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Mental Clarity

By Jesse Kornbluth
Published: Mar 26, 2023
Category: Health

Carol Fitzgerald has been my partner in bookreporter.com for 25 years. Her memory is terrifying. Books, publishers, sales, writers — the modern history of publishing is in her head. Last week, an epic fail: “I was doing a quick errand and decided not to carry my pocketbook. Instead I tossed my driver’s license in a small leather wallet and headed out. My wallet? The last time I saw it was on the counter in the kitchen. I am 99% sure I picked it up to bring it upstairs, but I have yet to find it. I’m sure that it’s some place crazy, like on a shelf in the freezer. I ordered a duplicate license. As soon as it comes in the mail, I will find the wallet. That is the way life works!” I wrote Carol to say that one reason I keep a landline is to call my cell when I can’t find it. (It’s usually under a pile of research, a few inches from this screen.) She wrote back that she keeps a landline for the same reason. Are we the only ones suffering from spotty memories? Maybe this is a good time to republish this….

I remember three words for “tremble” in French… from 1963. Your name? It eludes me. I have to fight for it. Could this be inevitable at my age? Could “long Covid” be responsible? I don’t care why. I just want my memory back.

I could train my mind with brain exercises. But I already do those exercises; I call them “writing.” So… a pill.

I’m reluctant to be writing about anything you put in your mouth that isn’t food. Herbal supplements aren’t regulated, and high standards depend on the conscience of the people who own those companies. If you’re the sort of person who buys these supplements and doesn’t read up on the possible side effects, you could damage your health. Or lose a baby.

Banyan is a company with considerable integrity. So I bought a bottle and, on the advice of my friend and guide Pamela Miles, began taking 2 pills a day. [To buy “Mental Clarity” from Amazon, click here.]. Pamela also recommends Lion’s Mane Drops, “a mushroom fruiting body believed to support brain plasticity and brain health.” [To buy them, click here.] 

How am I doing?

At the start, I was dealing with situations with less hysteria and desperation. Then — drum roll, rim shot — I forgot to take them. Readers have shared their experience:

Mental Clarity (Reader Review): “A number of situations have occurred — both work and play — that would have had me up the wall, but I’ve just shrugged my way through them. After one incident, I noted how unstressed (de-stressed) my reaction was. So there’s a rousing testimonial.

Mental Clarity (Reader Review #2): “I ordered Mental Clarity when I was felled by flu and feeling sure that I’d never be able to do my nonprofit’s annual fundraising appeal nor in fact ever write anything useful ever again. There seemed to be a Black Dog factor in the brain fog, along with the sneezing & coughing. Lo, what to write came clear and the Black Dog disappeared. If the appeal goes well, I’ll have to credit your finding Mental Clarity.”

Mental Clarity (Reader Review #3): “The effect is subtle but I feel notably more alert. Somehow I just articulate and think more fluently.”

What’s in these pills? Brahmi, which is said to “improve capacity for attention and focus, improve the ability to withstand emotional stress, reduce nervousness and anxiety and improve immune system function.” And Ashwaghandha, which is said to improve memory and “protect the brain against brain cell deterioration.”  In short, Ayurvedic medicine.

Let me urge you, before you buy anything not prescribed by a doctor, to read about the potential side effects. . And think about other things you might do that get blood pumping through your head and ideas surging in your brain. For example: exercise.

If you do buy Mental Clarity, monitor any changes in your attitude and behavior. Are you buying more notebooks? Scribbling deep into the night? If so, good for you.