Some of you have already developed mild age-related memory loss, based on either your performance in the memory tests that I described in the first chapter, or your own awareness that your memory is significantly worse compared to how it used to be a few years ago. But even if you fall into the category of those with mild memory loss, you can still employ components of the Memory Program with good results. Although people in their forties and fifties will benefit the most by adopting all the elements in the Memory Program, those among you who are sixty-plus will also gain by using these approaches.
Customize Your Memory Program
You should tailor the Memory Program to your own needs. For example, it is too expensive and cumbersome, and doesn’t make a whole lot of sense, to take a medication cocktail of ginkgo biloba, vitamins A, C, and E, donepezil (Aricept), phosphatidylserine, selegiline, a COX II inhibitor like Celebrex or Vioxx, melatonin, and estrogen. Rational, practical choices among these various options are required. I will discuss the pros and cons of these choices, taking into account differences among individuals that will include a careful analysis of the risk-benefit ratio for each one of you. In the chapter that describes the entire Memory Program in detail later in the book, the optimal strategies within the program are specifically targeted for different groups of people:
1. People with mild memory loss versus people with currently normal memory who wish to prevent future loss.
2. People in the age group forty to fifty-nine versus those who are sixty and older, each described separately for the above two groups.
3. Men and women, described separately for each of the above categories.
This classification will help you develop and implement an individualized program for yourself to fight age-related memory loss. Before you go through the rest of the book, you should be clear as to whether you have a normal memory or already suffer from mild memory loss. Base this judgment mainly on your memory test performance in chapter 1 and don’t rely only on your own subjective evaluation or the opinions of family and friends. I frequently return to this distinction in the rest of
the book, and knowing whether you have a normal memory or mild memory loss will help you decide which advice does and does not apply to you.
Taken From: The Memory Program How to Prevent Memory Loss
and Enhance Memory Power
