To investigate the effects of glucose, or a combination of saccharides, or a placebo on the memory performance of middle-aged adults. A double-blind, placebo controlled design was used. A population-based sample of 45 men and women (aged 40-63 years) completed a series of memory tasks following administration of a single dose of either glucose, a combination of saccharides or placebo. Memory tasks included immediate and delayed recall, recognition, short-term memory, working memory, and a test of general cognitive ability. There were no statistically significant effects of treatments on any of the outcome measures. The pattern of means in the combination of saccharides group suggests potential enhancement effects of memory performance in middle-aged adults that deserves further investigation.