The Best Natural Brain Supplements, Part 1: Memory Loss? Vinpocetine can help...
The BrainReady Guide to the Best Brain Supplements, Part 1: Memory Loss? Vinpocetine can help...
In this special BrainReady Blog series, you'll learn about some of the best, most widely-studied natural supplements that have been shown to provide very real brain-boosting benefits in such areas as memory (short and long-term), sharpness, speed, mood, and overall cognitive ability.
In Part 1, we'll focus on memory loss and how the natural Vinpocetine can actually help both short-term and long-term memory.
Given that all of us over age 25 face age-related mental decline -- everything from those surprising short-term memory lapses in our 30's and 40's that catch us off guard and make us chuckle, "oh wow, I must be getting old!" to the more serious mental slowness, fogginess and general lack of sharpness that can start to feel like the norm (and thus affect our entire outlook and happiness), anything we can do to help get our brain health back becomes interesting.
For those who have tried various popularized natural brain supplements such as Gingko and been either disappointed with the results (or feared the blood thinning-related contraindications), there's another natural supplement that surprisingly few people in the U.S., Canada and Australia and know about yet has become quite popular in Europe as a widely studied and prized supplement shown to provide superior, tangible brain-boosting benefits compared to other options: Vinpocetine. Hate the name, love the benefits...
Vinpocetine, which is derived from the periwinkle plant, has been shown to be a powerful memory enhancer (among other benefits), helping to facilitate brain metabolism by improving cerebral blood flow, increasing brain cell ATP production (for energy) and increasing the utilization of glucose and oxygen which are key to feeling "sharp". Already very much in use in Europe, physicians there widely believe it is far more effective than other natural supplements such as Ginkgo for memory and overall brain function. Vinpocetine actually contains many of the same brainl-enhancing effects as ginkgo biloba, but has been shown to work far better AND far faster, which thousands of people have claimed they have witnessed firsthand.
It has also been widely researched: several clinical studies in Europe have found that Vinpocetine is indeed the real deal, particularly for memory enhancement, overall increased brain performance/speed, improved cerebral circulation and higher overall mental awareness.
What is particularly exciting is that it doesn't take several months or years of therapy to reap these benefits, as Vinpocetine goes to work right away, almost like a pharmaceutical drug.
According to Dr. Bernd Wollschlaeger,M.D., associate editor of the health Journal JANA, "Several peer- reviewed, double-blind studies looked at cognitive performance of normal subjects, seeing how vinpocetine would improve their cognitive performance. The researchers found a significant improvement with vinpocetine. Until vinpocetine, we physicians have had nothing to prevent cognitive decline. We only have drugs to treat after the fact."
He further adds, "According to clinical data, consumers will see improvement in memory functions as well as enhancement of learning and recall and overall alertness".
Exciting, isn't it? A natural supplement with clinical research suggesting that consumers will experience improved memory, recall, learning ability and overall alertness? When you also combine the real-world usage feedback from people who use Vinpocetine regularly, the picture becomes even more clear that this may indeed be one of the most significant findings in years, perhaps ever, in the area of treating and preventing memory & overall cognitive decline.
Sounds great, but what about side effects or interactions?
According to Dr. Wollschlaeger, "a critical review of the literature has reported no adverse effects. Vinpocetine appears to be safe, without any adverse affects. The only reported side effect, in a very small number of cases, was a slightly upset stomach, which is almost always a side effect for some people taking herbs. We have not seen any adverse effects or drug-herb interactions, and it seems safe to take with other drugs, including diabetes drugs, and blood thinners like Coumadin."
The lack of known side effects and contraindications with Vinpocetine may indeed be the other big factor in its meteoric rise in Europe, which is now spreading to the U.S., Canada, Australia, UK and elsewhere. Some believe that the blood thinning-related issues with the herb Gingko Biloba were among the biggest factors in its comparative decline in popularity (along with later research studies suggesting that its effectiveness was uncertain or dubious), so to hear that there is a natural substance derived from the periwinkle plan that not only has been shown to have significant memory and overall cognitive enhancement effects but also has almost no side effects is...well, it's no wonder why it's becoming so popular.
But if that weren't all, Vinpocetine has also been shown to possess other health benefits beyond cognitive enhancement: from protecting the retina against hepatitis-B to helping alcoholics recover from alcohol toxicity to helping with motion sickness, researchers are finding and will surely continue to find yet more benefits from this fascinating stuff. As such, many people (particularly in Europe) now add Vinpocetine to their daily regimen, similar to taking a daily multivitamin.
Dosage: how much Vinpocetine is appropriate to help with brain fog and memory problems? The standard recommended dose is 1 tablet, 3 x a day (which is 15 mg a day total, taken as three 5-mg tablets per day). As for how long it takes before feeling the results, Dr. Wollschlaeger says, "in seven to ten days; we don't have to wait 4 or 6 or 8 weeks, like with Gingko, to see results".
Before we conclude however, and yes...you may call us a broken record on this point, but we can't stress it enough: at BrainReady we strongly believe that there is no one single "cure all" or wonder food/drink/supplement that will cure all of your mental and physical ills, no one herb or vitamin or product that you should take at the expense of an overall healthy, balanced, natural-based diet and lifestyle which includes physical AND mental exercises most days of the week. There's also no such thing as "total-health-in-a-pill", or getting healthy from consuming manufactured products sitting on store shelves.
And that's an important point worth belaboring, because unfortunately, the health products industry (and pharmaceutical industry, perhaps even more, but we won't go into that now) is full of often dubious marketing claims designed to get your money first and make you healthy second, so it's easy to get caught up in thinking, "if I just pop this pill and that pill, I don't need to worry about eating those plant foods and berries and wild salmon and teas" and so on.
So remember, supplements are just that: dietary SUPPLEMENTS. You want to add them to an already healthy diet and lifestyle to get further benefits and fill in those nutritional areas that you can't easily get from your everyday diet.
Okay, we've made our point.
Back to Vinpocetine, we feel that this is clearly an exceptional nutritional supplement worth consideration, particularly given the mix of strong, researched brain benefits (especially to memory), wide availability and lack of known side effects (but you should always consult your health care provider about any potential issues, just to be safe, as a general rule before taking any new supplements). At BrainReady, we've added this one recently and can attest to its power, particularly in the memory and recall areas but also general "sharpness" as well (hard to quantify, but the effect is there...).
What do you think about Vinpocetine if you've tried it? Share your knowledge and experiences and discuss below by clicking on the 'Comments' link.
Let's help each other out with our findings, and take some of the mystery about these cryptically-named supplements out of the equation!
- The BrainReady Team