Did you know your memory is a ‘muscle’ that can be developed and strengthened by your planned efforts?  The more you use it, the stronger your ability to focus becomes.  During my 25 years with Ayurveda, we have seen unimaginable improvement in children, adults and older people’s power of memory.  Memory is one of the mind’s great powers; the problem comes when we do not use this magnificent power, and it gets rusty! 

Let’s do a little test.  Can you recall three unrelated items you were exposed to in the past five minutes?  How about something you had for breakfast two days ago?  How about the make and color of your first car?

Here are some remarkable Home Remedies that can help improve your memory:

• Take 1 teaspoon GHEE (clarified butter) or olive oil on empty stomach in the morning every day with warm herbal tea
• Eat 2-3 teaspoon of ALMOND BUTTER twice a day
• Avoid raw food and salad – instead drink fruit juices
• Eat AVOCADO frequently for its antioxidant properties that prevent memory loss
• Take 1 teaspoon of GOTUCOLA powder with water two times a day.  You can also infuse it as a tea with two cups of water.  Boil it down to one cup and sweeten with maple syrup or raw cane sugar.

Each year I see thousands of patients.  I regularly use a powerful marma (subtle energy) point pictured below – as well as potent herbs to strengthen the mental channels – and I’m able to recall the name and profession of each person who walks through the door.  Simply press this point 6X to activate your memory.  Ayurveda can transform sluggish memory quickly and marvelously! 

Most often we translate ‘memory problems’ as benign forgetfulness or short-term memory loss, unless it is diagnosed as Alzheimer’s or dementia. Many women in menopause temporarily experience memory changes that are recovered once hormonal balancing reoccurs.  What we now call ADD goes hand-in-hand with poor memory.  So, memory has become a problem regardless of age.

To sustain focus and to learn and acquire new knowledge, vata must be balanced. When pitta gets out of balance, the laying down of intermediate memory function will be impaired. And when the kapha dosha which lubricates and nourishes the brain tissue is weak, your long-term memory suffers. 

Most important is to keep vata in balance.  Keep your food spiced with ginger, garlic, cinnamon, clove, black pepper, basil, thyme and rosemary to help stimulate the agni (digestive metabolic fire). Ginger has been scientifically proven to increase the basal metabolic rate that transforms nutrients into tissues.

Make sure that your digestion and metabolism are functioning well.  It’s important to eat some protein daily because it is an essential nutrient for brain tissue. Avoid sour and fermented foods because these block the strotras, or subtle energy channels.

Ayushakti has many potent herbs that help boost memory. One California man brought his 70-year-old mother to our health center.  She had early stage Alzheimer’s and had begun to lose her memory.  She couldn’t remember whether she had eaten or what she had done five minutes earlier. She took just one Ayushakti herbal supplement called Sumedha 95 for six months, and there was a remarkable turnaround in her memory!