Not every symptom of forgetfulness is a sign that something might be seriously wrong with your brain. There are many reasons for being affected by brain fog (a phrase the medical community has coined for a forgetful and/or confused mental state) including a lack of food and sleep, an allergy to food, or an imbalance of metals in our diets.
Many of the symptoms of brain fog can be eliminated with just a slight change in your diet. You can start by drinking eight glasses of water a day. Avoid over-processed foods and don’t eat lots of sugar. If there is a chance it could be an allergy to wheat or lactose intolerance, try not eating both for a few days and see if you feel better. Plus, get lots of sleep. This is when your body has a chance to fix itself. If you’re not sleeping properly or for long enough, you can start to show signs of chronic fatigue, which can include forgetfulness and confusion.
After taking all the steps above, if you still have lingering concerns about the possibility of Alzheimer’s affecting you, here’s one very important vitamin you need to get enough of: vitamin E. Numerous studies have found that this antioxidant plays a role in preventing and treating Alzheimer’s disease by inhibiting damage caused by free radicals.
A recent clinical trial called the Rotterdam Study, looked at a total of 5,395 participants, 55 years and older, who were free of dementia. All the participants provided dietary information at the outset of the study. During a follow-up period of nine years, dementia developed in 465 participants, of whom 365 were diagnosed as having Alzheimer’s.
The research team found that a higher intake of vitamin E was associated with a lower long-term risk of dementia. Compared with participants with the lowest level of vitamin E intake, those with the highest were 25% less likely to develop dementia!
Here are some tips on how to take vitamin E:
–Your body needs zinc in order to maintain proper levels of vitamin E in the body.
–When vitamin E oxidizes a free radical, it can be revitalized by vitamin C and continue its fight against these damaging compounds. Try to take vitamin E together with vitamin C.
–Inorganic forms of iron destroy vitamin E. If you are going to take vitamin E and iron supplements, take them at separate times of the day.
–Adding vitamin E to fats and oils prevents them from becoming rancid.
–Generally, we get a maximum of about 50 international units (IU) of vitamin E in our diet daily through certain nuts, leafy vegetables and oils.
–It is recommended that you take 2,000 IU of synthetic vitamin E and 1,340 IU or natural vitamin E if you have Alzheimer’s, but only 200 to 800 IU if you are looking to obtain its antioxidant properties. Always check with your doctor before beginning to take vitamin E.