Lipitor’s cognitive side effects other than a one-word mention of amnesia in a long list of things purported to have occurred in patients. In the clinical studies on the drugs, all of which are funded by drug companies, benefits are emphasized while adverse effects are downplayed. To make matters worse, government and cardiology opinion leaders are so conflicted by drug money that they ignore red flags. This means that physicians and patients alike are much more likely to attribute declining memory or blackout spells to old age, dementia, stroke, or something other than to cholesterol-lowering drugs. In fact, if a patient complains about memory problems related to the drugs, the doctor will generally discount it.

It’s obvious that these drugs would adversely affect cognition if you think about it. Your brain contains an abundance of cholesterol and must have it to function properly. It serves to insulate the neurons and speed up nerve conduction. Recent research reveals that cholesterol is also required for the formation of synapses, the areas between neurons where nerve impulses are transmitted and received. In fact, cholesterol is so important that it is manufactured by the glial cells in the supportive tissues of the brain. Curbing the synthesis of a crucial compound has an inevitable downside effect. For example, both suicide and violent behavior have long been linked to very low cholesterol levels. Data from the ongoing Framingham Heart Study demonstrates that older people with low total cholesterol below 200 are much more likely to perform poorly on tests of mental function than those with cholesterol over 240.

These drugs harm the brain in other ways as well. The enzyme pathway that statins disrupt in order to suppress cholesterol production is also involved in the synthesis of coenzyme Q10, which is required for energy production in the mitochondria of the cells. When you block that enzyme, cholesterol goes down, but so does CoQ10, often by as much as 50 percent in some patients. Low CoQ10 are bad news as we have discussed before. The brain, heart, and skeletal muscles are the body’s most voracious consumers of energy, and it’s only natural that these are the systems most acutely affected by inadequate stores of CoQ10. Deficiencies in this essential compound are known to underlie the muscle problems and heart failure so often linked with statins. We all need to recognize that CoQ10 depletion is also a factor in cognitive dysfunction and other neurological consequences of these drugs. Statins also appear to adversely affect tau, a protein made by brain cells that helps maintain their structure. Abnormal tau proteins promote the formation of the neurofibrillary tangles that appear in the brains of patients with Alzheimer’s disease. Abnormalities in tau proteins are also linked to other neurodegenerative disorders, including Parkinson’s disease and ALS, or Lou Gehrig’s disease.

Many authorities now believe the link with cholesterol-lowering drugs is clear and unequivocal. Besides their serious side effects like cognitive problems, muscle pain and weakness, fatigue, liver damage, and even heart failure these drugs are just not all that helpful. While they lower cholesterol this should not be an end in itself but simply a means of reducing risk of heart attack and death from heart disease. In this regard, statins fail miserably. Not a single study shows that statins are beneficial for women at all. The largest randomized clinical trial of statins in women found that those who took Lipitor actually had 10 percent more heart attacks than women taking a placebo. Neither is there any research suggesting that these drugs prevent heart attacks or extend life for anyone over age 70. This includs both men and women at high risk of heart disease. The same goes for younger men who have a high cholesterol level but no other significant risk factors for heart disease. Satins just don’t help and the potential cardiovascular benefits are counterbalanced by equivalent increases in death and debility from other causes. All the same time millions of low-risk men, older men, and women of all ages take these drugs daily. The only people ever shown in clinical studies to benefit at all from these drugs are middle-aged men at high risk of heart attack. This high risk category is defined as having existing coronary artery disease, diabetes, disease of the blood vessels to the brain or extremities, or two or more risk factors, such as hypertension, heavy drinking and smoking. Even for this group, there are much safer and more effective ways to lower risk than these very dangerous drugs. If you are taking a cholesterol-lowering statin drug, discuss this information with your physician or find one who is willing to discuss it with you by visiting http://www.acam.org

References
Lipitor, Thief of Memory by Duane Graveline available at amazon.com,
Statin Drugs Side Effects, sold at http://www.spacedoc.net.
Elias PK et al. Serum cholesterol and cognitive performance
in the Framingham Heart Study. Psychosom Med. 2005 Jan-
Feb;67(1):XXIV–30.
Golomb BA. Impact of statin adverse events in the elderly.
Expert Opin Drug Saf. 2005;4(3):389–397.
Muldoon MF et al. Randomized trial of the effects of simvastatin
on cognitive functioning in hypercholesterolemic adults.
Am J Med. 2004;117(11):823–829.
Pfrieger FW. Role of cholesterol in synapse formation and function.
Biochim Biophys Acta. 2003 Mar 10;1610(2):271–280.
Physicians’ Desk Reference, 61st Edition. Montvale, NJ: Thompson
PDR; 2007.

Alzheimer’s disease is increasing at an alarming rate. Fluoride has been shown to enhance the bioavailability of aluminum. In simple terms, drinking fluoridated water allows more aluminum to be absorbed and cross the blood-brain barrier when it is deposited in the brain. The combination of fluoride and aluminum has been shown to cause the same changes in brain tissue found in Alzheimer’s patients. With floride everwhere it's time to beef up the niacin! There is obviously a very strong connection to a lack of niacin and the dreaded Alzheimer’s disease and you just can't get rid of the floride completely unfortunately.