Vitamins for Memory Loss

Normal aging is a cause for memory loss. As you grow older, your brain loses the ability to retain information as efficiently as it once did. Memory loss can also occur with certain conditions like Alzheimer's disease, strokes, or when the brain tissues have been injured. Sometimes your mood can affect your memory as well. Thankfully, some vitamins can help alleviate problems with memory loss.

Vitamin B6

• Vitamin B6 or pyridoxine promotes the production of brain chemicals and neurotransmitters, so that messages can be sent from one brain neuron to another. You need vitamin B6 so that your body can produce norepinephrine, serotonin, and melatonin. Norepinephrine and serotonin play a role in your mood, and melatonin helps keep your body regulated with natural circadian rhythms.

  You can derive this vitamin from foods high in B6 like salmon, tuna, spinach, brown rice, sunflower seeds, whole-grain flour, bran, soybeans, milk, beef liver, shrimp, turkey, and lentils. Adding one or more helpings of the latter foods each day to your diet can improve your recall ability. You can also take a vitamin supplement with B6 in it. For males and females ages 14 to 50, the recommended daily allowance (RDA) of B6 is 1.2 to 1.3 milligrams. For males and females over 50, the RDA for B6 is 1.5 to 1.7 milligrams daily.

Vitamin B9

• Vitamin B9 (or folic acid) promotes mental clarity, and assists the body in generating RNA and DNA: necessary genetic material. This vitamin has also been found helpful for those that have Alzheimer's disease, and for alleviating issues with depression which can have an influence on your memory. People ages 14 and older require at least 400 micrograms a day of vitamin B9. Pregnant women require 600 micrograms daily, while breastfeeding women need 500 micrograms.

  Natural food sources for vitamin B9 include dark green vegetables, turnips, asparagus, mustard greens, beets, soybeans, beef liver, salmon, avocados, mung beans, and Brussels sprouts. Whole grain breads and cereals are also rich in folic acid. This vitamin can also be consumed as a supplement at a dosage of one 1,000-microgram capsule daily.

Vitamin B12

• Vitamin B 12 (or cobalamin) works in conjunction with S-adenosylmethionine to enhance immunological functioning and to balance your mood. Without the right amount of vitamin B12, you might experience fatigue, which can have a negative effect on your memory---and a deficiency in this vitamin plays a role in the onset of disorientation as well.

  Vitamin B12 can be gained by consuming foods like beef, eggs, pork, fish, and other animal foods. For people ages 14 and older, 2.4 micrograms per day are required for optimal health. This vitamin can be consumed as a supplement by taking one 1,000-microgram capsule daily with food for ease of digestion.

Vitamin C and E

• Vitamin C and E are filled with antioxidants that naturally destroy free radicals in the body that are responsible for cellular death and DNA damage. Vitamin C helps tissues heal and grow. Vitamin E is used to treat Alzheimer's, since the vitamin has the ability to alleviate oxidative stress in the brain; a contributing factor in Alzheimer's disease. Vitamin E also improves mental clarity, cognitive functioning, and considerably slows the aging of tissues and cells.

  People ages 14 to 18 require at least 65 milligrams of Vitamin C daily; people over eighteen require a daily allowance of 90 milligrams of vitamin C. Natural food sources include things like broccoli, cabbage, citrus juices, oranges, cranberries, pineapples, grapefruit, melons, and papaya. Vitamin C can be consumed as a supplement daily by taking one 1,000-milligram capsule per day.

  People ages 14 and older require 22.5 International Units of vitamin E daily for optimal health. Natural food sources containing vitamin E include liver, eggs, nuts, corn-oil margarine, sunflower seeds, avocados, wheat germ, and asparagus. This vitamin can be consumed as a supplement at a dosage of one to three 400 IU capsules a day with a meal.