The body manufactures an important
neurohormone called acetylcholine from the B vitamin choline, Acetylcholine is
needed to convey motor and sensory signals from one nerve cell to the next along
the nerve path. It also regulates the flow of nerve signals and is essential for
all brain functions, especially memory. When there isn’t enough acetylcholine in
the brain and nerve cells, a person experiences symptoms ranging from
depression, sluggish behavior, fatigue, slowed reflexes, muddled thinking, and
poor memory to nervousness, anxiety and hyperkinetic behavior. When
acetylcholine is adequately supplied, these disappear as brain and nerve
functions are normalized. But when acetylcholine levels are further increased by
supplementation, energy, reflexes, mental alertness, mood, memory, and learning
ability often improve beyond the normal.
Despite good nutrition and plenty of
dietary and supplemental choline, many people (perhaps up to 75% of the
population) have acetylcholine deficiencies. This generally occurs because of
membranous shields which keeps toxic waste products in the circulation from
entering the brain and central nervous system can also block some necessary
substances from gaining entry.
Choline must be converted by the liver
into its lipid soluble form before it can cross these barriers and be turned
into acetylcholine. If the body’s ability to produce this form of choline is
less than ideal, acetylcholine levels are likely to be low. There is an
alternative way to increase acetylcholine, however, Dimethylaminoethanol (DMAE),
also known as Deanol, is a safe, natural substance that easily crosses the
barriers. In the brain and nerve cells it is converted first to choline and then
to acetylcholine. In a sense DMAE may be regarded as a biochemical Trojan horse.
DMAE is a very efficient antioxidant and free radical deactivator, it
stabilizes lyposome membranes, preventing rupture of these scavenger
bodies, which would result in leakage of collected toxins and
protein-damaging enzymes. It reverses the formation of lipofuscin that
causes the so-called aging spots or liver spots. This pigment also tends
to clog brain and nerve cells as we age. DMAE also helps prevent sludging
or clumping of red blood cells and makes more of them available for
carrying oxygen to the tissues. DMAE also has several positive influences
on red blood cells. It has been found that the addition of DMAE to whole
blood stored for transfusion purposes doubles its storage life. When DMAE
was added to the drinking water of mice that were already past their mean
expected lifespan, their maximum lifespan was extended to 36.6% longer
than the controls. This indicates that it may be one of the only
life-extension substances that is significantly effective even when
started late in life.
Because
of its ability to improve muscle reflexes and increase oxygen efficiency,
many top athletes now take DMAE to improve performance and gain a
competitive edge.
