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Protecting brain health is vital if the pursuit of a longer life is to have any meaning. According to current wisdom, some degree of cognitive decline is inevitable as we age,1-5 unless we take steps to prevent it.6-9 The ideal strategy for preserving brain function begins with preventing factors that may contribute to cognitive decline. Good nutrition, including dietary supplements, and a healthy lifestyle are key. Keep your blood pressure and weight in check. Then focus on nutritional support.
Cognitex® is formulated to take advantage of the latest developments and ingredients for cognitive health. One of the unique ingredients in the Cognitex® formula is uridine-5’-monophosphate, a critical brain nutrient.10
Uridine-5’-monophosphate (UMP) is a basic building block of RNA/DNA as well as of phosphatides such as phosphatidylcholine that are critical to brain function and the health of neuronal cell membranes. Naturally found in the milk of nursing mothers, UMP is essential for the growth and development of infant brains.11 Animal studies suggest that dietary supplementation with UMP may increase brain acetylcholine and phosphatide levels, and enhance some cholinergic functions.12,13
The Cognitex® formula provides other critical extracts that support healthy brain function, such as wild blueberry standardized to anthocyanins. Anthocyanins, found in blueberries, are considered one of nature’s most potent antioxidants and have demonstrated properties that extend well beyond suppressing free radicals.14-16
Phosphatidylserine (PS) is a crucial building block in the brain. In fact, brain tissues are especially rich in this nutrient. However, aging causes a decline in the PS content of cells throughout the body including brain cells, which can lead to cognitive decline. Phosphatidylserine helps the brain use its fuel efficiently. By boosting glucose metabolism and stimulating production of acetylcholine, supplemental phosphatidylserine has been shown to improve the condition of patients experiencing age-associated memory impairment or cognitive decline.17,18 Thus, replacing this brain food is essential.
Cognitex® contains a compound that mimics the naturally occurring PS in the brain. Sharp-PS® GOLD, fortified with omega-3 fatty acids, delivers PS to the brain to help maintain youthful cognitive function. These unique nutrients have been extensively studied and may be of tremendous benefit for the aging brain.19
The brain is a metabolically active organ that produces high levels of free radicals. These free radicals can bombard the cell membranes of neurons causing premature loss of function. Cognitex® contains a number of phytonutrient-based antioxidants that work best in a lipid (fat) rich environment like the brain.
While antioxidant nutrients provide essential free radical protection, many have limited capacity once they have spared an electron to balance a free radical. Cognitex® contains a rosemary extract that is rich in carnosic acid, which provides multi-step protection against free radicals in a process called the carnosic acid cascade.20 At each step of free radical interaction a new compound is formed, which in turn is a powerful antioxidant in itself.
Nutritional support for the brain can be challenging because the “blood-brain barrier" can keep out not only harmful substances but beneficial nutrients and drugs as well. Cognitex® contains a grape seed extract called Leucoselect® Phytosome™. By pairing grape seed polyphenols with phosphatides from soy lecithin in the Phytosome™, the uptake and distribution to target tissues of the grape seed polyphenols is enhanced.
Once in the brain, the grape seed polyphenols trap dangerous hydroxyl free radicals that turn fat rancid.21 These fats make up the outer lipid membrane of trillions of brain cells. These polyphenols also protect blood circulation and oxygen flow by improving the tone and elasticity of blood vessels.
High levels of procyanidins from grape seed extract do not ensure an extract is going to have a beneficial effect on the brain. Polyphenols with higher molecular weight cannot be absorbed. Leucoselect® Phytosome™ contains smaller size molecules for advanced neurological activity.
Taking dietary supplements can seem like an act of faith since we often cannot feel their effects. Cognitex® provides a patented, nonstimulant phytonutrient called Sensoril®. Sensoril® is a proprietary standardized extract of ashwagandha (Withania somnifera), also known as “Indian ginseng,"24-26 which is used in Ayurvedic traditional medicine for boosting brain function and alleviating mental fatigue.27 Advanced extraction practices allow for a highly concentrated yet balanced brain nutrient. The effects can often be felt immediately with greater alertness and focus ... but without jitteriness.
Stress can be very damaging to the brain, especially memory function. Sensoril® also helps modulate cortisol secretion, which positively influences the stress response.28
Cognitex® provides a NeuroProtection Complex consisting of concentrated standardized extracts of hops and rosemary that help suppress inflammatory cytokines.29
In an adult, cerebral blood flow is typically 750 milliliters per minute or 15% of the cardiac output. Vinpocetine enhances cerebral blood flow by dilating blood vessels and reducing blood viscosity. Vinpocetine enhances cerebral metabolism by helping to maintain healthy blood flow and oxygen utilization.30
L-alpha-glycerylphosphorylcholine (alpha-GPC), a precursor to the neurotransmitter acetylcholine, is naturally present in all the body’s cells.31 A decline in acetylcholine levels coincides with advancing age and is a hallmark of neurodegeneration. Cognitex® provides alpha-GPC as a crucial building block for the production of acetylcholine in the brain. The safety and importance to life of alpha-GPC is evidenced by its substantial presence in human breast milk.32,33 Proper acetylcholine function is essential to muscle control, sleep, and cognition. Alpha-GPC plays a key role in both the synthesis and the catabolic recycling of phospholipids. Alpha-GPC supplementation may result in enhanced phospholipid synthesis, including synthesis of the phosphoinositides available for signal transduction at central nervous system level.34
Cognitex® is available with or without pregnenolone. Pregnenolone is a neuroactive hormone that may be especially beneficial to the brain35-46, yet the body’s production of it declines with age.
Pregnenolone is biochemically a prohormone. It is made directly from cholesterol within the mitochondria of the adrenal glands and, to a lesser degree, the nervous system, with the help of the cholesterol side chain cleavage enzyme, p450scc. Pregnenolone is a precursor to various hormones, such as progesterone, mineralocorticoids, glucocorticoids, androgens, and estrogens. So it can help the body maintain normal hormone levels, which in turn helps numerous body functions.46-49 |