About 25% of adults over 50 take a supplement to improve brain health. But does it actually help?

[Farooqji]

health.harvard.edu/mind-and...

[Bolt_Upright]

I think they would like to take away our right to try.

" Forget about those over-the-counter products that promise better memory.

A recent survey found that about 25% of adults over age 50 take a supplement to improve their brain health with the promise of enhanced memory and sharper attention and focus.

The problem? There’s no solid proof any of them work.

The main issue with all over-the-counter supplements is lack of regulation. The FDA doesn’t oversee product testing or ingredient accuracy — they just look out for supplements that make health claims related to the treatment of specific diseases.

In terms of brain health, this means a supplement manufacturer can claim a product helps with mental alertness or memory loss — but not that it protects against or improves dementia or Alzheimer’s disease. This way manufacturers don’t have to back up any claim that their product is effective."

[rhyspeace12 in reply to Bolt_Upright]

I've been taking phosphatidyl serine for several years and it helps my memory and makes me feel calmer. It's the main ingredient in Prevagin and so forth, for a lot less. I get it on Amazon.

[chartist]

I think this meta analysis of RCTs says they are 100% wrong :

ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articl...

A relevant quote from this meta analysis of RCTs using melatonin for cognitive decline :

' The current work is the first study using the NMA statistics technique to provide a view of the potential benefits of melatonin for Alzheimer’s dementia compared to the other FDA-approved dementia-managing medications. In the current NMA, we found medium-term low-dose melatonin (MLT) to be associated with the highest post-treatment MMSE among all of the investigated medications in the participants with Alzheimer’s dementia. This finding did not change after focusing on RCTs with medium-term treatment duration. Furthermore, the significantly beneficial effects on cognition of MLT were still found when focusing on RCTs that excluded concomitant medications. MLT was also associated with the highest post-treatment quality of life in the participants with Alzheimer’s dementia. All of the investigated exogenous melatonin supplements were associated with similar acceptability with respect to the drop-out rate or rate of any adverse events reported, as was the placebo. '

Based on this meta analysis, I think whoever wrote that article has it backwards as this MA shows that melatonin out performed all of the investigated medications. They should be ashamed for publishing such an article!

This post I put up last month clearly shows that Benfotiamine is beneficial for dementia :

healthunlocked.com/cure-par...

Here is a relevant quote from the study I discussed in that post :

' The trial tested whether a twelve-month treatment with benfotiamine would delay clinical decline in amyloid positron emission tomography (PET)- positive patients with amnestic mild cognitive impairment MCI (MMSE ≥ 26) or mild AD (26>MMSE>21) compared to placebo (52). The primary clinical outcome was Alzheimer's Disease Assessment Scale-Cognitive Subscale (ADAS-Cog-11) and secondary outcomes were the clinical dementia rating (CDR) score and brain glucose uptake measured by fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG)-PET. The trial showed that benfotiamine at a dose of 600 mg per day is safe and very well tolerated in patients with early AD. The treatment delivery achieved a 161-fold mean increase in blood thiamine. In the intent to treat population(ITT), the benfotiamine arm showed 43% reduction in the ADAS -Cog decline of the placebo group (p = 0.125), with a larger effect size in the CDR where the benfotiamine arm was 79.2% less than the decline in the placebo arm (P = 0.0129) (66). '

' Plasma measures from study participants revealed multiple metabolites/lipids as novel potential biomarkers that might be pharmacologically responsive to benfotiamine treatment. Two dozen biomarker candidates including thiamine, tyrosine, tryptophan, lysine, and 22 lipid species, mostly belonging to phosphatidylcholines reflected reversal of changes related to AD progression. The results suggest potential mechanistic pathways that underlie the benefit of benfotiamine in AD (71). '

Here is a study for Citicoline that further shows how wrong they are with their ridiculous article and exactly how shameless they are :

ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articl....

Here is a relevant study quote :

' Citicoline is able to potentiate neuroplasticity and is a natural precursor of phospholipid synthesis, or rather serves as a choline source in the metabolic pathways for biosynthesis of acetylcholine. Several studies have shown that it can have beneficial effects both in degenerative and in vascular cognitive decline. '

Compare that to the current meds they have for AD, Donepezil, Galantamine and Rivastigmine. To add insult to injury, these are the side effects for Donepezil :

WARNING : It will take awhile to review this list of side effects associated with use of Donepezil. When you get done reviewing this list, go look up the side effects for melatonin, citicoline and benfotiamine.

More common

Diarrhea

loss of appetite

muscle cramps

nausea

trouble in sleeping

unusual tiredness or weakness

vomiting

Less common

Abnormal dreams

constipation

dizziness

drowsiness

fainting

frequent urination

headache

joint pain, stiffness, or swelling

mental depression

pain

unusual bleeding or bruising

weight loss

Rare

Black, tarry stools

bloating

bloody or cloudy urine

blurred vision

burning, prickling, or tingling sensations

cataract

chills

clumsiness or unsteadiness

confusion

cough

decreased urination

difficult or painful urination

dryness of mouth

eye irritation

fever

flushing of skin

frequent urge to urinate

high or low blood pressure

hives

hot flashes

increase in sexual desire or performance

increased heart rate and breathing

increased sweating

increased urge to urinate during the night

irregular heartbeat

itching

loss of bladder control

loss of bowel control

mood or mental changes, including abnormal crying, aggression, agitation, delusions, irritability, nervousness, or restlessness

nasal congestion

pain in chest, upper stomach, or throat

problems with speech

runny nose

severe thirst

shortness of breath

sneezing

sore throat

sunken eyes

tightness in chest

tremor

troubled breathing

wheezing

wrinkled skin

Incidence not known

Back, leg, or stomach pains

bleeding gums

chest pain or discomfort

coma

convulsions

dark urine

difficulty breathing

fast or irregular heartbeat

fatigue

general body swelling

general tiredness and weakness

high fever

increased thirst

indigestion

light-colored stools

muscle pain or cramps

nausea and vomiting

nosebleeds

pains in stomach, side, or abdomen, possibly radiating to the back

pale skin

rash

seeing, hearing, or feeling things that are not there

seizures

severe muscle stiffness

severe nausea

slow or irregular heartbeat

stomach pain

sweating

swelling of face, ankles, or hands

tiredness

unusually pale skin

upper right abdominal or stomach pain

yellow eyes and skin

Symptoms of overdose

Convulsions (seizures)

increased sweating

increased watering of mouth

increasing muscle weakness

low blood pressure

severe nausea

severe vomiting

slow heartbeat

troubled breathing

Art

[mellebrewer in reply to chartist]

Art, would one take all three of these together or choose one?

[chartist in reply to mellebrewer]

I didn't post that to promote those for people to take, just to show the sheer stupidity of the article that clearly said there is no reason to consider supplements because there is no scientific proof that they help with memory or cognitive function.

As far as your question, it would depend on what you are trying to do. If you are trying to improve memory, you may find this interesting :

healthunlocked.com/cure-par...

Btw, this is still working very well in this person!

Art

[mellebrewer in reply to chartist]

Very interesting- and encouraging! Thank you for sharing!

[chartist in reply to mellebrewer]

You're welcome!

In case you didn't read part two, I deleted Amla extract because it was mainly being used for other health issues relevant to the lady that I was writing about and not so much for memory, and I replaced it with Citicoline because studies are stronger for Citicoline for memory. If you have any questions about that post, please post them in that thread so that we don't hijack this thread.

Art