(STUDY FINDS) — Most adults are aware that impairment of cognition can become a concern with aging. By its nature, assigning degrees of ability to think and memory are inexact. There’s no clear demarcation between the normal slowing of cognition with age and the onset of various types of dementia. This murky area has spawned a billion-dollar industry of brain supplements. How can the average person know what to think about supplements, with more falsehoods and hyperbole than fact in the media? Here’s what you need to know:
There are more than 650 distinct products sold over-the-counter as supplements purported to improve cognition and memory, boost energy, or delay dementia. Studies have shown that 25 to 75 percent of adults older than 50 take a brain supplement. Marketing targets several populations, including aging people concerned about cognitive decline, adults wanting to improve performance or prevent decline, and elite performers.
Brain supplement users tend to make their choices based on so-called information from friends, peers, family, and other reliable and unreliable sources. Manufacturers are required to report the exact ingredients and formulations listed on the Supplement Facts labels of products. Unfortunately, many reports have found that these labels are not always truthful, and the content of some products is inconsistent with the ingredients listed in the Supplement Facts.
