Top Natural Remedies for Memory Loss

| Modified on Nov 04, 2024
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Memory loss, commonly associated with the elderly, can affect a person of any age. However, there are natural remedies that are effective to reverse memory loss and prevent it in the first place, such as the spice turmeric and coconut oil.

What Causes Memory Loss?

Most people are aware of memory loss associated with Alzheimer's disease and other forms of dementia. While these conditions usually affect the elderly, they sometimes affect the middle aged as well.

  • Memory loss can also be caused by an acute illness or injury.
  • Nutritional deficiencies can cause memory loss.  
  • Memory loss is not an uncommon symptom of menopause.
  • Individuals with hypothyroidism, adrenal fatigue, and Lyme disease may also experience memory loss as a side effect of their condition.

Drugs, both prescription and over-the-counter can cause memory loss. Many medications affect your acetylcholine levels, which can cause memory loss and related disorders. (Acetylcholine is a neurotransmitter in the brain.)

  • Certain prescription drugs can cause memory loss. Anti-anxiety medications, anti-depressants, beta blockers, medications for insomnia and cholesterol lowering medications have all been implicated in memory loss.
  • Over the counter drugs have been linked to memory loss. Sleep aids, antihistamines, medications for acid reflux and even motion sickness medications can cause memory loss.

Drug and alchol abuse can cause memory loss.

The good news is that memory loss can be reversed in many cases.

Natural Remedies to Reverse and Prevent Memory Loss

Supplements 

Herbs

Cayenne pepper is a stimulating herb. Cayenne especially helps blood flow and will increase the amount of oxygen getting to the brain.  It also contains vitamin C, another important brain nutrient.

Turmeric helps with a multitude of health problems and is good for your brain as well.

Ginko Biloba, gotu kola, ashwaghanda, eluethero and rhodiola have positive effects on the brain. These herbs are classified as adaptogenic herbs. They help the body adapt to stress and support the immune system. Adaptogenic herbs should not be used continuously, however.

Green tea contains anti-oxidants and is thought to improve brain function.

Dietary Changes

Nourishing foods will nourish your body, your cells, and your brain. Reducing sugar, white flour and processed foods and increasing the amount of fruits, vegetables, and whole grains in your diet will give your body more nutrients to work with.

Low fat diets are not good for your brain. Your brain needs nourishing fats. It is made of about 60% fat. Nourishing fats include coconut oil, olive oil and butter. Your brain also needs cholesterol. Eggs, dairy products and meat contain cholesterol.

Using coconut oil in your diet on a regular basis may be the single most important change you make. This oil is proving to be helpful in reversing memory loss in dementia patients.

Physical Exercise

Physical exercise is good for your health in many ways, including brain health. Exercise gets your blood circulating. It gets more oxygen to your cells. It reduces stress. You know it is good for you but sometimes it is hard to get motivated. Instead of taking up marathon running, try to take a 5 minute walk a couple of times day. Start small and increase what you do.

Mental Exercise

The more technology we have, the less we depend upon our brains. Smartphones, computers, televisions, etc not only make us use our brains less, oftentimes our screen time is not really engaging our brains. A movie or video game to unwind is one thing but hours upon hours of passive viewing leaves your brain inactive for long periods of time. Use it or lose it applies to the brain, too!

Just like physical exercise, mental exercise is work. Sometimes our brains rebel. But there are plenty of ways to give your brain a work out. Find some ways that your enjoy. Crossword puzzles and adult coloring books can be relaxing and giving your brain some exercise.

Make an effort to memorize things.

  • Memorize some poetry you like.
  • Memorize songs with your children or grandchildren.
  • Make a game of memorizing phone numbers instead of letting your smart phone do all the work.

Medication Evaluation

Find out if memory loss is a side effect of the medications you are taking. Discuss alternatives to any medications you are concerned about with your doctor.

Do you have a natural remedy for memory loss? We would love to hear your story! Continue reading to learn some amazing remedies that have helped our readers!

Other pages of interest:

Natural Remedies for Alzheimer's and Dementia
The Importance of Exercise for the Elderly


The comments below reflect the personal experiences and opinions of readers and do not represent medical advice or the views of this website. The information shared has not been evaluated by the FDA and is not intended to diagnose, treat, or prevent any disease or health condition. Always consult a qualified healthcare professional for medical concerns.

B3

1 User Review
5 star (1) 
  100%

Posted by ORH (TEN MILE, TN) on 07/23/2021
★★★★★

HI U OLE PATOOTS, ORH here, and just remembered that I left the water on some plants at the farm. To cut the water off, I must drive 10 miles from our lake cabin to our farm. Irritated at myself for getting old and now have memory problems. It is also happening more often. So I decided to go back in the EC archives and here is what I found.

Replied by Robert Henry
(Ten Mile, Tn.)
01/30/2015

HI U HAPPY,,,,,,,,, told this story numerous time but you can check it out on the net. The U of Cal, Ervin did a mice study about 5 years ago where they engineered mice to have Alzheimer's, they then fed them nicianamide, which is Vit B 3. They all recovered in about 6 weeks. They were elated and said that they were next doing this with humans. That never happened. My ole boss in Wi., wife was having problems. We waited and waited and he finally called them. That trial was not to be. Like cancer, too much money to be made by treating, instead of curing.

Whenever I flub up mentally, my wife asks, "are you taking your Nicianamide"? My answer is usually, "No".

For all you folks suffering from dementia, research Vit B 3. The cost is about $ 4 a month. It is another one of those 'Merican things.

Time is neigh, =====ORH==========


Years later they did a facade of a test to shut down the chatter. Some of EC's brightest bought in, but not one of me. Lots of tales on EC about how B 3 helped memory problems. Hope this ditty makes sense. Ole boss died last year at 95 and took Vit B 3 religiously and was mentally sharp. Think I better do the same. ====ORH====

Replied by Corrine
(Middlesex)
11/14/2022

Hi everyone, I'm hoping you can advise the dosage of vitamin B3. My husband had a mini stroke and experiencing some memory loss especially after he was out on statins for high cholesterol. He has stopped the statins but would appreciate guidance on reversing memory loss naturally. Thanks in advance!

Corrine (UK)

Art
(Caliufornia)
11/14/2022
2340 posts

Corrine,

In case you don't get the answer to your question, you might find the following helpful for memory loss:

https://www.earthclinic.com/cures/art-solbrig-protocol-for-memory-loss.html

Art

Hollyhock
(America)
11/14/2022

I would suggest looking into melatonin. You could even give him coconut oil daily, it's supposed to help memory. You'll find lot's of information here on EC! Good luck!


Gingko Biloba

1 User Review
5 star (1) 
  100%

Posted by Jon (Berlin) on 06/08/2018
★★★★★

I started take gingko for sluggish and brain fog and found it helped with that right away but amazing, it improved my memory so much I think it is because it increase circulation to the brain. In the beginning I took one capsule every day but now I take gingko once every few days. I am 29 years old.

Replied by Alex
(Los Angeles)
12/20/2018

What brand did you use it?

Replied by Jj
(El Paso TX)
08/15/2023
24 posts

Hi, wondering what dosage of ginkgo biloba you take for memory and if possible would you please share the brand name?

Kathryn Parker
(North Carolina)
10/10/2023

I would start with one capsule and go up from there. Rule is to start low and slow. I would buy any brand that has no fillers like Magnesium Stearate etc. and is organic.


Ginkgo Biloba

2 User Reviews
5 star (1) 
  50%
4 star (1) 
  50%

Posted by HisJewel (New York) on 02/20/2024
★★★★☆

BETTER BUT WITH SIDE EFFECTS

Greetings Everyone,

As I have mentioned I was taking Ginkgo Biloba and Niacinamide to improve my memory and to help keep my memory sharp. I cannot find that post. However, this post is to let you know that it works wonderful for memory, however it seems that tis is the supplement that is causing shadows in my vision.

I have taken Ginkgo Biloba steady for about 2 years, somewhere in middle of that time the shadows started, but I did not know the cause, I thought I was getting cataracts, or maybe I was taking to many aspirins for my ear pain that I was going through at that time. Therefore, I stopped the aspirin. I also stopped quite a few other things trying to figure it out. I have only been off the Ginkgo Biloba about 5 days and the shadows are gone.

It did work excellent for memory; however my health situations did not go well with Ginkgo. The good news is the clearer vision was quickly restored when the Ginkgo Biloba was stopped.

Sincerely,

HisJewel

Replied by HisJewel
(New York)
11/03/2024
★★★★★

HisJewel again,

I'm getting back to you regarding Ginkgo Biloba, I still have some Ginkgo left in the bottle from earlier this year. Seven months have passed so I decided to try it again. However, this time only a few days a week. For me Ginkgo amazingly tops any other memory vitamins I take. These are 500mg capsules, when I finish this bottle I will look for a lower dose. If I get eye floaters I drop to once a week break.

HisJewel


Rosemary

2 User Reviews
5 star (2) 
  100%

Posted by Rob (Kentucky) on 08/12/2024
★★★★★

Rosemary is a culinary herb that also has a reputation as a brain tonic. There is quite a bit of folkloric wisdom concerning the herb. In days long gone, rosemary was known as “the herb of remembrance, ” and the association stuck. In the last act of Hamlet, in fact, the mad Ophelia says, “There's rosemary, that's for remembrance.”

In the 17th century, Nicholas Culpepper wrote in his herbal that rosemary helps “diseases of the head and brain, as th giddiness and swimmings therin, drowsiness or dulness, the dumb palsy, or loss of speech, the lethargy, the falling sickness… It helps a weak memory and quickens the senses.”

Culpepper recommended not only drinking rosemary tea, but also rubbing rosemary leaves on the temples. This idea is still being promoted today. According to modern aromatherapy, which studies the effects of fragrance on physical and emotional well-being, the smell alone of rosemary can stimulate the brain. Contemporary aromatherapist Robert Tissard uses rosemary to clear the mind of confusion and doubt.

Besides its use as a memory enhancer, rosemary is a classic remedy for headaches and fainting. It helps normalize low blood pressure while strengthening capillaries in the brain and the rest of the body (Kiangus, Encyclopedia of Chinese Drugs, 1977). Because it improves nerve function, rosemary is also commonly used to relieve debility and depression associated with nervous disorders. Vegetarian Times April 1988 page 67-68.

A randomized controlled trial found that dried rosemary leaf powder helps to boost brain performance. Taking 750 mg of dried rosemary daily helped improve memory performance in elderly people. (44)

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21877951/

Replied by Rob
(Kentucky)
09/23/2024
★★★★★

ROSEMARY FOR REMEMBRANCE

Storyology - Plant Lore by Benjamin Taylor, 1900 page 137 – 148 (edited)

High medicinal properties were ascribed to the rosemary, so much so that old Parkinson herbalist writes: 'Rosemary is almost as great use as bayes, both for outward and inward remedies, and as well for civil as physicall purposes; inwardly for the head and heart, outwardly for the sinews and joynts; for civil uses, as all do know, at weddings, funerals, etc., to bestow among friends; and the physicall are so many that you might as well be tyred in the reading as I in the writing, if I should set down all that might be said of it.'

The virtues of the plant are celebrated in a curious wedding sermon quoted by Hone:

‘The rosemary is for married men, the which by name, nature, and continued use, man challengeth as properly belonging to himself. It overtoppeth all the flowers in the garden boasting man's rule; it helpeth the brain, strengtheneth the memory, and is very medicinal for the head. Another property is, it affects the heart. Let this rosmarinus, this flower of man, ensign of your wisdom, love, and loyalty, be carried not only in your hands but in your heads and hearts.'

The medical properties may have been over-rated by old Parkinson the herbalist (John Parkinson 1567–1650), but some are recognised even to this day. Thus rosemary is used as an infusion to cure headaches, and is believed to be an extensive ingredient in hair-restorers. It is also one of the ingredients in the manufacture of Eau-de-Cologne, and has many other uses in the form of oil of rosemary. It is said that bees which feed on rosemary blossoms produce a very delicately-flavoured honey. Perfumers are greatly indebted to it. According to De Gubernatis, the flowers of the plant are proof against rheumatism, nervous indisposition, general debility, weakness of sight, melancholy (a feeling of pensive sadness), weak circulation, and cramp. Almost as comprehensive a cure as some of our modern universal specifics!

It is as an emblem of remembrance that rosemary is most frequently used by the old poets. Thus Ophelia:

‘There is rosemary for you, that's for remembrance; I pray you, love, remember.'

And in The Winter's Tale:

‘For you there's rosemary and rue ; these keep Seeming and savour all the winter long; Grace and remembrance be with you both.'

And thus Drayton:

‘He from his lass him lavender hath sent, Showing her love, and doth requital crave; Him rosemary his sweetheart, whose intent Is that he her should in remembrance have.'

Quotations might be easily multiplied, but the reader will find in Brand's Popular Antiquities numerous references to the plant by writers of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries.


Statin Medication Link to Memory Loss

2 User Reviews
5 star (2) 
  100%

Posted by Marcee (California) on 05/05/2021
★★★★★

Editor's Choice

My dad recently got lost on his home street he has lived on for 60 years. Turns out his doctor raised his statin prescription and when the statins were reduced his memory came back. There are other medications with memory side effects. Just want people to consider this. We had no idea and dad suffered for several weeks.

Replied by Art
(California)
05/05/2021
2340 posts

Editor's Choice Hi Marcee,

Statins are known to cause fairly rapid memory issues, but the experience doesn't stop there as statins are also noted for causing muscle pain and muscle damage, and in some cases, it can be severe and non-reversible as discussed here:

https://www.myositis.org/blog/statins-cause-myositis/

Statins are also noted for causing tendon damage as outlined here:

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-019-53238-7

Sadly, many patients never draw the connection between statins and the damage they can potentially cause.

On the other hand, soy lecithin is noted for significantly lowering cholesterol and triglycerides while raising HDL cholesterol as described here:

https://www.hindawi.com/journals/cholesterol/2010/824813/

Lecithin is not noted for causing memory problems, muscle damage, and muscle pain or tendon ruptures.

Art

Replied by Tessa
(Okanagan)
05/07/2021
★★★★★

Hi Marcee from California -

Thanks for the information on memory loss and statins.

A supplement that also is critically important for people on statins is CoQ10.

According to Dr. Joseph Mercola: "Importantly, if you're on a statin drug, you need at least 100 mg to 200 mg of ubiquinol or CoQ10 per day, or more."

https://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2020/10/22/does-ubiquinol-help-afib.aspx

It's a supplement that is good for other medical issues too, such as kidney disease, heart failure, insulin resistance, etc.

I'm sure your dad will continue to improve!

Best wishes,

Tessa



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