Thursday, April 30, 2009

Does Fish Oil Really Improve Your Memory?

By Dr. Bill

One of my favorite things is drinking a nice cup of hot chocolate. It's a treat I don't indulge in very often, but it always hits the spot and puts me in a good mood.

I used to get that same mood lift in medical school after checking out my exam scores, but afterwards all I wanted to do was sleep. Drinking the hot chocolate revs me up and motivates me to accomplish whatever it is I have been putting off ...

I saw an interesting article in my local paper yesterday. I can't saw that I often find relevant news in my little local paper, but obviously, you never know.

The article was about the USA National Memory Championship, which is a competition that was begun in 1997 by Tony Dottino, owner of the Dottino Consulting Group. The upshot is that when the Dottino Group started applying neuroscience to business models, they discovered that most people have no idea of what remarkable things their own brains can accomplish.

As he discussed their unlimited and amazing brains, he discovered that most were deathly afraid to talk about the subject, especially as it related to memory.

People were especially afraid to talk about what they had heard about memory and aging: as you grow older, your memory power lessens.

Tony and his group were determined to get their message out: "Brains are like muscles -- they need exercise. When you exercise your brain it gets stronger, no matter what your age."

Tony had another friend named Tony (Buzan), who was involved in running a game in an English pub where people compete to see who has the best powers of memory.

The Tonys got together and created the USA Memory Championship.

Okay, so what secret technique does Chester have?

Just wait and I'll tell you.

Contestants in the Memory Championship compete in events like this:

1. Memorization of 99 names and faces

2. They must memorize the order in which a deck of cards is shuffled.

3. They must memorize poems.

4. They are required to memorize numbers given out in a speedy fashion.

5. A list of 500 words or 1000 random numbers

Heck, just the list was enough to impress me.

For the last seven years Chester has competed in the National Memory Championship, and he is the defending champion.

Along with 3 hours a day of memory exercises, Chester takes fish oil, which he says improves his brain function, (as well as a B-complex vitamin, which he says improves his concentration).

Why? Well at least 30% of the brain is made of DHA, one of the omega-3 fatty acids found in fish oil. DHA is used by the body to maintain brain cell membranes and boosts brain power. So it's not surprising that Chester finds fish oil a great resource in boosting his memory.

The right amount of physical exercise, proper nutrition, and high-grade fish oil will keep your brain working at its highest level, as exemplified by our champion, Chester. You can do the same by taking a pharmaceutical-grade, highly pure fish oil which is derived from fish that live in clean Norwegian arctic water.

Baby boomers rate memory loss and Alzheimer's as their number one health care concern. Pharmaceutical grade fish oil, along with a good diet and exercise can help keep your mind clear and sharp for a long time to come.

We might not be able to win the National Memory Championship, but we'll be able to remember where we parked.

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