Most everyone has “senior moments.” You’ll be talking with someone and suddenly you can’t remember your best friend’s name or the movie you saw last night. These are fairly common place occurrences for people as they age and nothing to worry about as long as they don’t happen very often.

However, if your age is creeping up to 40, 50 or 60 then you have reason to be concerned if:

• Your memory is starting to slip
• Your agility, coordination and balance may be off
• It’s harder for you to focus and concentrate
• Your attention span is shorter
• Your concentration is scattered
• It’s more difficult for you to start or sustain a conversation
• Your handwriting is becoming sloppy or illegible
• You are starting to wonder whether you are getting dementia.

That’s scary enough, but now brain erosion is happening to people at a much younger age than in the past. Statistics from the 1970s and 1980s found brain erosion only in people over 50. However, a major study conducted by Washington University (St. Louis, Missouri) detected brain volume loss as early as age 30. Researchers also discovered that this brain volume loss often leads to dementia.

People under the age of 30 may also lose cognitive function as a result of asthma, ADHD, allergies, digestive issues or diabetes. These medical issues can result in a much lower B vitamin absorption rate. That means the brain is literally “starving” for the right kind of nutrition. B vitamins, especially B-12, are so important because they help increase the effectiveness of other essential nutrients like Omega-3 fatty acids.

Why are we seeing this dramatic change over a few decades? Stress and its damaging effects on our bodies is a major reason. Stress may come from the pollution in our environment, lack of nutrients in our foods, the accumulation of small and large injuries that we carry with us, the relentless expectations that we place on ourselves and the pressure of other people’s expectations of us.

Stress places such a demand on us that it overcomes our body’s ability to cope. Brain erosion is one result. How can you tell if your brain is shrinking?

You may initially have a nagging feeling that your mental performance is starting to slide – that you are no longer at your peak. When this happens, it’s easy to feel frightened, depressed or frustrated, thinking that your mental abilities are slipping away. But don’t despair or lose hope, because there is a lot you can do to slow and even repair brain erosion.

Vitamin B-12 is the answer

Your brain may be lacking some of the essential building blocks it needs to thrive – especially B-12 or Omega-3 fatty acids. This lack can cause your brain volume to shrink. But Vitamin B can help protect against this. This was confirmed by a University of Illinois study which stated that people with greater B-12 intake were also able to maintain greater brain volume for a longer period of their life.

So, how eager are you to do whatever it takes to improve brain fitness now and help protect against much worse problems like dementia from developing?

I know I’m dedicated and that’s why I’m such a strong believer in B-12 supplementation. Based upon research studies, it should begin as early as age 30. While there’s nothing that’s going to stop you from having an occasional “senior moment”, you should feel heartened to know that Vitamin B-12 is readily available and easy to take.

Now’s the time to turn back the clock on brain erosion. Don’t lose any more brain cells to poor nutrition, stress and bad habits. Reclaim your mental energy, ease irritability and slow brain erosion with Vitamin B-12.

B-12 is the key to reclaiming your mental energy

Source: VitaJournal June 2008 pg 6

What would you think of a food that could help balance your immune system, help reduce your cholesterol and improve your ability to breathe? Perilla seed oil is just such a food!

This is notable because the number of people diagnosed with allergies (allergic rhinitis) has significantly increased in recent years. A person experiences an allergy attack when the tiny cells that line the sinuses burst. These are called “mast cells” and they are filled with histamines, the substances that cause allergy symptoms. Pollen and other allergens rupture these cells and release the histamines in large amounts. Anything that stabilizes these cells and keeps them from bursting gives welcome relief from allergy misery.

What scientists are learning is that the oil from perilla seeds is a powerful anti-inflammatory and antioxidant. It not only reduces inflammation in the sinuses, but in all areas where mast cells release inflammatory histamines: the sinuses, lungs, joints, intestines and skin. So, perilla seed oil acts as an anti-inflammatory to relieve allergies, gastritis and even asthma.

That’s why I put perilla seed oil in OmegaPrime: different oils reduce inflammation in different tissues. Fish oil reduces inflammation in the arteries, flax oil in the reproductive tissues, evening primrose oil in the brain and bones and perilla seed oil in the sinuses, lungs and intestines.Is there any solid research on these applications for perilla seed oil? Absolutely!

Studies conducted on people with asthma showed that perilla seed reduced the inflammation in the lungs, reduced the hyperactive immune system leukotrienes in the lungs and improved lung volume. At the same time, doctors measured cholesterol levels and found that perilla seed oil reduced total cholesterol, LDL (bad) cholesterol and triglycerides. Also, perilla seed oil raised the levels of beneficial, protective HDL cholesterol.

In the past, medications called bronchodilators were used to open the airways in asthma attacks. These medications worked pretty well in emergency situations; however, they did not stop the inflammation and they did not address the immune system’s role in allergies and asthma. Newer, stronger drugs were developed that both opened the airways and reduced airway inflammation. A milestone in medicine was achieved when a class of drugs was developed called leukotriene inhibitors.

Leukotriene inhibitors were “the missing link” in allergy and asthma treatment, as well as with irritable bowel syndrome. They reduced the
hyperactivity of the immune system and provided longer relief than anti-inflammatory drugs alone. Soon, however, the dark side of these medications emerged as many patients contracted serious infections from a suppressed immune system.

Perilla seed oil was shown to be a remarkable leukotriene inhibitor that did not suppress the immune system! It is also a powerful antiinflammatory. Perilla stabilizes the mast cells so histamines are not released. What is more, perilla seed is showing positive results in studies against human cancer cells, irritable bowel disease and depression. All without any side effects. What a marvelous discovery!

When you take TriVita OmegaPrime, you’re getting so many benefits in this physician approved formula – including the remarkable effectiveness of perilla seed oil.

Source: VitaJournal December 2008 pg 11.