Page 7 - The Memory Program How to Prevent Memory Loss and Enhance Memory Power

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Memory Program that the reader can utilize on a day-to-day basis. When pertinent, I describe the
stories of interesting patients (identities disguised) as well as other anecdotes to illustrate the
rationale behind specific components of the Memory Program.

This book is meant for people who have a normal memory and wish to prevent memory loss as
they grow older, as well as for people (including perhaps your parents and other loved ones) who
already suffer from mild memory loss and wish to prevent further decline. This book is not meant for
people with severe memory loss or dementia, for which other books are readily available.

After the introduction, the book is divided into five parts. In the first part, The Basics of Memory,
you will learn how to evaluate your memory using simple tests, how memory works in the brain, and
how aging affects this process. In the second part, Start the Memory Program, the various elements
in the Memory Program are introduced, and a diet and exercise plan is described. This section ends
with a detailed description of specific memory training techniques. In the third part, Prevent and
Treat Common Causes of Memory Loss, the focus is on depression, alcohol abuse, hormonal and
nutritional problems, and a number of other reversible factors that commonly cause memory loss.
This is an important part of the book, because having a reversible cause that is left undiagnosed and
untreated could result in a tragedy. In the penultimate section, Medications That Prevent and Treat
Memory Loss, alternative (usually natural substances), over-the-counter, and prescription
medications to treat memory loss are comprehensively reviewed, both from a research and clinical
perspective. This provides a stepping-stone to the final part, Putting It All Together, where the
Memory Program is described in great detail, utilizing all the elements that have been developed in
earlier chapters. The generic memory program is followed by a section that individualizes the
program for people in specific categories, for example, women who are forty to fifty-nine years old
with no memory loss, men who are sixty years or older with mild memory loss, etc.

A word of caution. The ideal study to evaluate a long-term strategy to prevent memory loss due to
the aging process would systematically evaluate young or middle-aged people and then institute
long-term preventive interventions (such as diet, exercise, memory training, or medications) with
regular follow-up and assessment over a period of thirty to fifty years. There has been no such study,
partly because practical problems make such a long-term project very difficult to execute, and partly
because the issue of memory loss has gained prominence only in recent years. Nonetheless, the
evidence