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Of all the things I've lost, I miss my mind the most. --From a bumper sticker spotted in Berkeley, California Medical school, as I remember it, was a seemingly endless blur--a procession of days crammed full of powerful images of disease and healing, life and death. One day you'd be in surgery, holding retractors during a coronary bypass; the next might find you administering electroencephalograms (EEGs) or delivering babies. It was sort of like a marathon showing of ER reruns, except these episodes were all too real. You'd catch a little sleep, then jump right back into the maelstrom as the succession of intense dramas started all over again. Of all the images that bombarded my senses during my medical school years, one remains indelibly etched in my memory. I want to share it with you because it so vividly illustrates why a healthy brain is indispensable for all else that life has to offer. It happened during my junior year. After two years of basic science courses, my classmates and I had finally begun our clinical training. At last, we were seeing real live patients rather than reading about them in textbooks. My first assignment happened to be the neurology service. Rounds were usually held on the university hospital's neurology ward, but on one appropriately gloomy wintry day, we assembled at a chronic care facility far removed from the main campus. I'm sure we looked for all the world like a flock of eager ducklings as we trundled along behind Bob Townsend, M.D., our neurology professor. After looking in on an assortment of chronic neurological patients, Dr. Townsend stopped abruptly in front of the closed door to a private room. "Please don't talk while we're in this room. I'll explain later." Then he held open the door, and one by one, we quietly filed in. Inside, the scene was surreal--and depressing. The room was darkened and eerily quiet. A gaunt old man in a white hospital gown lay flat in the bed, passive and motionless. His head was propped up on a pillow, and he stared, expressionless, in the general direction of a television set that was turned on but had no picture or sound--just the fuzz you get when a channel isn't tuned in. He didn't react to our presence. No body movement, no utterance, no blink--just a sunken, glassy gaze. The darkened room, the lifeless yet living man, Dr. Townsend's secrecy--all of it gave me the willies. My classmates also suspected something unusual was up. They began shooting furtive glances back and forth, as if to say, "This is weird. What gives here?" Though the man was clearly alive, he was, in a sense, more dead than alive. Obviously not in a mood to linger, Dr. Townsend performed one of the fastest and most perfunctory neurological exams I've ever seen. Almost as soon as we had entered the room, we were back outside in the hall. Dr. Townsend quickly slipped into teaching mode, grilling our eager little group on comas and strokes and brain syndromes. We weren't the first group of would-be clinicians he'd seen, nor would we be the last. He rapidly moved us through a series of questions designed to help us understand what living brains do, what dead--or dying--brains cannot do, and how all this applied to the patient we had just seen. Dr. Townsend then explained that this gentleman had totally lost his cognitive functioning as a result of cerebrovascular disease. In effect, atherosclerosis had choked off the blood supply in the arteries feeding his brain. He had been totally unresponsive for years. "Because he is unable to respond, we don't know whether he can see, hear, smell, or think. That is why I asked you not to talk. It is possible, though rather unlikely, that he could regain those functions. "Only his cognitive centers are affected--not the vegetative ones, which control bodily functions like heart rate and digestion," Dr. Townsend continued. "His vital signs are normal. It is possible that he could perceive or experience stimuli, like our conversation. But because he is totally unable to react to stimuli by initiating voluntary motor behavior, he has absolutely no way of responding. So we don't really know whether he is thinking and, if he is, what he's thinking about." When we were just about to move along to the next room, Dr. Townsend--almost as an afterthought, in a tone that seemed to seek immunity for him and the rest of us from a similar, cruel fate--quietly revealed the man's identity: "Gentlemen, that was Theodore Jenkins." What a shock. We all knew the name, but no one had recognized him. That shell of a man was none other than the recently retired president of the university. He had been a mental giant, a man of the most impeccable intellectual credentials. His brain had served him well. On the way home, a profound sadness came over me. I wondered how such a fate could befall such an intelligent, accomplished man. To be alive without a functioning brain seemed a horrendous fate. Why did his physical body have to live out its life span when his brain had already checked out? To see him incapacitated that way triggered a cascade of strong feelings and a myriad of questions about life and death. Beyond these ponderables, certain facts were clear. Dr. Jenkins was a victim of medical ignorance. He had suffered the consequences of cerebral atherosclerosis (hardening and clogging of the arteries that feed the brain) and age-related cognitive decline in the days before we knew that these conditions could be prevented through diet, supplementation, and exercise. Deprived of these protections, the arteries feeding his brain had gradually narrowed, choking off the blood supply to his brain cells. Free radicals took over, clobbering his brain cells into oblivion. Thanks to what we've learned in the 30 or so years since this scenario played out, we now have the ability to dramatically improve cerebral health and age-proof the brain. The information in this chapter can help you protect that vital resource between your ears so you can keep your mind's fires burning as brightly as possible for as long as possible. A Changing Mind Have you ever felt as if your brain has turned into a huge sieve with really large holes? Or maybe a great big bowl of oatmeal? Well, you're not alone. Most of us, by the time we reach age 40 or so, have begun to experience at least a few of the early signs of what neuroscientists call age-related cognitive decline (ARCD). About the time that the gray hair and wrinkles appear, the lights upstairs start dimming a bit as well. It's not as if we've suddenly become stupid. Our minds simply aren't as nimble as they used to be. ARCD is the loss of cerebral function caused by the death or dysfunction of nerve cells (neurons) in an aging brain. It causes us to forget names and phone numbers, misplace keys, and enter rooms without remembering why. ARCD occurs as a result of cumulative free radical damage to
nerve cells--or, more specifically, to the cells' membranes. The less
antioxidant protection you have, the faster ARCD progresses. You can beef
up your free radical defenses by eating plenty of antioxidant-rich foods
and avoiding all free radical-promoting foods. Supplementing 10|509>, Maintaining optimum brain health for as long as possible is the highest priority of anti-aging medicine. When you stop to think about it, brain aging determines overall age: You can literally be no younger than your brain. For all practical purposes, when your brain goes, you go with it. Of course, occasional memory lapses are an inevitable aspect of life with a brain. But these embarrassing moments happen more often with age, as one by one those irreplaceable brain cells sputter and fail. Gradually, the slowing of mental function becomes global, affecting everything from reaction time to learning rate to recall speed. The Brain Reborn Now for the good news: Age-related declines in thinking, learning, concentration, memory, and overall cerebral function are not inevitable. Cognitive enhancers--what I call smart pills or neuronutrients--can put the kibosh on ARCD, jet-propel your thinking, elevate your IQ, hot-wire your memory, and age-proof your brain. These are breathtaking and lifesaving discoveries. Cognitive enhancers are for real, and they are here to stay. Advances in neurochemistry, molecular biology, and cell biology have unraveled profound secrets of nerve cell structure and function, culminating in astonishing and historic breakthroughs. The "smart supplements" described in this chapter can speed the transmission of messages between nerve cells, amplify mental clarity, increase intellectual process, and upgrade memory. In most cases, ARCD can be prevented and in some cases even reversed, restoring the brain power that's so important to long-term health and vitality. Best of all, the cognitive enhancers are safe, naturally occurring, food-derived nutrients that meet all of our requirements for Renewal. They protect brain cells from free radical damage. And when protection fails, they facilitate the repair of injured cells. The result is rejuvenation of the central nervous system. Flagging functions are restored to normal, bestowing heightened cleverness and creativity and improved intellect--in short, more cerebral pizzazz. The result: a brain and central nervous system that age much more slowly. Anatomy of the Brain The brain is unique. It serves as the chief executive officer of your central nervous system, which uses electrical and chemical impulses to send and receive messages in a body-wide communications network. Without it, you'd be in a pickle. Your brain has trillions of nerve cells. One cubic centimeter of brain tissue, about the size of a sugar cube, contains several million cells. While every type of cell is amazing in its own way, nerve cells are especially remarkable. Why? Because they carry the messages that contain our thoughts, our emotions, our impulses, our perceptions, and the sights, sounds, smells, tastes, and textures of the world around us. Though the architecture is decidedly different, each nerve cell has the same parts as other cells: an outer cell membrane; internal structures, or organelles (including the all-important energy-generating mitochondria), which are themselves surrounded by membranes; and a nucleus with DNA. Nerve cells perform all of the housekeeping functions that other cells do, such as nutrient absorption, energy production, protein and membrane synthesis, and waste removal. Nerve cells are very efficiently designed to accomplish the job of rapid communication. They are very long and thin, like wires (which isn't too surprising, since they also function like wires). They're arranged in cablelike bundles called nerves, which carry messages around the body. A nerve cell delivers its electrical message along a thin structure called an axon. If the body of a nerve cell were the size of a basketball, the axon would extend several blocks. A message travels along the axon at speeds of up to 300 miles per hour. That's fast. The end of the axon splits into branches. Each branch ends with a terminal bud, or synaptic nob. This is where chemicals called neurotransmitters are manufactured and released. Once a message reaches the axon's terminal bud, it triggers the release of a neurotransmitter. The neurotransmitter travels across a gap (called the synaptic cleft) to a "receiver" (called a dendrite) on the next nerve cell. There, the neurotransmitter triggers another electrical message, which whizzes off along the nerve cell. This chain reaction continues from one nerve cell to the next, until the message finally reaches its destination. The axon of each nerve cell has many branches, so it can establish contact with many dendrites on neighboring nerve cells. In fact, an axon may have connections to the dendrites of 150,000 or more nerve cells downstream. Those Amazing Membranes Membranes are the sifters and the winnowers of your biochemical soup. They decide what gets into and what goes out of cells. In the nervous system, the synaptic cleft--the gap between an axon branch of one nerve cell and a dendrite of another nerve cell--is where the action is. The area is dominated by membranes that play important roles in message transmission between nerve cells. For example, the terminal bud--itself a membrane--also contains large numbers of membrane-walled mitochondria. These mitochondria supply the energy necessary for the production of neurotransmitters. Likewise, membrane-bound sacks called vesicles hold neurotransmitters prior to their release. And on the other side of the synaptic cleft, a membrane covers the dendrite that receives the neurotransmitter molecules. When a nerve cell fires, the vesicle containing the neurotransmitter migrates to the inside of the terminal bud membrane and merges with it. The vesicle releases its neurotransmitter to the outside, spilling the molecules into the synaptic cleft. The molecules quickly hop across the gap to the dendrite membrane's receptor proteins on the other side. The spent neurotransmitter molecules are broken down by enzymes in the dendrite, and the fragments are sent back to the axon from which they came. There the fragments are reassembled into another neurotransmitter molecule. Because membranes act as the nerve cells' doors and walls,
keeping them healthy is a potent strategy for enhancing brain function.
Phosphatidylserine, Souped-Up Cerebral Function As an ambitious, fact-hungry young medical student, I fantasized about a pill that I could take to supercharge my brain. I wanted a mental edge so I could get better grades while cutting back on study time. Back then there was no such miracle medicine. Thirty years later, there is. And none too soon for me, since I'm entering my mid-fifties, when mental decline begins. As their understanding of ARCD has evolved, scientists have identified structures and molecules that become injured or depleted as we get older. Far-fetched as it may seem, we no longer have to watch helplessly as brain function--and with it character, personality structure, and joie de vivre--deteriorate with age. We can apply the quantum-leap scientific advances to improve mental performance and extend "brain span." The nutrients discussed in this chapter renew the brain and slow the cumulative damage that causes ARCD. They do this by:
I've devoted the bulk of this chapter to the four nutrients
that top my list of potent brain-boosters: phosphatidylserine (a fatty
acid), As you read about these brain-nourishing supplements, keep
in mind that they work best in the context of the complete Renewal
Anti-Aging Program: the Anti-Aging Diet, the Anti-Aging Supplement
Program, and the Anti-Aging Exercise Program. It has long been known that
optimum levels of vitamins, minerals, Phosphatidylserine: Guarding Against Cognitive Decline To grow older is to experience gradual cognitive erosion--a nibbling around the edges of brain power. We can lose up to half of our everyday memory, thinking, and reasoning capacities in the course of "normal" aging. Phosphatidylserine (PS) is an exciting new development in the study of brain function. A soy-derived supplement, PS renews aging brain cells and improves overall mental performance. It also plays important roles in brain energy, memory, and alertness. In effect, PS switches on a lightbulb in your brain. Doctors experienced in nutrition and/or anti-aging medicine prescribe PS as a treatment for ARCD. The nutrient can also be used as a preventive, to enhance mental processes in otherwise healthy individuals. PS supplementation helps regenerate stressed-out or damaged nerve cells, actually reversing defects in nerve cell message transmission. This is the quintessence of Renewal. PS benefits many brain functions that tend to decline with age: memory, learning, vocabulary skills, concentration, mood, alertness, and sociability. Students, professionals, seniors--practically anyone interested in maintaining and maximizing their mental abilities can benefit from taking PS. Clinical research indicates that PS is a premier candidate for inclusion in any program aimed at supporting cognitive function. How Does It Work? PS is a naturally occurring "good fat"--technically, a phospholipid (a fat with a phosphate group attached). A youthful brain makes sufficient amounts of PS on its own, but production declines with advancing age. The brain is particularly sensitive to low levels of PS. An older person with impaired mental function and depression almost certainly has a PS deficiency. PS can be found in the membranes of all cells, but it is
especially concentrated in the nerve cells of the brain. A cell's outer
and inner membranes are comprised of a double layer of phospholipid
molecules derived from In nerve cells, PS plays several important roles. As an essential building block of cell membranes, PS enhances membrane integrity and stimulates membrane repair. It also supports the functions of several important membrane proteins. These large protein molecules station themselves like sentries along the phospholipid wall, where they perform a variety of important functions necessary for nerve cell message transmission. For example, they process enzymatic and hormonal signals from outside the cell. They catalyze the nerve cell's mitochondrial energy production. They facilitate the release of neurotransmitters. And they support the functions of the proteins in the neurotransmitter receptors of dendrites. PS itself assists in neurotransmitter synthesis, release, and activity. It also serves as a reservoir of raw material for the manufacture of eicosanoid (prostaglandin) molecules, which carry hormonal messages to nearby cells. PS has a phenomenal ability to boost learning rate,
concentration, and memory. Though PS produces even stronger benefits when
combined with other neuronutrients (such as What Science Says Research focusing on PS has yielded results that are nothing short of astonishing. This miraculous nutrient rejuvenates just about every function controlled by the central nervous system. Several clinical trials involving thousands of subjects have demonstrated that PS fine-tunes the brain's biochemical environment. It effectively halts and even reverses the cognitive degeneration that results in ARCD and senility. It restores memory (informational, visual, and numeric), boosts concentration, improves mood, and quickens reflexes. In one U.S. study, volunteers between the ages of 50 and 75 with ARCD took 100 milligrams of PS three times a day for three months. The nutrient reversed the decline in name-face recognition skills by a statistical 12 years. In other words, the average scores attained by 64-year-olds rose to match the average scores attained by 52-year-olds. The people taking PS showed significant reductions in memory impairment, with those who had the worst memory lapses improving the most. Depression in older people and depressive mood changes during the fall and winter months (seasonal affective disorder) are particularly responsive to PS therapy. The nutrient also improves cerebral functioning in people with Alzheimer's disease or Parkinson's disease (although it won't cure either condition). Several studies have noted that the benefits of PS supplementation, even at levels as low as 200 milligrams per day, could persist for up to three months after people discontinue it. Your brain is not stupid, you know: It knows a good thing when it sees it. So when PS comes down the pike, your brain latches onto it, stores it, and even recycles it. That's why its effects linger. Guidelines for Supplementation Research has shown PS to be a remarkably safe nutritional supplement, noting no serious side effects. Why would there be? After all, PS is a friendly molecule. Your body makes its own, and the supplemental form comes from a natural source: soybean phospholipids. To start, take 200 to 300 milligrams of PS per day in divided doses--that is, 100 milligrams two or three times per day. Then after one month, switch to a maintenance dose of 100 to 200 milligrams per day. Because it's a food product, PS is compatible with all other foods and supplements. It does work best when used as part of a comprehensive anti-aging program that also includes proper diet, regular exercise, and supplementation of other brain nutrients. Your body has the genetic program to synthesize PS from these nutrients. But because synthesis involves several steps and consumes quite a bit of energy, it generates only modest amounts of PS. Supplementation is a more efficient means of achieving optimum levels of the nutrient. You can enhance the effects of PS by taking the nutrient's
precursors: Can you get PS directly from soy foods? Unfortunately, no. The amount of PS in soy is so small that you'd never be able to consume enough foods to reach therapeutic levels. When you start taking PS supplements, give them a chance to work. After all, rebuilding brain cells takes time. You won't turn into Einstein overnight. PS requires about a month to improve memory and several months to achieve peak results. (Let's hope that during the wait you won't forget why you're taking it.) If you stop taking PS, any memory enhancement that you've experienced will gradually fade after several months. Acetyl-L-Carnitine: Energizing Your Brain As you get older, your mental processes gradually decelerate. You think slower, write slower, drive slower, take longer to fill out forms, start losing to the kids at Scrabble. You want to hang on to as much brain power as possible for as long as possible. For protecting the brain from aging, nothing tops According to one researcher, "We don't know how much brain life extension we can get out of taking ALC, because nobody has been taking it supplementally for long enough to find out. But if animal studies are correct, we can expect a lot of extra 'brain years.' " The Multipurpose Neuronutrient ALC is remarkably versatile. An inventory of the nutrient's beneficial functions reads like a Renewal wish list. ALC also assists in the production of acetylcholine, one of
your body's main neurotransmitters. Acetylcholine production declines with
age, causing memory loss and cognitive decline. (The "acetyl" portion of
acetylcholine comes from But ALC goes beyond merely enhancing and maximizing brain energy and neurotransmitter production. For starters, it prevents age-related loss of nerve cells by shoring up brain structure. How does it do this? Once again, those all-important cell membranes loom large. As you age, your cell membranes go through certain changes, such as losing fluidity and elasticity because of free radical damage. These changes have long been considered irreversible. For a nerve cell, that's bad news. Because unlike all other types of cells, nerve cells can't replicate. You're born with a certain number of them, and once they're gone, they're gone. In chapters 2 and 3, I explained how the largest and potentially the most destructive free radicals are unleashed in the mitochondria during energy production, sort of like sparks from a fire. Since these particular free radicals hover right next to the mitochondrial membranes, they can easily oxidize the fats in these membranes--a process called lipid peroxidation--unless they are rapidly and efficiently snuffed out. (You can find out the rate at which lipid peroxidation occurs in your body by having your serum lipid peroxide level checked. This blood test can be performed at your local laboratory, but it requires a prescription.) The job of protecting the mitochondrial membranes falls to
ALC supports the mitochondria in another way as well: It repairs their run-down, worn-out membranes. In fact, ALC maintains the membranes of all nerve cell structures, including the terminal buds. The presence of optimum amounts of ALC in the body translates into a host of benefits for the brain. Scientists say that ALC "promotes membrane stability," "improves neuronal energetics," "improves neuronal repair mechanisms," and "restores age-related membrane changes." We can simply call it age-proofing the brain. The Research Verdict Many population studies have substantiated the
brain-boosting powers of Of course, this was a relatively short experiment. A longer one would almost certainly produce even better results. For maximum benefit, I suggest a trial period of at least 60 and preferably 90 days. In another study, a group of senile patients took 1,500 milligrams of ALC daily for six months. They improved significantly in all parameters studied, including cognitive ability, motor activity, behavioral performance, and self-sufficiency. According to the researchers, patients achieved "an effective recovery of . . . quality of life and improved participation in family and social life." Other research has shown that ALC is highly effective at treating depression in older people, particularly those with senility. It also slows (but doesn't reverse) the progressive deterioration associated with Alzheimer's disease. Does ALC have any benefit for younger people? To investigate the nutrient's ability to enhance attention span and reflex velocity, 17 men and women between the ages of 22 and 27 took 1,500 milligrams of ALC every day for a month. Ten of the study participants were involved in competition-level sports, while the remaining seven were sedentary. The researchers used special devices to evaluate reaction time to an auditory stimulus as well as learning time, as measured by speed and error rate in getting out of a video game maze. For comparison, the researchers also tested a second group of young people who had not taken ALC. The ALC-takers not only reacted faster but also solved the maze faster, and with a fraction of the number of errors. Their overall performance scores far surpassed those of the non-ALC-takers. Who Should Take It? I consider ALC an invaluable addition to the Anti-Aging Supplement Program. Anyone interested in improving their mental performance can benefit from ALC. This includes older people as well as students, businessmen and businesswomen, and people who are under stress or experiencing depression. The usual dose is 500 to 1,500 milligrams once or twice daily. (I take 1,000 to 2,000 milligrams a day.) In my practice, I recommend ALC to patients with ARCD, Alzheimer's disease, dementia, post-stroke amnesia, memory loss, Parkinson's disease, depression, and chronic fatigue syndrome. The dose is the same as above. Pregnenolone: Thanks for the Memories At a party not long ago, one of my more outrageous colleagues sidled over to me, looked me square in the eye, and said: "Ever since I started taking three-alpha-hydroxy-five-beta-pregnen-twenty-one, I've been able to remember its name. I tried stopping once, but then I forgot it." After pausing to give me time to wonder whether he had
finally lost it, he laughingly explained that this is the chemical name
for If you're in the market for a memory upgrade, I have taken 100 to 200 milligrams of Chapter 33 offers a more detailed discussion of Ginkgo: Plant Food for Thought Although a relative newcomer to the American
nutritional medicine scene, We now know that You'll find dosage recommendations for On the Horizon The four nutrients profiled above represent the most
promising and most potent of the known brain rejuvenators. A number of
other supplements have shown potential for restoring and preserving brain
function. These include I've already incorporated a few of these into my personal anti-brain-aging program, which I outline below. Expect to read and hear more about this new wave of neuronutrients in the months and years ahead. A Game Plan for Your Brain The nutritional cognitive enhancers presented here are not panaceas for all brain disease, but they do slow the progression of disease and salvage brain function. In clinical trials, even patients suffering from degenerative neurological disorders have shown improvement when given supplements of these neuronutrients. But you needn't suffer from ARCD or any brain disease to benefit from neuronutrients. In fact, prevention is one of the most compelling reasons for beginning an anti-brain-aging program. The beauty of the natural neuronutrients is that they don't just suppress symptoms to create the illusion that all is well, which is how fluoxetine hydrochloride (Prozac) and its chemical cousins operate. You're actually supplying the exact substance that an ailing brain needs to heal itself, simultaneously solving--at least in part--the puzzle of cognitive dysfunction. To age-proof my own brain, I've devised the following supplement program.
Just how much of each supplement I take each day depends on a variety of factors--how stressed I feel, for example, or how much exercise or sleep I've gotten. As you become accustomed to these supplements, you'll learn to adjust your daily dosages, too. In addition to the supplement program, I adhere to a low-fat vegan diet and exercise daily. Eating only plant-derived foods reduces my exposure to oxidized fat molecules. These free radicals cause atherosclerosis in the cerebral blood vessels--the primary causative factor behind ARCD and senility. Regular workouts keep me mentally sharp, preserve my reaction time, and improve my memory. Physical gymnastics support mental gymnastics. The neuronutrients improve the odds that my brain will not give out before my body. This in itself makes them worth taking. But I also value the clarity of thought and the heightened consciousness that they sometimes provide. As Rollo May writes in his book The Courage to Create: "Genuine creativity is characterized by an intensity of awareness, a heightened consciousness." I don't always experience this, mind you. After all, real life still has its ups and downs. But there are days when a state of pure joy reigns. I'm spending much more of my time in this delicious realm. By taking the neuronutrients, so can you. * Now that you know how to take care of your brain, let's move south to your intestinal tract. That's where nutrients get absorbed into your bloodstream. If your intestinal tract isn't in the pink, chances are that the rest of your body isn't, either. So how do you keep it healthy? Fill up on fiber, for starters. The next chapter gives you the details. |