Page 162 - The Memory Program How to Prevent Memory Loss and Enhance Memory Power

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smoking. Nowadays, barely 10 percent of physicians are regular smokers, the lowest proportion
among the major professions. Similarly, while the number of overweight people keeps ballooning in
the United States, physicians have reduced their own dietary intake of saturated fats. Physicians have
finally become good at following their own advice, and statistics show that on average they live
nearly five years longer than the rest of the population, despite constant exposure to infections and
other diseases, long working hours, and high stress levels.

How Vitamin E Works

Vitamin E is a free-radical scavenger that destroys toxic free radicals like “bad’’ oxygen and
hydrogen peroxide; these antioxidant properties may benefit patients with Alzheimer's disease
and protect against memory loss due to the aging process.
The anticoagulant properties of vitamin E, which distinguish it from the other antioxidant
vitamins A and C, may help protect against stroke.
In laboratory experiments, exposing brain cells to vitamin E limits the number of cells damaged
by glutamate, a naturally occurring substance that can act as a destructive neurotransmitter in
many brain regions. This may be another method by which vitamin E protects against stroke.
A Tufts University investigation found that a single 200 mg capsule of vitamin E daily
significantly improved immune system response.

These broad antiaging effects of vitamin E have led to propositions that it can fight cancer, slow
down the formation of cataracts in the eyes, and relieve arthritic symptoms. Some of these claims go
way beyond the available evidence, and it remains to be seen if the actions of vitamin E are really
that widespread.

Vitamin E for Memory Loss

In the Introduction, I described the story of David Finestone, a forty-nine-year-old man whose
memory loss for names was probably caused by a small stroke. His treatment regimen consisted of
cutting down on saturated fats, eating more fresh fruits and vegetables, taking an aspirin a day for its
anticoagulant effects to prevent further strokes,