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by Michele Cagan
Your brain feels like it’s wrapped in fog, moving in slow motion.
You can’t remember what you had for lunch yesterday. It’s impossible to remember people’s names, and difficult to concentrate. You often can’t find the words you need. And simple tasks can take forever to finish.
That slow-down is frightening and frustrating, making everything you do harder.
And whether it’s the result of chemotherapy, brain injury (like concussion or stroke), or aging, that decline can be reversed… with one tiny pill.
You’re not crazy—“chemo brain” is real
No matter what anyone has told you, “chemo brain” is very real, and it affects millions of men and women, seriously disrupting their quality of life. Symptoms include memory loss, trouble multi-tasking, confusion, difficulty concentrating, and foggy thinking.
Despite crystal clear new evidence, doctors still shrug off cancer patients’ complaints about “chemo brain”, dismissing it as an effect of fatigue, stress, and anxiety. They’re wrong.
Commonly used chemotherapy drugs can kill off brain cells, even long after treatment is stopped.1 The impact of chemo brain can last weeks, months, even a lifetime, and it can have a devastating impact on everyday life. And it’s caused by more types of chemotherapies, and affects even more cancer patients than researchers expected.
• 82% of breast cancer patients suffer some degree of cognitive impairment2
• More than 80% of all cancer patients who endure chemotherapy report cognitive problems that last for months2
• Up to 20% of breast cancer survivors suffer with cognitive issues years after treatment has ended
• 40% of cancer patients taking high-dose chemotherapy before stem cell transplants continued to have substantial trouble with word recall, hand speed, and dexterity five years after treatment3
• Patients with non-Hodgkin lymphoma taking a combination of ritumixab and bendamustine suffered more severe cognitive issue than patients receiving different treatment4
So if you have ever undergone chemotherapy, and felt like your brain just hasn’t been right ever since, you’re not alone.
Chemotherapy kills more brain cells than cancer cells
As it turns out, chemotherapy may be more toxic to brain cells than to cancer cells. One in vitro study2 looked at three common chemo drugs (carmustine, cisplatin, and cytosine arabinoside) that treat many types of cancers. They learned that these drugs killed 40 to 80% of cancer cells… but 70 to 100% of brain cells, even at very low concentrations.
And now researchers know at least part of the reason that various chemotherapy drugs cause “chemo brain.”
One critical factor is their impact on brain cell regeneration, especially in the hippocampus, the part of the brain where memories form.
In fact, a single high dose of common chemotherapy cyclophosphamide (also know as Cytoxan) led to a 40.9% reduction of new brain cells.5 Research has also shown that chemotherapy can also demolish a special type of brain cell that produces myelin, the fatty insulation surrounding nerve cells that helps establish clear signals between the cells.
And two separate studies6,7 found that chemotherapy actually reduces the amount of grey matter (responsible for things like seeing, hearing, memory, decision making, and speech) in the brain. In both studies, researchers conducted brain imaging on chemotherapy patients and controls before treatment started, one month after treatment was done, and a year after treatment was done. Both studies found decreased grey matter in the patients on chemotherapy at that one-month mark. And while there was some recovery, there were still definite persistent losses a full year after treatment was finished.
There’s nothing mainstream medicine can do to combat these tragic losses—but there is something you can do to reclaim your brain power.
“My brain cells are connecting again”
Sarah Spalding felt like she was living in a fog, inside a cloud.
That was one very unfortunate, long-lasting side effect of the aggressive triple chemotherapy treatment she endured to combat advanced inflammatory breast cancer. At first, the physical side effects were so overwhelming that she didn’t even notice the “chemo brain,” but as those symptoms subsided, she realized her brain was moving in slow motion.
“After treatment, when I got back to work, I noticed it more. I felt like my brain just couldn’t keep up. I dealt with some memory loss, my thinking wasn’t as quick. And I couldn’t find the right words to say and write as fast as I could before.”
Then Sarah found Vectomega, and the cloud started lifting.
“It gave my brain a boost right away,” she told me. “I felt sharper and more alert, like my brain cells are finally connecting again.”
Don’t call me fish oil
When people talk about crucial omega-3 fatty acids, fish oil rules the conversation. But fish oil itself is not an omega-3—it’s more like a taxicab that carries omega-3 passengers, particularly DHA (Docosahexaenoic acid) and EPA (eicosapentaenoic acid).
With Vectomega, you get the passengers, without having to take the whole cab. You get the benefits of fish oil—brain and heart healthy fatty acids—without the fish oil, and without its limitations.
And fish oil does come with some very real drawbacks (and I’m not just talking about fish burps). Creating fish oil takes a lot of processing, and that can include extreme heat and solvents. That process alters the structure of the omega-3 fatty acids, so they’re no longer identical to the fatty acids your body uses naturally.
Don’t get me wrong, they’re still DHA and EPA, still essential fatty acids, they just get a little bent out of shape. And just like a bent key, you can still use them, but it’s a tougher fit, and takes a little jiggling.
Vectomega, on the other hand, is so minimally processed that the DHA and EPA fatty acids maintain their perfect shape. And like a perfect match key, these bio-identical omega-3s easily slide right into place, so they’re easier for your body—especially your brain—to absorb and use.
Your brain is a DHA hog
Without DHA, you wouldn’t have any brain cells. In fact, DHA is the main structural component of brain tissue.
More than any other fatty acid, your brain craves DHA, and it uses it up very fast.
This crucial fat is essential for brain growth and development in babies, and adult brains cannot function properly without it.8 Too little, and you slide into cognitive decline—but replenish that DHA, and your brain will light up again.
EPA picks up the slack
DHA does a lot for your brain, but there are some things that EPA just does better.
Calming inflammation, for example, is one area in which EPA shines.
And while DHA rules brain power, EPA has more impact on behavior and mood,9 even helping ward off depression10
Together, these two omega-3 fatty acids can have an enormous impact on your brain health and brain power—and there are dozens of studies to prove it, especially when it comes to brains already suffering some kind of slow down.
Omega-3s protect your brain from strokes
When you suffer a stroke, the blood flowing to part of your brain stops. When that happens, your brain loses precious nutrients and oxygen—and that can cause serious damage.
Ensuring your brain gets plenty of DHA and EPA can make all the difference. Omega-3 fatty acids can help reduce the risk of suffering a stroke in the first place. But if you do suffer a stroke, these same omega-3s can help save your brain.
For one thing, people with low levels of DHA and EPA suffer more brain deterioration after a stroke.11
One study suggests that supplementing with these omega-3 fatty acids helps repair the brain and improve the odds of brain function recovery after a stroke.12
And by helping reduce the risk of stroke, omega-3s help prevent cognitive decline, dementia and even Alzheimer’s disease.13
Save your brain from cognitive decline
Losing your brainpower, losing yourself… it’s one of the scariest things that can happen. Omega-3 fatty acids can help make sure it doesn’t.
There’s a rapidly growing body of scientific evidence that DHA and EPA can fend off cognitive decline and keep your brain sharp. Researchers report14 that omega-3s “may be a promising tool for preventing age-related brain deterioration.”
A six-month study15 of older adults with mild cognitive impairment found that supplementing with EPA and DHA improved verbal fluency and symptoms of depression. The researchers concluded that these omega-3s could help prevent the progression to dementia. Another study16 found that DHA improved memory, verbal skills, and learning in patients with age-related cognitive decline.
And a double-blind placebo-controlled study17 of 174 patients with Alzheimer’s disease found that supplementing with DHA and EPA significantly reduced continued cognitive decline in patients with very mild AD.
“People notice how much sharper I am”
Jeff Nottingham was having a tough time. His cholesterol came in at about 350, and the doctor wanted him to start Lipitor. But Jeff was wary of statin drugs, and decided to try something natural first. He tried flax oil—no luck. He tried fish oil, but had a terrible time with fish burps. So Jeff turned to Vectomega to balance out his cholesterol. And that’s when he got a big surprise.
Almost immediately, he felt an amazing change in his clarity and memory. “Even after the first dose, I felt a difference,” he told me. “There were some pretty amazing changes. I used to forget a lot, and had problems with my long and short-term memory.”
“Vectomega made a huge impact on my life. People really notice how much sharper I am. And at the last check, my cholesterol was down by about 100 points.”
The Vectomega difference
Earlier we talked a little about how Vectomega is different than fish oil, bringing you DHA and EPA without the “taxicab,” in a form that’s easier for your brain to use.
In fact, an unpublished study conducted by the manufacturer found that Vectomega is 50 times more absorbable by your brain cells than other omega-3 products. And taking just two Vectomega tablets (600 mg) gives you the same amount of omega-3s as sixteen standard fish oil capsules (7200 mg).
And another 60-day in-house study of 40 healthy participants showed that Vectomega improved quality of life, including:
• long-term memory
• short-term memory
• mental vivacity
• concentration
In fact, 76% of the subjects saw improvement in short-term memory, and 77% had better concentration after just two months with Vectomega.
Supercharge your brain power and combat mental decline with Vectomega
Fighting cognitive decline has never been easier. Vectomega gives your brain exactly what it needs to overcome “chemo brain”, stroke, and the impact of time.
The manufacturer recommends taking one or two Vectomega tablets daily.
You may have a momentary fishy sensation immediately when you take the capsule, but it really only lasts for a second—and you can eliminate it completely by taking your tablets with orange juice. After that, there is no fish taste or aftertaste, and no fish burps.
You can find ordering information for Vectomega below.
Vectomega, Terry Naturally Vitamins, Ph: (866)807-2731; www.TerryNaturallyVitamins.com. Vectomega costs US$25.95 (plus shipping) for 30 tablets. HSI members will receive free shipping by using code HSINOV2014 through December 31, 2014. Free shipping is available only in the continental U.S.
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