Meditating to halt the brain drain

By The Malibu Times · Wed Aug 27 2003

Once again, this is not the column I intended to write for this week. Not because my original idea is no longer relevant, but because frankly I can't remember what the heck it was.

As I usually do, I got this germ of an idea from something I read in the newspaper or somewhere. Then I started working it around in my head and collecting related items to give it a little heft. I store clips in a folder on my desk until the impending deadline looms, and then I take out the clips and try to make some sense of them. This week, I not only couldn't make sense of them, I couldn't find them. The folder was empty save for a few leftovers from the last two weeks.

My sister called and asked me if I was writing about Schwarzenegger. I told her I might, if he ever said anything I could latch onto (beyond "Taxes, Taxes, Taxes"). Meanwhile,

I said, Steve Lopez, Peter King and Roy Rivenberg are all

doing a splendid job regaling us with their Recall Reviews in the L.A. Times.

Because my sister and I are both of an age where memory lapses are a common occurrence, I confided that I had completely lost my topic and whatever clips or notes I might have saved for it. Earlier in the week I had also lost the name of a common flower growing in my garden. I would look at it and, uh, uh, uh . . . nothing. I described the flower to my sister-who basically knows bupkes about gardens-as a tall annual, daisy-shaped flower in white, light and dark pinks with narrow, needle-shaped leaves.

"Sounds like cosmos," she said.

"That's it," I said. How mortifying.

I didn't even tell her that I misplaced my living trust documents, even though I swear I saw them recently when I was redoing my files. Not only that, I've completely forgotten the name of the attorney who drew them up sometime in the late '80s, just that his office was in Century City and I had attended one of his seminars. So now I can't even write him to get copies.

My sister and I talk all the time about memory, and do crossword puzzles and play Jeopardy for reassurance that we are not facing the Dreaded "A". Although our parents were never so diagnosed, neither was making much sense towards the end.

"Stop trying to remember and it will come to you. And don't worry, it's not Alzheimer's," she said.

"That's it," I said. "That's what I was going to write about." I had just finished reading "Elegy for Iris," about author Iris Murdock's descent into dementia, and how it began with a mild vagueness and a few inaccuracies in her latest book. Then I read in Dr. Andrew Weil's newsletter three items about Alzheimer's. One, which was about aspirin and other pain relievers, noted that epidemiological studies have linked regular use of NSAIDs (nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs) with reduced risk of Alzheimer's. One lab study found that ibuprofen and naproxen (but not aspirin) binds to the abnormal protein deposits, or amyloid plaques, found in the brains of Alzheimer's patients. Also that the herb turmeric prevented amyloid plaque in rats.

"This may be one reason why the elderly in India, where turmeric-rich curry dishes are popular, have low rates of Alzheimer's," Weil wrote. It may also be that Indian rats have perfect memories. Eating fish and nuts (sources of omega-3 fatty acids) and maintaining a healthy weight may also reduce the risk of Alzheimer's.

In another study on the beneficial effects of meditation on brain function, a cohort of Tibetan Buddhist monks, serious meditators all, scored near perfect on a series of tests of brain and reflex function.

I can do that. That is, I used to meditate and do self-hypnosis for pain control, so I've taken very few pain relievers. Trouble is, I may have forgotten how to do it. I think I used to have trouble keeping my mind focused on the stupid mantra or whatever. I already eat fish and nuts and weigh 12 pounds less than I did two years ago. I suppose I could take naproxin if it would bind my amyloid plaques and return my memory.

But then, if I could remember my mantra, I wouldn't need NSAIDs.

I have Weil's audio tape on breathing and meditation. If I could get really deep into meditation, I bet I would remember where I put those trust documents. But first I'd have to find the audio tapes.

Oh, hell. Just pass the curry.