Memory Maximizers: Cinnamon as a Memory Booster; Lutein-Rich Foods & the Aging Brain

KITCHEN CABINET MEMORY BOOSTER: CINNAMON

New research suggests that a sprinkle of one of your favorite spices may do more than tickle your taste buds—it may improve your memory as well! A paper published in the December 2016 issue of the Journal of Neuroimmune Pharmacology suggests that cinnamon boosts plasticity—the ability to change and grow in response to new information—in a key memory region of the brain called the hippocampus. Working with laboratory mice, the researchers compared the animals’ ability to remember how to navigate a maze. Scientists then separated the mice into two groups, one consisting of good learners and the other of poor learners. The scientists fed the poor learners regular doses of cinnamon over a one-month period, and tested the animals again. They found that the “spice mice” had essentially been converted into good learners, showing more than twice the ability to learn maze navigation after treatment with cinnamon than they had in the initial maze test. Although it is not clear precisely how cinnamon improves memory, it is thought that the spice is converted in the liver into a chemical that enters the brain and somehow enhances the structural integrity of brain cells. Previous studies have shown that cinnamon has antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties, and also helps to protect the brain’s communications networks. The researchers suggested that individuals who plan to add cinnamon to their daily diet choose varieties produced in Ceylon or Sri Lanka. Cinnamon produced in China is less desirable because it contains a compound called coumarin that may be toxic to the liver in very large amounts.

LUTEIN-RICH FOODS MAY HELP PROTECT THE AGING BRAIN

A diet with plentiful amounts of an antioxidant called lutein may help prevent or slow age-related declines in executive functions such as memory, problem-solving and planning, according to new research published in the Dec. 6, 2016 issue of Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience. Scientists theorized that lutein, which is found in foods such as egg yolk, spinach, and corn, might help preserve “crystallized intelligence”—the ability to use skills, knowledge, and experience accumulated over a lifetime. Their research revealed that individuals they studied who had higher levels of the nutrient in their blood also had greater amounts of gray matter in a region of the brain called the parahippocampal cortex, a sign of resistance to the wear and tear associated with aging. It is unclear how lutein confers this protection, although its anti-inflammatory effects represent one possibility.

To enjoy the brain benefits of lutein, be sure to include the following foods in your diet:

  • Egg yolk
  • Broccoli
  • Brussels sprouts
  • Celery
  • Corn
  • Cucumber
  • Dark green, leafy vegetables, such as spinach
  • Grapes
  • Green beans
  • Green peas
  • Kiwi fruit
  • Scallions
  • Winter squash, such as pumpkin and butternut squash
  • Zucchini and other summer squash

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