Red Pill or Blueberry Pill? (Memories!)

Where are my keys!?

Researcher Elizabeth Loftus plays you a video of a car accident. Afterward, she asks you how fast the cars were going when they "smashed" into each other. Her research suggests you're more suggestible than you might like: you'll probably give a higher speed estimate when the question contains high-impact language like "smashed." You may go so far as to start spicing up the scene: throwing in some nice extras, like broken glass, or if you're Michael Bay, an explosion. This study confirms what those looking through their house for glasses already on their face already know: your memory bank isn't exactly Fort Knox. Your memory bank is more like one of those small-town banks out west with a single teller and no security that seems designed to be one stop on a cinematic desert crime spree.

He's content to admit the role of imagination.

Memory is prominent in the collective conscious this year, after some possible breakthroughs in Alzheimer's research has provided a new spark of hope for many. But the memory loss inflicted by a disease like Alzheimer's is very different from the simple, garden-variety unreliability of a healthy person's memory. Most people can do things to improve memory on a basic level, such as learning to remember the names of people you meet at a party (instead of avoiding referring to or interacting with them after you promptly forget their names). This doesn't address the problem of suggestibility and revisionism evidenced in the aforementioned study. There may be no cure for human nature. But what can we do to stop losing our car keys? Are there any healthy choices to improve memory? In other words: Is there anything you should be buying at Foods For Living for that pi-memorizing contest you eye up and never enter every year? (By the way, you may want to scope the competition first...)

Gingko biloba (銀杏)

The Gingko tree is a living fossil. It hasn't changed much since prehistory. Some extant specimens are estimated to be 2,500 years old. It's nearly poetic that this ancient witness to earth's story may be one of our best allies in the struggle for better memory. Gingko biloba is used in Europe for combating a type of dementia that involves reduced blood flow, since gingko seems to improve blood flow in small vessels. It may (or may not, more research is required—you'll see that this is a continuing theme) help slow and stabilize some forms of dementia. But it may not (or may) be beneficial for healthy brains. There are also some possible side effects, so (as always) consult your doctor before taking gingko.

Omega-3 fatty acids

People have been drinking fish oil (cod liver being the classic) for hundreds (if not more) years. Sea creature oil use for medicinal purposes goes back to Hippocrates, at least. (He preferred dolphin oil. This was before Greenpeace.) However, the benefits of fish oil (much like another, more serpentine oil), have fallen victim to gross hyperbole over the years. That said, many medical professionals acknowledge that the Omega-3s found in fish oil (and nuts and flax) may help the brain:

http://www.webmd.com/brain/news/20140122/fish-oil-might-guard-against-loss-of-brain-cells

http://health.howstuffworks.com/wellness/food-nutrition/facts/benefits-of-omega-33.htm

http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/depression/expert-answers/fish-oil-supplements/faq-20058143

http://www.mensfitness.com/life/new-study-can-fish-oil-pills-really-improve-your-memory

Acetyl l-carnitine

Again, the goal of taking this amino acid in the realm of memory has more to do with combating dementia than improving the average person's memory. Lots of outlets make bold claims about ALC—I suggest reading about it for yourself before diving in.

 Ginseng

High-powered stimulant and favorite of the Wu-Tang Clan, ginseng may also improve your brain generally, if not memory specifically. There is at least some clinical evidence of this. I'll quote the link here:

"...in a 2-month, double-blind, placebo-controlled study of 112 healthy, middle-aged adults given either ginseng or placebo, results showed that ginseng improved abstract thinking ability. However, there was no significant change in reaction time, memory, concentration, or overall subjective experience between the two groups. Another double-blind, placebo-controlled study of 50 men found that 8-week treatment with a ginseng extract improved ability to complete a detail-oriented editing task. A double-blind trial of 16 healthy males found favorable changes in ability to perform mental arithmetic in those given ginseng for 12 weeks."

Like most of the above, ginseng is available in pill form and herbal tinctures. As I said, ginseng is a stimulant. It's best treated like a polar bear: with due respect for its awesome might, and avoided when intoxicated.

Vitamin E

Feeling like something a little more classic? How about something with "vitamin" right in the name? Vitamin E, the fat-soluble tocopherol group... may be helpful for Alzheimer's. Maybe. But experts generally agree that Vitamin E isn't going to be your memory tonic, either.

Blueberries

I'd be blue too—no one else even cares.

Blueberries, that stepchild of the berry consumption world, have at least found a home in the brain-boosting community. (Look, I know you like blueberries. There are lots of likable stepchildren, too. Some of my best friends are stepchildren. But you rarely crave blueberries. There are fewer blueberry festivals, pies, etc., than those for its ruddier siblings, is all I'm saying.) There are lots of supplements, containing blueberries, with the goal of sharpening cognition and memory. Alas, the more you read, the more the focus seems to be on preventing mental decline with the onset of age. Obviously, that's great. But what about those of us who are still marginally young, and simply want to avoid acting like that guy from Memento?

The most effective choices are probably not something you can put in a pill: sleep, water, blah blah blah. But! If you want to sleep better, have I got some supplements for you! I'll make you a deal on this here Melatonin right now!

The bottom line: memory is like belly fat: no one's entirely happy with theirs, you can make a dent with supplements, and real advances are only possible with proper diet and exercise. Memory exercises, you say? Oh, yes.