Hormonal changes and stress are two of the main factors influencing cognitive functions in elderly population. Cognitive difficulties include memory loss and mild cognitive impairment, two factors frequently related to Alzheimer's disease and dementia. In every culture and with every tradition we can see different remedies for different ailments and diseases, even for memory and retention.

In some areas of Europe and some Arabic countries raisins were claimed to be a good memory enhancers, in others as India, plants as Bacopa monieri, known over there as Brahmi, are thought to be also incredibly good to improve memory and retention, others think Rosemary oil is the top natural memory enhancer, but what scientific evidence we have regarding all these claims.

Some have even tried to improve memory and study skills with self-Hypnosis and subliminal learning, as Dr. David Illig illustrated in his book of the same title, where he shows how to improve the ability to store and retrieve study material and how to improve memory by using self hypnosis, but this article will try to document as much as possible the scientific evidence and clinical data available on some of the purported claims about natural products said to be very good memory enhancers. Image left: Bacopa monnieri by Robert Lafond under Creative Commons license  (CC BY-SA 2.0).

BACOPA MONNIERI

Family: Plantaginaceae
Genus: Bacopa
Common name: Baby's tears, Centella asiatica, Waterhyssop, Brahmi, Thyme-leafed gratiola, Water hyssop.

Many have been the properties and health benefits of Ginkgo biloba that have attracted the attention of most of us in the past years. Ginkgo biloba, a tree known for being among the most resistant  tree species that ever existed on earth, has been claimed to be able to inhibit the progression of human colon cancer cells [8], being effective also in the treatment of dementia [9], and as a pilot study suggested in 2005 even improve cognition in patients of multiple sclerosis (MS), more exactly the study suggested ginkgo biloba improved attention in patients of multiple sclerosis [14].

These raise among multiple sclerosis patients the common believe that Ginkgo biloba would eventually help them to improve cognitive problems associated with the disease. This has been just turn down by a study published in the journal of Neurology [14], according to which Ginkgo biloba does not improve cognitive performance in patients suffering multiple sclerosis. Image left: Ginkgo biloba by ginkgogz under Creative Commons License (CC BY 2.0).

GINKGO BILOBA

Family: Ginkgoaceae
Genus: Ginkgo
Common name: Ginkgo biloba, 銀杏, イチョウ, pinyin, yín xìng, Hepburn, ichō or ginnan, Maidenhair Tree

If you are one of those wondering whether you'll be victim of Alzheimer's disease or any of those 21st century neurodegenerative diseases, green tea may be a possible option to try to avoid them.

In a recent study published in the Molecular Nutrition & Food Research journal, researchers from the Third Military Medical University, Chongqing, China, have found that Epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG), the main polyphenolic constituent of green tea that is known to exert anticancer properties and already known for its capability to inhibit carcinogenesis, may be used for the prevention and treatment of various neurodegenerative diseases [10]. Image left: зеленый чай / green teaby panafotkas under Creative Commons License (CC BY-SA 2.0).

CAMELIA SINENSIS

Family: Teaceae
Genus: Camelia
Common name: Green tea

Obesity is, together with cancer, one of the 21st century problems in developed countries, contributing to increased mortality. According to data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) 2003–2006 and 2007–2008, over two-thirds of adults in the United States are overweight or obese, and over one-third are obese [1,2].

Fortunately some scientists and researchers keep on investigating some foods or supplements such as green tea, fiber, and calcium supplements or dairy products that may complement a healthy lifestyle to produce small weight losses or prevent weight gain over time [3]. Image left: China green tea by Marius B under Creative Commons License (CC BY 2.0).

Some of the properties and health benefits of green tea, rich in Polyphenols, and some of the active constituents that may be linked to this weight-loss properties are discussed in this article.

CAMELIA SINENSIS

Family: Teaceae
Genus: Camelia
Common name: Green tea