The majority of older people, especially most women, gradually develop osteoporosis, which is a thinning and weakening of bone structure. If everyone said that there was no point in trying to prevent osteoporosis by using medications (estrogen, calcitonin, Fosamax, Evista) because it was, after all, “normal aging,” you can imagine how frail and stooped most elderly women would be and how many more falls and fractures would occur. Hypertension is another such example: a mild to moderate rise in blood pressure was usually left untreated on the grounds that it was quite “normal” for an older person. After doctors began to treat even mild hypertension routinely, using diet, exercise, and medications if necessary (this practice began barely two to three decades ago), the risk of heart disease, stroke, and death in these people diminished steadily over time. Mild hypertension is now considered a treatable, and not just normal, part of the aging process. The same holds true for high cholesterol levels. The next sea change: preventing memory loss due to the aging process.
Grandma Still Has a Great Memory
But what evidence is there to support the dim view that most people will suffer from memory loss as they grow older? As a matter of fact, there has been considerable research on this topic. While a few people retain a stellar memory into their eighties and nineties, studies of middle-aged and older people consistently demonstrate that the vast majority show a gradual decline in their memory over time. When someone says that his or her grandmother has an outstanding memory, it usually means that her memory is much better than that of other people of her age, but it may still represent a decline from when she was younger. This is what we have observed in the Memory Disorders Center at Columbia University. Therefore, since age-related memory loss is likely to affect most of you in the years to come, you should begin to implement preventive strategies at this stage. And if you already have
mild memory loss, you should get started on the Memory Program immediately.
The Three Main Elements in the Memory Program
There are three broad components to the Memory Program that I will describe in detail in the rest of this book:
1. Proactive general health measures that include a proper diet with appropriate nutritional supplements, regular moderate physical exercise, and practical training aids and techniques to boost your ability to remember.
2. Identifying specific causes of memory loss, many of which can be completely reversed if treated correctly. These include depression, stress, alcohol, hormonal abnormalities, nutritional deficiencies, and brain toxicity resulting from specific over-the-counter and prescription
medications. Preventing stroke, particularly ministrokes, is another important element in this part of the Memory Program.
3. Medications to improve your memory. These include a variety of promemory medications— alternative, over-the-counter, and prescription. Some of them are useful in preventing or treating mild memory loss, others have questionable utility, and still others either don’t work or are too toxic to use on a daily basis. I will review the evidence for and against each of these medications to help provide a sound basis for their inclusion or exclusion from the Memory Program.
Taken From: The Memory Program How to Prevent Memory Loss
and Enhance Memory Power
