Memory supplements

• No ingredient passed. In 2019 the Global Council on Brain Health, convened by AARP, reviewed the evidence on some 20 vitamins, minerals and other ingredients. It could not endorse any ingredient, product or formula for brain health, and advised getting nutrients from food (Global Council on Brain Health, 2019).
• Ginkgo did not prevent dementia. In the largest trial, more than 3,000 people aged 75 and over took ginkgo or a placebo for about six years. Ginkgo did not lower the rate of dementia or slow cognitive decline (DeKosky and colleagues, 2008; Snitz and colleagues, 2009).
• Bacopa: small, uncertain gains. Bacopa, a herb from Ayurvedic medicine, is the most studied. Some trials found small improvements in recalling word lists, but the results vary widely from study to study and may be inflated by negative trials that were never published (Pase and colleagues, 2012; Brimson and colleagues, 2021). No independent body recommends it.
• Omega-3 capsules did not help. Eating fish is linked with better outcomes in older age, but omega-3 supplements had no benefit for the thinking of older people without dementia (National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health).

If a doctor finds a real deficiency, for example of vitamin B12, treating it can matter: a deficiency can itself cause memory problems. That is treatment, not an upgrade.

• In many countries, supplements reach the shelf without the tests that medicines go through.
• Some interact with medicines. Ask your doctor or pharmacist before taking one.
• Your money goes further on sleep and on a technique you practise. Sleep and memory · The Gym