Anyone who watches television these days is inundated by ads for supplements promising to improve your memory and your mental processing speed. In this post I will write about the evidence, or lack thereof that any of these supplements do what they promise.

Prevagen

The active ingredient in Prevagen is apoaequorin. It is a calcium binding protein found in luminescent jellyfish. When combined with calcium it causes bioluminescence (like a lighting bug). The manufacturer claims that taking Prevagen helps with brain health and improves aging related memory loss. The ads include testimonials from older people who say that Prevagen improved their memory.

There has been one clinical trial comparing apaequorin with placebo for improved verbal learning. It showed no benefit overall, but a subgroup analysis of people who had normal cognitive tests at baseline showed a slight improvement. Subgroup analyses in clinical trials are notoriously inaccurate. The FDA has not approved apaequorin for memory loss or for anything else.

In fact, apaequorin is a fairly large protein molecule, which means it is very unlikely to be absorbed into the blood stream at all. Proteins are broken down by acid in the stomach to their component amino acids and small peptides.

The bottom line is that Prevagen might combine with some calcium in your intestine and make the inside of your intestine glow in the dark, but it never leaves the intestine and so cannot possibly help your memory or your verbal learning. Any memory improvement that people report is almost certainly a placebo effect. The people giving testimonials on the Prevagen ads are actors reading from a script.

Balance of Nature

Balance of Nature sells fruit and vegetable supplements in capsules. The ads, like Prevagen, use actors reading a script. Like Prevagen, these fake testimonials report improvement in memory and learning. Here is the ingredients label for Balance of Nature fruit capsules:

Supplement Facts
Serving size: 3 capsules
Servings per container: 30
Amount per serving
Calories 10
Total Carbohydrate 2g
%DV*
<1%
Maintain Blend 731 mg
† Tomato (fruit), Papaya (fruit), Banana (fruit), Apple (fruit), Grape (fruit), Wild Blueberry
(fruit), Strawberry (fruit), Aloe Vera (leaf)
Protect Blend 719mg
† Orange (fruit), Tart Cherry (fruit), Cranberry
(fruit), Wild Blueberry (fruit), Grape (fruit),
Apple (fruit), Grapefruit (fruit), Aloe Vera (leaf)
Repair Blend 561mg Raspberry (fruit), Pineapple (fruit), Mango
(fruit), Sweet Cherry (fruit), Lemon (fruit),
Aloe Vera (leaf) * Percent Daily Values (DV are based
on a 2,000 calorie diet.
†Daily Value (DV) not established.
Other ingredients: Vegetable Capsules (cellulose).

Here is the ingredients label for the vegetable capsules:

Supplement Facts
Serving size: 3 capsules
Servings per container: 30
Amount per serving
Calories 5
Total Carbohydrate 1g
%DV*
<1%
Maintain Blend 720mg Broccoli (whole head), Spinach (leaf), Soybean (seed), Green Cabbage (head), Wheatgrass (leaves),
Kale (leaf), Cauliflower (whole head), Celery (stalk),
White Onion (bulb), Zucchini (fruit)
Protect Blend 713mg Garlic (clove), Red Cabbage (head), Red Onion (bulb), Soybean (seed), Carrot (root), Kale (leaf), Cayenne Pepper (fruit & seeds), Shiitake Mushroom
(whole), Wheatgrass (leaves), Sweet Potato (tuber)
Repair Blend 576mg Carrot (root), Kale (leaf), Green Onion (scape), Soybean (seed), Spinach (leaf), Cauliflower (whole
head), Celery (stalk), Zucchini (fruit) * Percent Daily Values (DV) are based
on a 2,000 calorie diet.
†Daily Value (DV) not established.
Other ingredients: Vegetable Capsules (cellulose). Contains: Soy.

There is no question that all of these fruits and vegetables are good for you, but only if you eat them! You could not possibly get enough fruits, vegetables and fiber to do you any good from capsules. There is absolutely no evidence that these supplement capsules have any effect on your memory or anything else except your pocketbook. A bottle of both kinds of supplements costs about $90.00. I would suggest you take that $90 and go to the grocery store and buy real fruits and vegetables!

Ginko Biloba

Ginko Biloba îs an extract from the leaves of the Ginko tree. It has been used in chinese herbal medicine for centuries. The extract contains numerous compounds and extracts sold over the counter are not standardized and may have different combinations of these various compounds. Claims for ginkgo biloba include improved blood circulation, effects on symptoms of old age, and improved memory.

Some older studies did show some effects, but newer well designed studies show that these effects are no greater than the people who take placebo. A meta analysis (a review of multiple studies) showed that ginkgo biloba extract had no effect in the prevention of dementia.

Does anything improve memory and/or prevent dementia?

The answer is yes, but it’s not a pill or a supplement. Here are some things that improve memory and decrease the risk of dementia (they are going to look familiar):

• Staying mentally active (reading books, learning new skills, writing, etc)
• Regular exercise (especially walking outside)
• Eating unprocessed foods, especially fruits and vegetables
• Maintaining an active social life (time spent with friends and family)
• Getting 7-8 hours sleep per night

Bottom Line

Heavily advertised supplements work no better than placebo to improve brain health or memory in older adults or anyone else. Although ginkgo biloba has been used in chinese medicine for centuries, the evidence shows that it too works no better than placebo.

Lifestyle changes outlined above are the only things that have been shown to improve memory and decrease the risk of dementia.