life. “Just a 25 percent reduction in calories over one month’s time can have a profound effect on boosting memory,” Perlmutter notes.


Eat a brain-building diet. Aside from cutting calories, experts say it’s critical to load up on foods that boost neurogenesis (the development of new brain cells) and stall brain atrophy. Eating more fish (or omega-3 supplements), adding fruits and vegetables and cutting back on refined carbohydrates do just that, advises Dr. Christiane Northrup, obstetrician, gynecologist and author of Women’s Bodies Women’s Wisdom. “The brain is mostly made up of omega-3 fats, and many women, in particular, are lacking them in their diet,” she observes. Perlmutter notes that supplementing


one’s intake of omega-3 fatty acid DHA, present in fatty fish and marine algae, has been shown to switch on the genes that jumpstart BDNF production. DHA is also anti-inflammatory and promotes healthy blood flow to the brain. But people shouldn’t wait too long to load up on it. One 2010 trial of 485 healthy adults


with mild memory complaints found that those who took 900 milligrams per day of algae-based DHA supplements for six months made significantly fewer errors on memory tests than they had at the study’s onset. Another study by the National Institute on Aging, however, found that DHA supplementation had little impact on patients once severe dementia had set in. So, sooner is better. Healthy fats aside, dark-colored


fruits such as blackberries, blueberries and plums are all rich with antioxidants, substances known to scavenge cell-damaging free radicals in the brain. Also, cruciferous vegetables like broccoli and broccoli sprouts contain a powerful compound called sulforaphane, believed to boost the body’s own production of antioxidants. One famous 2005 study followed


found in fish, liver, milk and eggs, may


13,388 women over several decades, and found that those that ate the most cruciferous vegetables and leafy greens stayed mentally sharp for far longer than those that ate the least. New research from Rush University, in Chicago, further suggests that a deficiency of B12


,


hasten brain shrinkage as previously functioning cells die off. Ove r loading on r e f ined


carbohydrates like white flour, pasta and potatoes carries a similar result. “Elevated blood sugar can destroy the brain,” advises Perlmutter, pointing to a 2005 study in the journal Neurology, which linked accelerated brain shrinkage with elevated blood sugar.


Prevent hormonal havoc. Ebbing hormones can also have a measurable impact on our ability to recall words and follow through on tasks, says Hawaii naturopathic physician Laurie Steelsmith, author of Natural Choices for Women’s Health. One 2009 University of California


study of 2,362 women between the ages of 42 and 52 found that 60 percent suffered memory and mental- processing problems. “I hear about it almost every day from women in my


practice,” comments Steelsmith. “They’re trying to find the word for, say, ‘garlic’ or ‘pen,’


and it just won’t come to them. It can be very frustrating.” S t e e l smi th


notes that estrogen


plays a critical role in inf luenc ing verbal and spatial memory and fine motor skills and


bolstering the blood- brain barrier to keep toxins out. Meanwhile, progesterone acts on the same brain receptors that Valium does, promoting calm and aiding sleep. In the


days immediately prior to menstruation, when estrogen and progesterone levels are low, or once women begin to approach menopause and they stay low, the brain feels it. In an ideal world, the adrenal


glands kick in to pick up where the ovaries leave off—producing sex hormones. “But women that are stressed


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