Memory Plus   In survey after survey it has become clear that literally millions of Americans, young or old, express the desire to have a clearer, sharper, and active mind. The remedy to this problem cannot be found however as easily as providing relief for a painful joint for example. Many subtle inputs are needed in order to give the desired optimal feeling.  Studies have shown that increasing the level of the neurotransmitter acetylcholine in the brain often results in improvement of memory related functions and yet the person can still be left with an empty, agitated or disoriented sensation.   The complex formula that has been used in this product overcomes these shortcomings and gives a satisfying result. It is based both on general nutritional science breakthroughs as well as on the groundbreaking indications coming from the spiritual researcher Rudolf Steiner.   Rudolf Steiner points out an interesting correspondence between nutritional substances and spiritual functions in the body. From his work we can understand that while essential, basic life processes are related more to proteins and our affective life is influenced by fat intake, the higher spiritual functions in us, such as thinking, memory, etc. are directly based on sugar metabolism. It is not surprising therefore to find that glucose provides the main energy source to the brain and that cognitive disturbances have been directly linked to a faulty glucose metabolism of the brain cells.    Researchers have recently called the degenerative changes of Alzheimer disease a form of “brain diabetes”. It is actually known from many sides that insulin resistance is a direct risk factor in Alzheimer’s disease and that impaired insulin function/resistance in the brain leads directly to both neuronal destruction, lower production of acetylcholine- the neurotransmitter of memory- and higher levels of acetylcholinesterase, the enzyme which destroys acetylcholine.   We have consequently paid attention to three aspects in formulating our product. Firstly we have of course included the substances that would directly stimulate the formation of acetylcholine, such as L-Huperzine A. Secondly we have chosen substances such as acetyl l-carnitine and phosphatidylserine, substances which are known to improve the glucose metabolism and the energy efficiency in the brain. And lastly we have included a number of minerals derived from gemstones that would increase the energetic and spiritual functioning of the brain as such.   What are the main benefits of Memory Plus™ ?   1.Mental—Enhanced memory, better focus, greater retention and recall of facts, improved concentration and learning ability 2.Relaxation—Provides a sense of stress relief, calmness and confidence with more energy 3.Spiritual—Allows better meditation with an enhanced clarity and flexibility of thoughts   Suggested use: Take 1capsule twice daily for continued optimal results. The number of the daily capsules can be increased either based on the advice of therapists or if the results at the regular dosage are not completely satisfactory.    This product can be taken at the same time as our multivitamin Mental Clarity™. The two products will have a beneficial synergistic effect.   Warning: Since the product contains L Huperzine A an overdose of Memory Plus™ can result in slightly blurred vision, nausea, lack of appetite, and possibly insomnia. Conditions in which L-Huperzine A may be contraindicated include pregnancy and lactation. Other conditions with potential reactions include: cardiovascular disease (huperzine can slow the heart rate), epilepsy (may worsen seizure disorders), ulcers (huperzine can enhance gastric juice secretion), asthma or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (huperzine may increase lung secretions), and urinary tract obstructions.   Memory Plus™ is a nutritional supplement. Even though these ingredients have been shown to be beneficial in clinical and animal studies, this supplement has not been approved by the FDA for the treatment or diagnosis of any disease. Only a qualified health care provider can make a valid diagnosis regarding symptoms that may be signs of a serious illness. Always obtain a medical diagnosis before starting a new supplementation program!   Contains no milk, eggs, fish, Crustacean shellfish, tree nuts, peanuts, wheat, or soybeans. Vegetarian capsules.   Do not use this product if allergies to the listed ingredients are known to exist or if any adverse effects result after taking the first dose.   Ingredients:   Glycine Glycine is a nonessential amino acid and has a simple structure that resembles glucose. Glycine has a sweet taste. It dissolves readily in the water and is a major inhibitory neurotransmitter in the brain. It easily passes the blood brain barrier. Glycine is known to speed learning, reduces spasticity and seizures and is beneficial in behavior related problems. Another beneficial effect is that it helps the urinary secretion of uric acid. Glycine helps in the detoxification of the body by removing heavy metals such as lead. It incidentally also decreases the craving for sugar. In clinical studies glycine has been shown to reduce aggression in both children and adults. It tends to reduce anxiety.   Acetyl L-Carnitine The nutrient carnitine has been researched in great detail for well over three decades now. With over 10,000 studies performed one can truly say that the effects of this nutrient are nearly amazing. Carnitine is a protein that occurs naturally in the body, can be obtained from food and can be synthesized from lysine and methionine, which are two other proteins available in the human organism. Under stressful conditions it has been shown to become “insufficient”.   It essentially acts by increasing the energy of the mitochondria through increased fat burning and increased glucose uptake into the cells. It probably also directly helps reverse neuronal damage.   No known risks or toxicity have ever been attributed to intake of carnitine as a dietary supplement.   Acetyl L-Carnitine can cross the blood brain barrier and is more readily available to the mitochondria in the nerve cells.   Research has shown that the acetyl component of L- carnitine plays a key role in the production of the major neurotransmitter, acetylcholine, which is responsible for proper brain and nerve cell function, the part that includes memory.   Acetyl-L-carnitine (ALC) may significantly help with immediate recall and short term memory. Newer clinical studies have supported the anti aging activity of ALC on the brain.   Perhaps the reason why ALC supplementation is so beneficial to Alzheimer's patients is because they are deficient in L-carnitine in the first place.   Significantly, ALC is used in helping stroke victims recover from their brain damage and helps them regain lost memory function.   ALC may even be able to help people with Down's Syndrome, even though it is a congenital disease, rather than an age- or trauma-related one. In one 90-day study, ALC supplementation improved both the visual memory and attention of test subjects with Down's Syndrome.   Vegetarian Diet and Carnitine Nutritionally, carnitine is available essentially through meat products. In fact the name comes from having been discovered as a constituent of beef muscles. In order to be synthesized in the body we need to have available lysine and methionine. As a consequence, vegetarians must be careful at the very least to ensure that a diet rich in beans is taken since they contain lysine. However since beans are generally deficient in methionine, rice also needs to be consumed which has methionine but in turn lacks lysine. Vegetarians can easily become deficient, if even only to a slight extent, in carnitine. In general, vegetarians have circulating levels of carnitine that are lower than normal.   Several cases of carnitine deficiency have been described, manifesting in acute attacks of weakness and encephalopathy, fatty liver, raised liver enzymes, and abnormal low blood sugar. Replenishing the carnitine stores usually results in a dramatic improvement. Various studies have concluded that even in lacto-ovo vegetarians the risk of carnitine deficiency may be significant. Studies have shown that the administration of 1 g per day for two days appears to raise appreciably the total carnitine levels of both normal adults and cardiovascular patients. Even small doses of carnitine should be enough to induce a detectable change of carnitine levels in normal subjects.    Carnitine and the aging process During aging the main observable phenomenon is a lowering of vitality and a decreased ability of physiological functions to respond to outer stimuli. Unfortunately, precisely in this time the tissue levels of carnitine are known to decrease significantly. This obviously leads to a lower performance level overall.    Many individuals require extra carnitine at this time because they suffer from various diseases such as heart problems, high blood lipids, liver cirrhosis, malnutrition, low thyroid function, kidney disease, and basic nutritional deficiencies. L-carnitine supplementation leads to an increased ability to carry out a regular workload or exercise activities.    Carnitine leads to a decrease in muscle fatigue, burning, and discomfort after exercise and an improved heart function after strenuous activity. Studies have shown that carnitine treated groups suffer less of an acid-base impairment, have less residual lactic acid, have a greater aerobic performance and a more rapid recovery. Supplementation with carnitine decreases chronically high ammonia levels, suggesting reduced whole body protein degradation in response to physical activity.    Carnitine benefits patients suffering from coronary artery disease making them less likely to have an unwanted cardiovascular event in the first place and speeding up and making possible a better recovery after a heart attack, stroke etc. In double blind studies angina (chest pain) patients were shown to be able to reduce the use of conventional anti-arrhythmic drugs. Patients with congestive heart failure showed improved cardiac functions.   Carnitine has been shown to improve the mood in the elderly through a series of mechanisms: positive effects on serotonergic and cholinergic pathways in the brain; improved cardiovascular function; improved over all mobility through the effect on skeletal muscle and probably in general through an increased and more efficient energy production.   Carnitine and chronic fatigue syndrome   Chronic fatigue syndrome is a condition of unknown etiology characterized by persistent debilitating fatigue, muscle weakness, myalgia, and abnormal activation of the immune system. (Fatigue in general is one of the most common complaints of patients visiting the outpatient clinic setting).   In vitro tests have shown that mitochondrial respiration in CFS patients is reduced. Intracellular concentration of ATP has been demonstrated to be reduced at peak exercise in CFS patients. All these results suggest a mitochondrial abnormality and indeed recent investigations in Great Britain have shown that 70% of all patients have structurally abnormal muscle mitochondria. These abnormalities may ultimately lead to the manifested fatigue.    CFS bears a striking similarity to the syndrome of carnitine deficiency. Several reports have shown abnormalities of carnitine metabolism in patients with CFS suggesting that carnitine may indeed be involved in the pathogenesis of CFS. It is possible that carnitine is not optimally absorbed by these patients or that carnitine synthesis in the liver may be insufficient. Also excessive excretion by the kidneys may be a factor. The blood levels of free and total carnitine in these patients is statistically significantly lower as compared to controls, without an important difference between men and women.    Interestingly there is an inverse correlation between free and total carnitine levels and the fatigue severity scale, such that a higher free and total carnitine level correlates with a lower fatigue severity. L-carnitine has been shown to reduce the lethargy and fatigue in a number of different chronic neurological disease processes. L-carnitine may be important in the removal of toxic substances, improving exercise capacity and leading to an overall relief of the CFS condition.   (Find out more information about carnitine and weight loss, detox, exercise, the immune system, the cardiovascular system, sexual health, etc on the Cardiol Forte™ page)   Phosphatidyl Serine Over 3,000 published research papers and more than 60 clinical trials have established that phosphatidylserine can rejuvenate the brain cell membranes and thereby strengthen your memory, increase vigilance and attention, boost learning, increase mental acuity, intensify your concentration, relieve depression and improve mood, and inhibit increases in cortisol induced by exercise and high stress levels.   Phosphatidylserine enables the brain cells to metabolize glucose and to release and bind with neurotransmitters. Scientific studies demonstrate that phosphatidylserine restores the brain's supply and output of acetylcholine and restores the brain's supply and output of dopamine, also important to problem solving and memory, and overcoming attention deficit disorder.   Phosphatidylserine can increase the availability of the body’s own choline, essential for the production acetylcholine.   L- Huperzine A L-Huperzine A is a natural plant alkaloid (extracted from Huperzia serrata), which quickly and potently boosts memory, learning, and concentration. Used worldwide for decades in adults and high school students, it is considered the most potent short term memory enhancer available. Huperzine is a moss that has been used for hundreds of years. It has been employed as a fever and inflammation remedy. Huperzine A appears to work on the memory function and can possibly benefit those with loss of short term memory; as well as in conditions of long term memory loss, such as Alzheimer’s disease. Other information relating to its usefulness in treating fevers and inflammation remain to be elucidated by modern research.   Huperzine A directly affects the concentration of a particular neurotransmitter in the brain known as acetylcholine. It works by stopping or slowing the enzyme (acetylcholinesterase, AChE) responsible for breaking down this neurotransmitter for a specified period of time; hence it is known as a reversible acetylcholinesterase inhibitor. Scientists believe this may be the reason why Huperzine A has positive effects on certain brain conditions. Huperzine A is thought to act on AChE for up to 3 hours, and may be more effective than certain pharmaceutical AChE inhibitors. In one particular study, huperzine A was shown to be 64 times more effective than one of these medications (tacrine), and to be better distributed in the brain than this drug. In addition to working as well as commonly prescribed drugs, huperzine A can protect brain cells in certain conditions as well. For example, glutamate is an amino acid that can become toxic to brain cells when it reaches a certain concentration; huperzine A also protects against glutamate-induced neuronal damage. Huperzine A is protective against another type of experimental neurotoxin, N-methyl-D-aspartate, or NMDA. Huperzine A is protective against certain seizure-inducing nerve agents as well. Areas where huperzine A excels also includes improving memory function in healthy individuals. In one study, highlighting school children that complained of poor memory, huperzine supplementation was shown to improve memory after only four weeks of supplementation. In treatments of dementia, huperzine A supplementation has been shown to improve the memory, behavior, and cognitive function in people with Alzheimer’s disease, brain damage caused by strokes, and in the very elderly who suffer from senile-induced dementia. In these studies, treatment times ranged from two to eight weeks of supplementation. Huperzine A has also been used in myasthenia gravis. Myasthenia is an autoimmune condition in which acetylcholine receptors in the muscles are attacked by the person’s own immune system. By administering huperzine A, muscle weakness was delayed in myasthenia patients who received the medicine by intramuscular injection. Compared to neostigmine, a commonly used drug for this condition, huperzine A had a longer duration of effect. Huperzine Drug interactions: Because of the apparent inhibitory effect of huperzine A on AChE, using it with acetylcholinesterase inhibitor drugs may lead to additive effects. This includes the drugs; tacrine (Cognex), succinylcholine (Anectine, Quelicin), echothiophate (Phospholine Iodide, bethanechol (Urecholine), donepezil (Aricept), edrophonium (Enoln, Reversol, Tensilon), neostigmine (Prostigmin), physostigmine (Antilirium), and pyridostigmine (Mestinon, Regonol). Using huperzine A with anticholinergic drugs may decrease the effectiveness of huperzine A, as these drugs counter its effects on acetylcholine. Anticholinergic drugs include: scopolamine, atropine, biperiden (Akineton), benztropine (Cogentin), trihexyphenidyl (Artane), and procyclidine (Kemadrin). Using huperzine A with cholinergic drugs (these promote the activity of acetylcholine in the body) may lead to additive effects. These drugs include; bethanechol (Urecholine), donepezil (Aricept), echothiophate (Phospholine Iodide), edrophonium (Enoln, Reversol, Tensilon), neostigmine (Prostigmin), physostigmine (Antilirium), pyridostigmine (Mestinon, Regonol), succinylcholine (Anectine, Quelicin), and tacrine (Cognex).     Trace Minerals Trace minerals have been included in this formulation because our soils are so depleted of trace minerals, due to a chemically based agriculture, that supplementation is required. The lack of trace nutrients is all the more vexing since practically no function in the body can progress properly without adequate amounts of trace minerals. We are offering a full spectrum of ionic trace minerals that is low in sodium and free of toxic heavy metals.   These trace minerals have been obtained from the Great Salt Lake, an inland sea, where the washout from the rivers, weather, and other geological processes have produced a combination of salts that are ideal for the human physiology. The trace mineral mix is standardized and guaranteed to contain magnesium, boron (!), selenium, lithium, chloride, and more than 70 other trace elements.     Liquid Gemstones™ Gemstones have been known since antiquity to energetically support human health. Especially amethyst, emerald and galena have been associated with clear thinking, overcoming "brain fog" and supporting meditative processes. Through a complicated series of rhythmical processes we have transformed these gemstones into a form that is soluble in water. We then derive safe and nutritional minerals and salts from them for addition to the final formulation.   Agaricus Pentas™ Like most mushrooms, the agaricus mushroom is energetically related to the nervous system. Based on the work of Rudolf Steiner it is recommended in extremely small doses (and made into a proprietary Pentas™ fashion) as an energetic support when there is nervous exhaustion, typically for example in intellectual strain that occurs in excessive studying, testing situations, etc. In our culture, where intellectual overachieving is increasingly emphasized, this is a very important nutritional substance.   5M™ Pentas™ This interesting combination of five salts and trace minerals from slate, porphyry, apatite, and sulfur has an important energetic role. Interpreting the research done by R. Steiner one can say that it conveys a sense of stability in one’s body, of inner confidence and mental clarity. Purchase Now None of the above statements have been evaluated by the FDA. This product is not   intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.