Pardon the bad pun.
But given the overwhelming reaction to our feature on Cinammon (thanks for the feedback), with many of you asking about other brain-enhancing herbs, here's another one that you should know about that's even more interesting than cinammon in the brain department:
Sage.
Chinese medicine has relied on sage to treat memory and brain-related problems for over 1,000 years, and now several recent scientific studies are finding out why:
A placebo-controlled, double-blind, crossover research study published in the June 2003 issue of Pharmacological Biochemical Behavior showed that people taking as little as 50ml of standardized sage oil extract had a significant increase in memory recall ability.
Another research study by King's College presented at the British Pharmaceutical Conference at Harrogate showed that dried Chinese sage root contains the active compounds similar to those developed into the modern drugs currently used to treat Alzheimer's Disease, and as such, provides another beneficial option for those wishing to fight age and memory-related brain deterioration.
Sold yet? Sage is also a potent antioxidant and anti-inflammatory, and contains several other healthy properties as well. And given the ready availability in most places of fresh sage leaves, it's great taste and multiple uses in cooking, this is an easy one to incorporate into your diet right away.
At BrainReady, we recommend buying organic, non-irradiated sage leaves to ensure that you're getting the best of the sage plant without taking anything away, and fortunately it's pretty easy to find fresh organic sage in many grocery stores. Or you can grow your own.
Try adding a liberal amount of fresh sage leaves to your salad, that way you're eating the whole leaf, raw, and it gives your salads an amazing kick!
And why not try some memory exercises after eating sage, and see for yourself if you feel the memory and brain-enhancing effects?
Let us know what you think about what sage does for you. Emai us at