MEMORY IMPROVEMENT - DIET

Diet

Healthy fruits and vegetables

Research suggests that what food we eat can influence memory processing. Glucose, flavanoids, fat and calories all affect memory areas of the brain.

·          Flavonoids and photochemicals mainly found in plant-based foods known for their antioxidant activity and are found to improve memory.

The main dietary groups of flavonoids are:

 flavonols , found in onions, leeks and broccoli

 flavones found in parsley and celery

isoflavones found in soybean and soya products

flavanones found in citrus fruit and tomatoes

flavanols which are abundant in green tea, red wine and cocoa

 anthocyanidins whose sources include red wine and berry fruits.

Human and animal research using flavonoids such as grapes, tea, cocoa, blueberries, as well as ginkgo bilobo extracts, have all shown beneficial effects on mental performance. Flavonoids interact with brain - derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), a neurotrphin important to long-term potentiation (LTP), to improve human memory by enhancing neuronal function, stimulating neuronal regeneration (neurogenesis) and protecting existing neurons against oxidative and metabolic stress.They also interact with a signalling pathway increasing neurotrophin  proteins, synaptic strength between neurons and synaptic plasticity. Human brain-imaging studies demonstrate that when consuming flavanol-rich cocoa, there is an increase in cortical blood flow, important to the hippocampus for facilitation of neurogenesis. Flavonoids are suggested to be used as a dietary intervention to improve memory as they are able to enhance neuronal function, stimulate neuronal regeneration and protect existing neurons.{Rwehumbiza, Respicius (2010)}

·         Glucose. Research has suggested that glucose, a major source of energy used by the central nervous system and transported from blood to brain for cognitive functions, may enhance memory processing by altering neural metabolism and neurotransmitter synthesis in the brain.Glucose influences the synthesis of hippocampal acetylcholine (ACh), an essential neurotransmitter in the brain.{Rwehumbiza, Respicius (2010)}

As a person ages, their body's ability to utilize glucose decreases. Studies on glucose and memory have indicated that moderate increases in glucose levels may enhance memory formation in both animals and humans and may play a major role in memory deficits found in aging, healthy young subjects, and people with Alzheimer's disease and Down syndrome A dose-response relationship for glucose effects on memory was found to represent an inverted-U, in which moderate doses enhance memory while higher doses impair it. Eating meals more frequently during the day can aid in maintaining moderate blood glucose levels, which provides the brain with a consistent source of high energy.{Rwehumbiza, Respicius (2010)}

·          Fats: Animal studies have shown that diets rich in saturated fats, hydrogenated fats and or cholesterol can impair cognitive performance, memory and hippocampal morphology. These rats produced more errors in working memory maze tasks and indicated a loss of dendritic integrity in the hippocampus as seen from reduced hippocampal staining and inflammation. Human studies on Alzheimer's disease (AD) can be used to suggest that saturated fats, cholesterol, high calorie diets that are vitamin and antioxidant deficient promote the onset of the Alzheimer's disease whereas diets high in mono- and polyunsaturated fatty acids as well as omega-3 fatty acids however may decrease the risk of AD. Individuals with high cholesterol diets have also been seen to increase risk of AD, while those taking cholesterol-lowering drugs may have a decreased risk.

·         Calories: High calorie diets have been found to increase the risk of Alzheimer's disease; Caloric restriction can improve memory by providing a protective function which reduces the amount of neuronal dysfunction and degeneration. Moving away from a high calorie diet can improve memory by producing brain- derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) that enhances memory through synaptic growth and protection.

Data from studies suggests that diets low in saturated fat, cholesterol and calories may reduce the risk of Alzheimer's disease (AD), may aid in protecting and improving memory.