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Ever forget where your keys are? Or maybe what you did yesterday? Yeah, we all blank on those from time to time, no matter what age we are. Sometimes there's just too much going on to remember everything, or maybe some things aren't important enough to keep track of. But, sometimes it's more of a concern to people than you think.

Memory loss can be a devastating condition to come to terms with. It may appear as short-term, age-onset, disease-onset, stress, or even trauma induced. This makes it difficult to spot exactly what's causing it and what to do about it. It might even feel like you're just grabbing at straws seeing what proactive actions work. But there ARE known, beneficial actions you can take, and studies and research have shown that memory loss may not have to be as permanent as people think!¹*

Brain Exercise

Memory needs to be exercised to stay healthy. But wait! There's an app for that! With apps being developed for just about everything, there are now tons of apps/games for improving memory and brain function. Popular ones include:

• Luminosity - Has games that focus on improving memory, attention span, problem solving, and thinking. You'll be challenged by games constantly changing on you and you'll be playing against a clock.
• Fit Brains Trainer - Improved memory and concentration are the focus of these games. This app tracks your progress daily by utilizing 10 sets of games that work on different areas of the brain.
• CogniFit Brain Fitness - This app was developed by neuroscientists and focuses on memory and concentration. Your progress is tracked and you can customize the difficulty level to suit you as you progress. You also have the ability to play challenge rounds with friends.
• Brain Fitness Pro - This fun app is user friendly and can encourage improvements in just 30 minutes a day in just 3 weeks. The makers of the app claim that it can improve the IQ of the user, and improve intelligence and memory.
• Clockwork Brain - This app comes with a variety of games to play to help give fun exercises for the brain.

The Blood-Brain Barrier

You might not know this, but there's a protective layer around the brain known as the blood-brain barrier, which allows only certain substances to pass from the bloodstream into the brain. If the blood inside this layer is filled with cholesterol and triglycerides, then the amount of nutrient-rich blood trying to pass through this layer to get to the brain decreases. It's just too "thick" to pass through. This is why it's important to have a good, low-fat diet, incorporate daily physical exercise, and limiting the things that can cause this.*

Some good habits to incorporate and improve this are:

• Limit refined sugar intake
• Eat more raw foods - fruits (good sugars), vegetables, fish, nuts, brown rice, farm eggs
• Avoid excessive use of alcohol
• Get regular physical exercise, even if it's just 30 minutes of walking outside - get the body moving!
• Avoid tobacco
• Eat more blueberries and spinach
• Avoid dairy and wheat products

Beneficial Nutrients

• Ginkgo Biloba - It's been found to improve mental function at any age. It acts as a powerful antioxidant and increases blood flow to the brain, which allows the brain to get enough blood oxygen and energy for enhanced memory and brain function.*
• Phosphatidylserine - This is present in the structure of cell membranes and is used to help prevent a decline in learning capacity and improve memory.²*
• Acetyl L-Carnetine - This is an amino acid that has shown improvement in cognitive function and memory. Two separate studies were conducted with Alzheimer's patient taking Acetyl L-Carnetine - the results showed a significantly reduced decline in mental deterioration than compared with a placebo.³*
• L-Glutamine - It's another amino acid thought to play a role in mental sharpness and memory improvements. It's commonly referred to as glutamic acid or 'brain food' which is used as an energy source by the brain. Glutamine transforms into glutamic acid in the brain after successfully passing the blood-brain barrier. It also helps strengthen immunity brought on by stress.⁴*
• Alpha Lipoic Acid - It's used as a potent antioxidant that detoxifies heavy metals and regulates blood sugar levels. It acts as a key constituent in energy production, slowing the aging process, and may help regenerate neurons in humans. This would make it potentially useful for brain neuro-degenerated diseases.⁵‾⁶*
• Vitamin B Complex - Has been shown to promote proper circulation to the brain and aid in brain function and memory.*

If you want to be proactive and you don't have any of these in your daily routine, check out our custom BRAIN & MEMORY formulas for all ages.

References

1. Mayoclinic.com/invoke.cfm
2. Hendler, S.S. MD, PhD, The Doctor's Vitamin and Mineral Encyclopedia, Simon & Schuster Publishing, 1991, pp. 271-2.
3. Mqrx.com/gateway/acetyl-gate.html
4. Carper, J, Stop Aging Now, HarperCollins Publishers, 1996, p.135
5. Lef.org/magazine/mag96/march96_update6.html
6. Cichoke, A.J., PhD, The Complete Book of Enzyme Therapy, Avery Publishing, 1999, p.67.

Collagen has gotten quite popular the past few years. Especially, with the discovery or attention of how increasing the intake of this protein in our diet affects a number of bodily features. From benefiting our skin, to supporting our joints and ligaments, to helping the aging process we all have to go through. Its uses are vast and nothing short of amazing.*

Benefits of Collagen*

• Improves skin elasticity
• Reduces wrinkles
• Reduces appearance of cellulite and stretch marks
• Supports nail growth
• Helps prevent hair loss, thinning and graying
• Aids muscle regeneration
• Helps boost muscle mass and prevent muscle disorders
• Helps lower joint pain and swelling
• Supports tendon repair
• Helps prevent bone loss
• Helps prevent osteoporosis
• Supports eye health
• Helps leaky gut
• Aids heart health
• Supports brain health

Collagen is the most prevalent protein in our bodies and there are a lot of types of collagen out there. They all have slightly different functions, so which type you choose depends on the goals you want to achieve. Most are consumables and are the recommended ones, for the topical collagen is not as effective - the size of the molecule is difficult to absorb into the skin.*

Types of Collagen

• Type I Collagen: This is the most abundant type in your body. It's in almost every tissue of the body: skin, tendons, bones, cartilage, connective tissue and teeth. Type I collagen fibers are incredibly strong and can withstand a lot of pressure without breaking down.*
• Type II Collagen: This is present in cartilage.*
• Type III Collagen: This can be found next to Type I and in muscles, organs, arteries, bone, spleen, and more.*
• Type IV Collagen: Found in layers of the body that support cells.*
• Type V Collagen: Found in bones, eyes, and the connective tissue of muscles, liver, lungs and placenta.*

Foods that Boost Collagen Production*

• Meat - chicken, beef, turkey
• Citrus - Lemons, limes, oranges, grapefruits
• Dark Greens - Spinach and kale
• Red Veggies - Beets and bell peppers
• Cacao
• Flax Seeds
• Fish - Salmon, mackerel and tuna
• Garlic
• Avocados
• Berries - blueberries, strawberries, raspberries
• Nuts & Seeds - walnuts, almonds, sunflower seeds
• Bone Broth

Dr. Bo's Anti-Aging Formula collagen supplement comes in the form of "hydrolyzed" Type I & III - which is very common and just means that the collagen has been broken down into it's smaller form, called peptides, which is easier for the body to absorb.*

Healthy Sweetener – Stevia

We all love our sweets. A nice glass of lemonade. Some ice cream after dinner. Or maybe we just get our sugar craving like usual that we HAVE TO satisfy! And what do we reach for? Sugar! We all do it.

Sugar is one of those things nowadays that we all know is not good for us. It spikes our sugar levels, damages our teeth and gums, and loads more. It's one of the most addictive substances out there and can be harmful for all of us.  It is found in more things than you can imagine, so make sure to read ALL labels!*

Instead of ruining your life by cutting out all the sweets you love, simply substitute sugar with a quality stevia.

Stevia is a safe and amazing alternative to sugar and you can find it in more and more products these days.

• Stevia is derived from a plant*
• Doesn’t add calories*
• Doesn't contain carbs*
• 200 times sweeter than sugar*
• Studies suggest stevia might have extra health benefits*

Stevia is a South American herb that's been used as a natural sweetener for centuries. With its steviol glycoside extracts having up to 300 times the sweetness of sugar, it has garnered attention with the rise in demand for low-carbohydrate, low-sugar food alternatives. Because stevia has a negligible effect on blood glucose, it is attractive as a natural sweetener to people on carbohydrate-controlled diets.

Stevia has a zero glycemic index, has zero calories, zero sugar and zero carbs and it has been shown to help normalize blood pressure, aid digestion, handle cravings, balance blood sugar, help kill the bad organisms in the mouth, and is great for diabetics! You can cook and bake with it, pour it on any foods, add it to any beverage, smoothie or shake and use it to flavor your purified water to help replace soda or any other sweetened drink. When you have a sugar craving, just take a sip of your stevia sweetened water and it will handle the craving.*

Just give it a shot!

Stevia comes in all sorts of forms, but most common are a powder or a liquid. There are many out there that you can find in stores, but know that some have a bitter after taste. That's because the quality of the product is low. That company will use the stem of the plant and not the leaf, which is what you want - stevia from the leaf.*

Here are some good options we carry that are high quality, from the leaf, and do NOT have a bitter after-taste:*

It can be tough to gauge portions accurately when eating, especially when our mouths are bigger than our stomachs or when eating out! So many health complications can develop by eating too much, like diabetes, weight, constipation, stomach pains, and more. That's why it's SO IMPORTANT that we always keep good portion size in mind when eating.

Use these 7 tips to get started:

1. Eat All 3 Major Meals

Breakfast, lunch and dinner are famous for a reason. They sustain us for the entire day. If you're starving, you're more likely to eat an extra-large portion of food. For most people, the best plan is to eat three well-designed meals and one snack during the day. This way you're not starving, you know what's coming, and you can have a good schedule.

2. Get a Food Scale

We all like to just "eye ball it" when it comes to measuring out our food. Though, doing that only leaves the door open to inconsistencies and being over or under fed, which only creates more unwanted weight or hunger. A simple food scale from your local store can help measure out those couple ounces of meat or potatoes you're looking to limit. Once you have it, it's easy to incorporate. Plus, it's a good little accountability device.

3. Know Your Backup Measures

No one's going to bring a food scale when they're out at a restaurant. It's just not practical. Just keep in mind that 3 ounces of lean meat is about the size of a deck of cards or thick wallet, and a cup of breakfast cereal is about the size of a fist, tennis ball, or baseball. These come in pretty handy when traveling or in a new restaurant.

4. Serving Size vs. Portion Size

Is there a difference? Yes! Remember all those numbers on the side of a box of food called "Nutritional Facts"? Those are there for a reason. One of which is to help you know what a serving size is for that particular food. Also, it really makes you aware exactly how much sugar, carbs, fat, etc. are in a single serving. If your portion size is bigger than the serving size on the box or jar like for instance twice as big, then you'll have to double all those numbers on the box. You might be surprised when you look at that!

5. Use Your Plates and Bowls as Portion Controllers

If you have large dinner plates, small plates, different sized bowls and more, then you have your very own portion control devices. You can even find plates and bowls that have lines drawn out offering portion sizes to help with this. All it takes is remembering that.

6. Incorporate Good "Eating Out" Habits

Whey you eat your meal, first eat all the vegetables and greens. This is where we get our nutrition and is the main food that the body wants. Also, know that restaurants specialize in big-portions - a piece of meat like steak is 3-4 servings, so you could divide that up over a few meals. Lastly, when you order, tell the server to only serve you half the meal and put the other half in a to-go box.

7. Have a Plan

Keep track of what you eat, so that you can see any trends that may happen when you gain or lose weight. Also, this will help keep you accountable. Plan out your meals, so that you know what's to come and you won't get off track. Most people deciding what to eat on a whim will order or eat too much, or even reach for that extra dessert.

Digestion is the process by which the complex materials of food are broken down into simpler substances in preparation for their entrance into the bloodstream. For example, proteins are broken down into various amino acids; carbohydrates, composed of starches and sugars, are converted to glucose, a simple sugar; and fats are broken down into new tissue. Let’s look at this process in more detail.

Three Steps to Digestion

Step 1:  The Mouth

The human digestive tract is divided into three cavities: the mouth, the stomach and the small intestine. When food enters the mouth, it’s masticated and mixed with saliva, initiating the digestive process.

Appropriate digestive juices are also secreted here, according to the type of food ingested. If the food contains starch, then the enzyme amylase is also secreted. This enzyme is active only in the presence of starch and will not be secreted otherwise.

Step 2:  The Stomach

After leaving the mouth, food passes down the esophagus and into the stomach. Here, gastric juice is secreted, containing primarily hydrochloric acid and digestive enzymes. The concentration of hydrochloric acid varies, again depending on the type of food ingested. Protein requires a highly acidic medium for the digestive enzyme pepsin, to be effective.

Starches and fats, however, require a nearly neutral medium for their digestion. In fact, salivary amylase is actually destroyed in the presence of highly acidic gastric juices, and the enzyme, gastric lipase, secreted for fat digestion, is also inhibited in its work in the presence of a highly acidic medium. These distinctions represent a significant factor in complicated digestion.

Step 3: The Intestines

The next factor to consider is this: each cavity contains its own distinctive digestive secretions with which to carry out its own specific work of digestion. And at each stage of this process, digestion proceeds more or less efficiently, depending upon the conditions present at each stage.

In other words, the efficiency of digestion in the intestines is dependent upon the work done in the mouth and stomach. It is a sequential operation.  For example, if pepsin, the enzyme secreted in the stomach during the first stage of protein digestion, has not converted these proteins into peptones due to unfavorable conditions present in the stomach, then erepsin, the enzyme secreted in the intestine, will not be able to carry on the final stage of protein digestion, that of converting the peptones into amino acids. Each stage of digestion must not be interfered with if we desire efficient digestion.

Be sure to take Digestive Enzymes with every meal to aid this process and help support the breaking down of foods to absorb the most nutrients possible.

Our modern way of life is conducive to colon diseases such as cancer. By changing our eating habits and lifestyle, we may avoid or heal colon disease. Listed below are several things we can do to help prevent colon disease or even correct deficiencies provided they haven’t progressed too far. In doing so, excess weight will just melt off until your body stabilizes.*

Avoid All Stomach Irritants*

These can make it more difficult for the body to perform it's normal digestive and elimination functions needed to absorb nutrients from food and eliminate waste properly:*

• Baking Powder and Baking Soda
• Caffeine Drinks (coffee, tea, soda, etc.). (Non-caffeinated herbal tea is okay)
• Carbonated Beverages: Waters & Sodas
• Concentrated Foods
• Hot Pepper. (Capsicum - Cayenne Pepper is OK)
• Nicotine
• Sugar and Spices (except fresh or powdered herbs and Stevia)
• Vinegar Products
• Dairy/Casein Products including cheese. (Nut and Grain beverages and cheeses are ok)
• All Gluten Products including Wheat, Oats, Rye and Barley. (INSTEAD, eat fresh fruits, nuts, non-starchy vegetables, lean protein, superfood shakes and non-gluten grains: Quinoa, Amaranth, Millet, Buckwheat or Whole Grain Rice.)

Over-Ripe Fruits & Vegetables

Do not consume over-ripe fruits or vegetables or foods having the faintest taint of spoilage or foods “aged” during processing, such as hard cheeses, sauerkraut, pickles, etc.

Incorporate Proper Food Combining

The stomach has a very difficult time trying to digest a variety of foods all at once. You might notice sometimes you get bloated when you start eating a meal, or you get that rumbling feeling when you have a small portion of lunch or dinner. Sound familiar? Yeah, we all go through that from time to time and it's an issue with the way we mix our foods together. We need to keep it more basic / simple. Follow smart food combining rules such as:*

• Eat fruits alone. Never mix fruits with anything else, because fruits digest very quickly - about 30-60 minutes. Most other foods take hours to digest.*
• Your other meals should be vegetables with protein or vegetables with grains/starches. Never mixing protein and grains/starches together.*

Eat Foods According to Your Blood Type

Not every body type digests all food the same. Some people digest chicken better than others, or maybe corn, tomatoes, or even peanuts! Eat food choices according to your personal blood type: O, A, B, AB using Dr. Bo’s Guide for Smart Food Choices for a complete, current list of your blood type foods.*

Red Meat

Red meat has a lot of uric acid content. So, it's best if this food is eaten sparingly, not all the time. Blood Types O and B can have red meat, but not more than once every two weeks due to the high uric acid content. All other blood types should avoid red meat altogether, since they do not produce the stomach acids to digest it.*

Fiber & Colon Cleansing Herbs

It's important to make sure we are releasing the waste in our colon regularly - a few times every day. Animals eat and go, babies eat and go. It's the cycle of a normal functioning colon. If you eat 3 meals a day, but only go once a day, this means you still have 2 meals stuck in your colon sitting there potentially being reabsorbed into the body as toxic material, creating constipation, adding weight, and a load of other possible issues.*

Add psyllium husk fiber and a colon cleanser (Colon Magic or 15 Day Colon Detox) to your diet 1-2 times each day. Fiber adds the bulk / roughage that helps clean the colon, and colon cleansing herbs help the colon get everything out by stimulating the colon's natural wave-like motion called peristalsis to push waste out. Be sure to drink at least 8 oz. of water with these products, and follow it with an additional 8 oz. of water, for a total of 16 oz. of water. The amount of water is very important.*

Don't Be an Animal at the Dinner Table

• Eat slowly, in small bites and chew well. Good rule: chew your liquids and drink your solids. Your stomach does not have teeth.*
• Eat only when hungry. True hunger is a pleasant sensation in the mouth and throat.*
• Reduce overeating. Leave the table slightly hungry. Your food expands in 30 minutes.*
• Your diet should consist of 60% alkaline foods (fruits and vegetables) & 40% acid foods.*
• Reduce processed foods, fried foods, dried foods & chemically altered food with hydrogenated oils.

Help Your Stomach Digest Well with Digestive Enzymes

For improved digestion, take a full spectrum enzyme just before or during meals. When taking your enzymes consume at least 8 oz. of water. Water is required to activate the “water craving” hydrolytic enzymes. The moisture in the mouth may not be sufficient. If you are taking other vitamins, take them with this same glass of water. If you are not taking a full spectrum enzyme with your meals, do not drink water with your meal. Instead, drink at least 30 minutes before and 60 minutes after a meal, but never with it, unless you are taking enzymes. To complete the digestive process while you sleep, take the full spectrum enzymes just before bedtime.*

Probiotics = Balanced Intestinal Tract

To help establish and build friendly bacteria and flora in the intestines, consume daily a multi strain Probiotic and Prebiotic to achieve good elimination, absorption, digestion and strong immune system.*

H2O

We're made up of mostly water. Depending on the source you check, it can be anywhere between 65-80% of our bodies. Water helps our organs function and move waste out the body. It's the bodies internal lubrication. So make sure you're drinking plenty of water EVERYDAY. Drink a gallon (4 quarts) of water daily – more on fasting days. Adding the juice of a squeezed lemon in warm water in the morning adds loads of benefits like:

• Helps with energy*
• Aids digestion*
• Helps flush out unwanted materials*
• Supports weight loss*
• Helps balance pH levels*
• Helps boost immune system*
• Great for skin*

Other "Food" for Thought

• Be consistent with your mealtimes and bedtime (this helps your digestive system, allowing it to become accustomed to work times and rest times).*
• Do not crowd meals close together. Put a minimum of 4-5 hours between the end of one meal and the beginning of the next, with ideally nothing in-between, giving the stomach an opportunity to rest. If you do need snacks, eat nuts and seeds, fruit and vegetable juices, superfood shake with or without a protein powder or foods that will combine well with the foods you have had or are going to eat.
• Fast one day each week. Take 8-10 activated charcoal tablets at bedtime on the night before each fast. This will help absorb the toxins released by the fast. You can either do a fruit fast or a juice fast (fresh fruit or vegetable juices), a lemonade fast, or a grapefruit lymph fast is best. It is nice to give the body a rest. We don’t die from knee injuries we usually die from organ failure. We tend to overtax our bodies and wear it out.*