Whether you are a student studying for finals or are simply looking to ward off memory loss, we can all use a boost in memory. Here are five foods to include in your diet to help your mind stay sharp and keep your memory clear:

1. Egg yolk—Whole eggs are a great source of protein and nutrients, but egg yolks in particular may have memory-boosting properties. Egg yolks contain phosphatidyl choline, a nutrient that has been found to support brain function and improve memory in people with a variety of conditions causing impaired memory.
2. Oily fish—In a study performed by Rush University Medical Center, people who eat oily fish such as salmon, sardines, herring, and mackerel at least once a week were found to have the memory function of people three years younger.
3. Purple fruit—Fruit with a purple color such as blueberries, grapes, and plums, contain anthocyanin, a plant nutrient that has been found to protect against damage to brain cells.
4. Leafy greens—Greens such as spinach and chard are rich sources of folic acid, a nutrient which has been found to increase the speed at which the brain processes information and improve the brain’s ability to remember.
5. Cruciferous vegetables—The vegetables in this family include broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, cauliflower, kale, and bok choy. A Harvard Medical School study followed women for 25 years and found that those who ate higher amounts of cruciferous vegetables were less likely to experience age-related memory loss.

Age related muscle loss, known as “sarcopenia”, affects 25 percent of the U.S. population over age 65. Sarcopenia cannot be detected by calculating BMI (Body Mass Index—a ratio of height and weight) or looking at a person. A person can appear obese or look very slim and still have muscle loss. The research shows that whether one is under or overweight, too little muscle decreases quality of life and increases the risk for chronic diseases. The ultimate loss with sarcopenia is the loss of functional independence and the tendency toward physical disability. Although sarcopenia is common, it is a very reversible and preventable condition.

What can you do to prevent muscle loss or re-gain muscle that has already been lost:

1. Move: The old saying is true, USE OR LOSE IT! If you want to maintain muscle you must use it. All types of exercise work. If you are home bound or a TV aficionado, lifting soup cans with your arms does the trick. If you can walk or do water aerobics that would work also. The biggest thing is to find something you can do, enjoy doing and do it.

2. Eat Protein: It is harder for the body to make protein from scratch than to use it from food. Ensure you are getting appropriate amounts of protein each day to make/maintain muscle. Protein foods include animal products (beef, chicken, turkey, seafood, fish, eggs, and dairy) and vegetable sources (legumes, nuts, and seeds)

3. Digest Protein: Once chewed, protein must be digested to do any good. Digestion begins with stomach acid. By the time we turn 65 our stomach acid production has decreased 75 percent. By adding lemon/lime juice or vinegar to meals we can help increase the acidity of the stomach and digest proteins better.

Consider Essential Meal: If fat loss is important, your appetite is low, or there is a meal you tend to forget to eat on a regular basis, Essential Meal is a great solution to ensure adequate protein intake to prevent muscle loss.

As a nutritionist, I am continually aware of the latest and greatest supplements out there to help combat the aging process. I do agree that many of these supplements—especially those containing antioxidants—are important, but I am sometimes concerned that all the media hype around anti-aging formulas makes people forget that the basic micronutrients (vitamins and minerals) found in food and in multivitamin formulas are part of the foundation for healthy aging. Here are a few things to consider:

• Our modern food supply is lower in micronutrients than it was 50 or 100 years ago because crops nowadays tend to be grown in soil that has been stripped of nutrients through over-farming or use of chemical fertilizers. To make sure you are getting the most nutritious food available, buy food as fresh as possible from local sources such as farmers markets and/or start your own backyard garden using compost as fertilizer.
• All of the bodily processes that are intimately involved in healthy aging such as cell division and producing correct copies of DNA rely on a vast assortment of essential vitamins and minerals that should be found in a healthy diet. When our diets are deficient in these nutrients due to food processing or eating the wrong types of foods, it sets us up for the signs of accelerated aging caused by unhealthy cell division and damage to DNA.
• A simple multivitamin formula may provide “extra insurance” to help supply your daily needs for micronutrients. Just be sure that it contains absorbable forms of nutrients and does not contain a lot of fillers. One way to quickly check the quality of your multivitamin is to look on the label for what form of calcium it contains. The “calcium carbonate” form of calcium is the cheapest form out there and is one of the least absorbable. If a multivitamin contains this form as its sole source of calcium, I usually take it as a sign that the overall formula is not as absorbable as others out there. This is not a hard and fast rule, and there are times when calcium carbonate is helpful (such as in antacids) but I personally don’t think it belongs in a quality multivitamin.

For an interesting read on micronutrients and aging, please see the article by Bruce Ames printed in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America titled “Low micronutrient intake may accelerate the degenerative diseases of aging through allocation of scarce micronutrients by triage”. The full text article is available online.

Recently, I was sitting on a plane and overheard my neighbors talking about sunburn, sunscreen, and of course the good old days. The younger one was saying his children get sunburned within 15 minutes of being in the sun and the older one stated that many years ago her children could be outside all day and not get burned. The whole conversation was summed up with, “What a shame that we destroyed the ozone layer”…but what if the destruction of the ozone layer was only half the story?

Anti-oxidants, especially vitamin C and vitamin E may be a missing part of the equation. One study found that those who took 2000mg of vitamin C and 1000 IU of Vitamin E orally had the ability to increase their daily exposure to UV radiation (harmful sunlight) before becoming sunburned. Thinking about the seemingly recent increase in sunburn, we may very well be a society that is not getting enough antioxidants to protect against the lack of ozone layer. All of this becomes more personal when realizing that sunburn causes increases in the risk of skin cancer and excessive skin wrinkling.

However, without UV radiation (sunlight), cholesterol cannot be turned into vitamin D, which is an important nutrition for protecting against dementia, heart problems and age related depression. So sunlight is an important part of an anti-aging protocol, but skin still has to be protected!

As with everything, the sooner we start to work on prevention the greater the benefits. Acting now to protect your skin can help guarantee beautiful skin that is free of excessive wrinkles. Unfortunately, many of us have been sun worshipers and need a “wrinkle redo”. A serum containing 5 percent vitamin C has been shown to decrease the depth of sun-induced wrinkles and cause skin to appear more youthful. As vitamin C breaks down quickly it is best to make your own single use serum and use it immediately. Below is a recipe:

1. Dissolve 1000 mg vitamin C (ascorbic acid) in 1 teaspoon distilled water in a small glass container. Make sure it is fully dissolved before proceeding to next step.

2. Add 1 teaspoon of glycerine (can be purchased in the beauty section of most health food stores) and mix.

3. Apply directly to skin. Store any leftovers in a dark glass container (i.e. a clean tincture jar) in a cool place such as the refrigerator.

Study reference: “Protective effect against sunburn of combined systemic ascorbic acid (vitamin C) and d-α-tocopherol (vitamin E).” Bernadette Eberlein-König MD, Marianne Placzek MD and Bernhard Przybilla MD. Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology. Volume 38, Issue 1, January 1998, Pages 45-48

Anti-aging is a buzz word in holistic communities. How do we turn another calendar year older and have our bodies act, feel—and most importantly—look like we are in our 20’s or 30’s? But do we really want to re-live our 20’s and 30’s or are we just trying to avoid the negative images of aging?

We never want to end up with:

• Wrinkles
• Low energy
• Frailness
• A chronic disease (i.e. heart disease or diabetes)
• Memory problems such as dementia or Alzheimer’s

There are many ways to decrease the risks negative symptoms of aging and one of them happens to be by using Coenzyme Q10. The main function of Coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10) is as an antioxidant in making energy (specifically in the form of ATP, the energy molecule) in the body. If we imagine that ATP is gasoline that the body makes for energy, the role of CoQ10 will become clear. To make gasoline with CoQ10 our body spends 2 gallons of gas to produce 38 gallons. Without CoQ10 our body spends the same 2 gallons of gas but only makes 8 gallons. The added energy provided by CoQ10 allows each individual cell to do their job better, but it also helps energize the body as a whole. A little extra energy goes a long way when we are trying to accomplish a multitude of things or just trying to survive the day.

Much of the CoQ10 is made and used by the muscles. It helps keep them alive and working. When our muscles have energy they can exercise more effectively and stay stronger as we age. Many studies have noted that those who maintain lean muscle mass as they age resist the negative side effects of aging particularly frailty, falling, and poorly working heart muscles.

As an antioxidant CoQ10 is a great tool to protect against skin damage and correct damage if it has already occurred. Skin damage is an important risk factor in increased wrinkles. Oral use of CoQ10 has the benefit of being available to your skin on an as-needed basis. Topical CoQ10 products must be reapplied several times a day, like sunscreen. Those who eat an antioxidant-rich diet and take antioxidant supplements have less damage seen on their skin even if sun exposure is more than optimal.

Last but certainly not least, CoQ10 protects against neurological damage caused by oxidative stress (what antioxidants protect against) including where the energy of the cells has been produced without CoQ10. Following our gasoline example above, this means that brain cells had to live too long on 8 gallons of gas instead of 38 gallons. Can you imagine running on low gas for years? Maybe it’s time to be able to fill up the tank again!

We at Marilyn Farms are excited to announce the addition of two new CoenzymeQ10 (CoQ10) supplements to our product line: CoQ10—30, in a 30 mg dosage and CoQ10—100, in 100 mg dosage. CoQ10 is a potent antioxidant of all fatty body tissues, especially the heart, brain, and kidneys. It is also important in energy production occurring in the mitochondria (the energy powerhouses) of the cells. There are few foods that contain CoQ10 in considerable amounts, but organ meats are one of the richest sources. Natural production of CoQ10 declines with age. Here are a few of the many amazing benefits of CoQ10:

• CoQ10 is one of the most widely used anti-aging supplements.  Its strong antioxidant properties have been indicated to be useful in treating and preventing ailments associated with aging including joint pain and skin wrinkles.
• Deficiency in CoQ10 is strongly associated with weakness and fatigue, as well as chronic pain syndromes such as fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue syndrome. For people taking cholesterol-lowering statin medications, an unfortunate and inevitable side effect is interference of CoQ10 metabolism, often causing symptoms of fatigue and aching muscles called rhabdomyolysis. Many scientists recommend taking at least 30 mg of CoQ10 daily when taking a statin drug.
• Heart muscle is especially rich in CoQ10. The relationship between heart muscle cells and CoQ10 is so important that CoQ10 can actually help to reverse damage in heart muscle due to heart attack!
• Adequate levels of CoQ10 in the bloodstream prevent the oxidation of LDL cholesterol. Oxidized cholesterol, not necessarily just cholesterol itself, is most likely to stick to vessel walls and cause problems.
• CoQ10 helps to protect the nervous system. Research has shown very strong results in CoQ10’s ability to protect against the slow deterioration and oxidative stress on nerves, the brain, and the eye (especially the optic nerve). CoQ10 has been found to be beneficial for those with Parkinson’s disease, macular degeneration, and Alzheimer’s. It may also be protective against the process of developing cancer.

• CoQ10 is especially important in maintaining oral health. Deficiency in CoQ10 is associated with gum disease