Mix already poor nutrition with improper or impaired nutrient absorption, and you have a recipe for memory loss. Food Factors T hese dietary tips can help you keep the memories flowing. Control your cocktails. Excessive drinking can deplete your body's stores of B vitamins, says Michael Ebadi, Ph.D., professor of pharmacology and neurology at the University of Nebraska College of Medicine in Omaha. Not only that, but drinking often takes the place of healthy eating, thus lowering the amounts of essential nutrients that you eat.
Alcohol can also make it difficult for the body to digest and absorb nutrients.
If you're going to drink at all, make sure that you don't have more than two drinks a day, says Dr. Ebadi. Details from the famous Framingham Heart Study show that the higher the blood pressure, the lower the scores on a series of mental tests, including memory tests. Researchers theorize that higher blood pressure may cause changes in blood flow to the brain. One proven strategy to bring down high blood pressure is to eat a diet that gets no more than 25 percent of its calories from fat. It s one thing to occasionally misplace your car keys.