Month: June 2011

Omega-3 and Your MemoryOmega-3 and Your Memory

This past weekend I was visiting with my mother-in-law. After asking me the same question a second time, she said, “my memory is not the same as it used to be.” That, coming from an 88 year-old woman, may be all to common for the elderly. However, when it comes to middle-aged individuals, that should not be the norm. So, is there a way to improve our memory, or at least keep it from failing us as we age? And is there a relationship between omega-3 and your memory? Let’s find out!

After reading the article below, “Ways to Improve Your Memory” by TriVita’s Chief Science Officer, Brazos Minshew, I believe there are certain things we CAN do to improve our memory and keep it sharp as we continue to age, just as Mr. Minshew mentions in his article. I’ve posted the complete article below.

Ways to Improve Your Memory by Brazos Minshew

OK, I will admit it if you will: I have forgotten the names of people while I was talking to them! I have lost my car keys, misplaced my glasses and turned the wrong way on my drive home.

How about you? Does it seem like your memory is playing tricks on you as you age? Well, there are reasons for that and very few of these reasons are related to diseases such as dementia and Alzheimer’s.

How to make a memory

Your memory is an amazing miracle. Every second your brain processes billions of bits of information from your five senses. You may consciously perceive only a very small percentage of this information because one function of your brain is to filter out unimportant information. The things you remember will usually be advantageous to you. For instance, remembering your wedding anniversary date or remembering where the speed trap is on your drive home.

Memory is classed into two basic groups:

1. Short-term: Short term memories are quickly forgotten when they are no longer important.
2. Long-term: Long-term memories may be divided into recent and distant.

Practicing or rehearsing can improve your memory by moving more information into long-term. For instance, when I am distracted by stress I will not be able to remember where I left my car keys. That information was deleted from my short-term memory. However, if I consciously say, “I am hanging my car keys on the hook,” I am far more likely to remember where they are.

How to keep a memory

Reduce stress

Stress kills your memory. The stress system is designed to ensure survival. It helps us fight off a snarling dog or flee from a snarling bear. As important as that is, humans do more every day than merely survive. If you want to have a good, healthy memory, do all you can to reduce the need for fight or flight stress responses.

Learn something new

As mentioned, practicing or rehearsing something enhances memory. So does learning something new. You see, memory is facilitated through the billions of neurons and synapses in your brain by patterns: retracing old patterns as well as creating new patterns. The more new things we master and the more connections we create, the better our overall memory will be.

If you want to remember your anniversary, start learning a foreign language. If you want to remember important names, learn a musical instrument. The more you learn – and the more you connect the old with the new – the better your overall memory will be.

How to nourish a memory

Certain nutrients help the memory to remain sharp. These nutrients fall into two basic categories: those that create brain structure and those that nourish brain function.

Your brain is made mostly of fat. And the majority of that fat is an Omega-3 called DHA. So, to have a healthy brain we need healthy fats. Your nerve cells convert some fats into functional nerve proteins called myelin. Formation of myelin requires dietary protein and Vitamin B-12. So, for healthy brain structure and function we need Omega-3 fats, healthy dietary protein and Vitamin B-12.

When the memory is activated, it creates heat in the brain. To fuel the memory, quench the heat and repair the daily wear-and-tear on your brain, you need antioxidants. Certain antioxidants target brain function specifically. An excellent antioxidant formula that is also anti-inflammatory comes from Betalain bioflavonoids with is in the nopal cactus, and also help improve circulation by fortifying healthy arteries.

What do you remember?

To recap: Occasional memory lapses usually indicate you are distracted by stress. Rehearsing things you want to remember and practicing new things you have learned can help you avoid stress-induced memory lapses. Because new behaviors create new pathways in your brain, learning something new such as a new language or musical instrument can improve your overall memory.

Stress kills your memory. Nutrients such as Omega-3, Vitamin B-12 and anti-inflammatory antioxidants such as those found in the nopal cactus fruit, can help rebuild and restore your ability to remember. With all of these tools at your disposal, you have access to the power of a healthy memory. ** End of Article **

From the Franklin Institute on the effects of stress and memory loss: “Chronic over-secretion of stress hormones adversely affects brain function, especially memory. Too much cortisol can prevent the brain from laying down a new memory, or from accessing already existing memories.”[1]

We need to keep our brains active, and reduce or eliminate stress. If not, we’ll wind up having increased memory loss and probably make the same statement as my mother-in-law. We only go through this life once, and it’s important to take care of our bodies by eating a healthy diet, exercising regularly, and taking on some activity that will keep your mind sharp. You may even want to think about supplementing your diet with one of the nutritional products from TriVita®.

If you would like additional information on Omega-3 Supplements or any other TriVita® nutritional product, you can Visit My TriVita Product Site to learn more. TriVita® ensures that you get the safest, freshest, and most effective products available on the market today. Each product is made under the strictest quality controls in the nutritional supplement industry.

Jeffrey Sloe
Independent TriVita Business Owner – #12871028
440-725-3729
Visit My TriVita Business Site

Resources:
[1] http://www.fi.edu/learn/brain/stress.html

The above information presented herein is intended for educational purposes only. These statements have not been evaluated by the FDA and are not intended to diagnose, cure, treat or prevent disease. Individual results may vary, and before using any supplements, it is always advisable to consult with your own health care provider.

Omega-3 Fatty AcidsOmega-3 Fatty Acids

I’ve been researching Omega-3 essential fatty acids for a few years now. It amazes me as to all the attention this all natural nutrient continues to receive. And, may I add that everything I’ve read, including the article posted below, is nothing short of good news.

From one of my previous article, I’ve reported that “most of us have heard about how fats are bad for us; however, this isn’t always the case. Some fats are very good for our ongoing well being. Two of these fats are Omega-3 and Omega-6. Not only are they good for us, they’re actually indispensable, which is why they are also called Essential Fatty Acids (EFAs).”

I’ve also mentioned that omega-3 fatty acids “are essential to human health but cannot be manufactured by the body.” And, I’ve concluded that if you’re not a fish eater, the best source of EFAs, then you may need to be taking a daily omega-3 supplement, such as the one developed by TriVita®.

I’ve also written about inflammation. Omega-3 is “one of the best nutrients to reduce runaway inflammation. This may be new to you, but runaway inflammation can lead to various serious health problems in the body involving the heart, arteries, lungs, joints and more.”

Now in a recent study, by-products of omega-3 has been proven to reduce pain, caused by inflammation, in laboratory mice. In the article I’ve posted below, omega-3 is also safer than any NSAID on the market. If you’re still skeptical, please read the entire article entitled, Pain May be Relieved by Omega-3 Byproducts, which was written by Craig Weatherby of Vital Choice.

Pain May be Relieved by Omega-3 Byproducts – Study in mice suggests that omega-3s from fish could ease pain … and form the basis of a safer new class of potent analgesic drugs

by Craig Weatherby

Non-prescription analgesic drugs like aspirin and ibuprofen make life more bearable for millions of people suffering from all sorts of pain.

But these so-called “non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs” – NSAIDs for short – come with serious side effects that kill or injure thousands of Americans every year.

Estimates of the annual deaths in the United States attributable to NSAIDs vary from 3,200 to higher than 16,500 (Cryer B 2005; Lanas A et al. 2005).

And among elderly Americans alone, there are an estimated 41,000 hospitalizations related to NSAIDs each year (Griffin MR 1998).

Current NSAIDs alleviate pain and inflammation by blocking the action of one or both of two cyclooxygenase (COX) type enzymes … either the COX-1 enzyme and/or the COX-2 enzyme, depending on the drug.

The COX-1 enzyme promotes inflammation, but drugs – such as aspirin, ibuprofen (e.g., Advil), and naproxen (e.g., Aleve) that block it can produce gastric bleeding, duodenal ulcers, kidney problems, and cardiovascular complications.

Scientists developed COX-2 drugs such as Celebrex and Vioxx to get around the adverse gastric effects of COX-1 drugs … but it turned out that they, too, can cause gastric injury.

And sharp increases in cardiovascular complications led to withdrawal of Vioxx from the market in 2004.

Clearly, it behooves the medical community to find alternative analgesics that do not work in the same way.

We’ve reported on the recent discovery that when we metabolize omega-3s from fish – especially DHA – they yield critical anti-inflammatory compounds called resolvins.

Now, the analgesic potential of omega-3-derived resolvins has gained significant support in a mouse study from the Pain Research Center at Brigham and Women’s Hospital … a teaching hospital of Harvard Medical School in Boston.

Mouse study yields encouraging findings on an omega-3 fat’s analgesic potential

A research team at Brigham and Women’s Hospital reports that resolvins that the body produces from the two key omega-3s in fish fat and human cells – DHA and EPA – may serve as a new class of painkillers for treating inflammatory pain (Xu ZZ et al. 2010).

The Boston-based group believes that resolvins reduce pain both by damping inflammation and by acting in the spinal cord to prevent and reverse chronic pain.

Inflammatory pain, such as arthritic and post-operative pain, is triggered by tissue injury, leading to the release of compounds that increase inflammation and also act within the spinal cord to promote persistent pain.

The researchers found that two resolvins – RvE1 (derived from EPA) and RvD1 (derived from DHA) – reduced inflammatory pain symptoms in mice.

The results showed that RvE1 was 10,000 times more potent at alleviating pain than omega-3 EPA itself, which suggests that resolvins should be targets for drug development.

Confirming the mechanism by which omega-3s can relieve pain indirectly, an artificial compound called Chemerin – which binds to the same cell receptor as RvE1 and RvD1 – also significantly reduced pain symptoms.

Aside from its proven anti-inflammatory effects, they also found that RvE1 acts in the spinal cord to prevent the persistent activation of nerve cells that underlies chronic pain.

Importantly – and unlike powerful analgesic opiate-class drugs like codeine or oxycontin – the analgesic effects of the omega-3-derived resolvins did not alter the animals’ normal sensitivity to pain.

We hope that findings like these will lead to a new class of analgesic drugs that are much safer but just as effective as NSAIDs.

The study was funded by grants from the National Institutes of Health.

Sources:

• Cryer B. NSAID-associated deaths: the rise and fall of NSAID-associated GI mortality. Am J Gastroenterol. 2005 Aug;100(8):1694-5.
• Griffin MR. Epidemiology of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug-associated gastrointestinal injury. Am J Med. 1998 Mar 30;104(3A):23S-29S; discussion 41S-42S. Review.
• Lanas A, Perez-Aisa MA, Feu F, Ponce J, Saperas E, Santolaria S, Rodrigo L, Balanzo J, Bajador E, Almela P, Navarro JM, Carballo F, Castro M, Quintero E; Investigators of the Asociación Española de Gastroenterología (AEG). A nationwide study of mortality associated with hospital admission due to severe gastrointestinal events and those associated with nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drug use. Am J Gastroenterol. 2005 Aug;100(8):1685-93.
• Singh G, Triadafilopoulos G. Epidemiology of NSAID induced gastrointestinal complications. J Rheumatol 1999;26(suppl):18–24.
• Tarone RE, Blot WJ, McLaughlin JK. Nonselective nonaspirin nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs and gastrointestinal bleeding: Relative and absolute risk estimates from recent epidemiologic studies. Am J Ther 2004;11(1):17–25.
• Tenenbaum J. The epidemiology of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs. Can J Gastroenterol. 1999 Mar;13(2):119-22. Review.
• Xu ZZ, Zhang L, Liu T, Park JY, Berta T, Yang R, Serhan CN, Ji RR. Resolvins RvE1 and RvD1 attenuate inflammatory pain via central and peripheral actions. Nat Med. 2010 May;16(5):592-7, 1p following 597. Epub 2010 Apr 11.

*** End of Article ***

If you believe that omega-3 fatty acids can help reduce pain caused by inflammation, taking a daily omega-3 supplement may be the right choice for you. Many omega-3 supplements contain a premier and unique blend of four different types of the most highly regarded Essential Fatty Acids (EFA) oils – Fish, Flaxseed, Evening Primrose and Perilla Seed. Some also use only contaminant-free fish oil that has undergone an intense distilling process.

Some omega-3 supplements meet the American Heart Association (AHA) guidelines, with only one daily dose. They provide the amount of Omega-3 recommended by the AHA for healthy individuals, as well as for those who have heart disease or the risk of it.

If you would like additional information on Omega-3 Supplements or many other nutritional product, you can Visit My TriVita Product Site to learn more. TriVita® ensures that you get the safest, freshest, and most effective products available on the market today. Each product is made under the strictest quality controls in the nutritional supplement industry.

Jeffrey Sloe
Independent TriVita Business Owner – #12871028
440-725-3729
Visit My TriVita Business Site