Page 60 - The Memory Program How to Prevent Memory Loss and Enhance Memory Power

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tect against memory loss. Some of you may also recognize the value of taking medications of one
sort or another. But those who have a specific, reversible cause of memory loss are of particular
concern to me. Depression is an obvious example, because it is often unrecognized by both the
person suffering from this problem and the physician. Another common, often unidentified, culprit is
alcohol, because with age the brain becomes more sensitive to even small doses— for example, your
regular two to three drinks every evening can gradually cause brain toxicity as you grow older.
Therefore, although only a minority among you will have a reversible cause of memory loss, if you
do belong to this category it is imperative that the specific cause be identified and tackled head-on.
And if you suffer from memory loss due to a reversible cause, general health improvement or
memory training techniques or memory-enhancing medications won't do you much good until the
actual cause is treated appropriately— for example, no amount of diet or exercise or memory training
or promemory medications will cure memory loss if it is caused by thyroid deficiency; thyroid
hormone replacement therapy is required.

I am emphasizing potentially reversible causes of memory loss precisely because they can often be
fully reversed. For the more common problem of age-related memory loss, neither general health
measures nor specific medications provide a perfect solution. These approaches will help slow down
or block further decline in your memory, but they are unlikely to bring your memory back to what it
was when you were twenty years old. This key fact makes it all the more important that you consider
adopting this Memory Program before you develop significant memory loss.

If You Already Have Mild Memory Loss

Some of you have already developed mild age-related memory loss, based on either your
performance in the memory tests that I described in the first chapter, or your own awareness that
your memory is significantly worse compared to how it used to be a few years ago. But even if you
fall into the category of those with mild memory loss, you can still employ components of the
Memory Program with good results. Although people in their forties and fifties will benefit the most
by adopting all the elements in the Memory Program, those among you who are sixty-plus will also
gain by using these approaches.