Best Brain Foods for Health

There are so many more reasons besides belly-size to choose healthy recipes. Here are the best brain foods to eat for health, memory and mental focus!

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Best Brain Food for Health, Memory and Focus

If you want to give your brain a natural boost, the first thing you can do is look at your diet. There are many of foods you can add in that are not only good for brain and memory function, but great for the rest of your body as well. Here are some tips for the best brain food to keep in your house.

Follow a Well-Balanced Diet

This sounds simple and obvious, but it really does help you ensure you are getting enough foods to help your brain development and cognitive function. When you try really hard to have a well-balanced diet, including having plenty of lean protein, fruits and vegetables, whole grains, nuts and seeds, you have a better chance at eating the foods that are good for brain and memory health. From eating salads with more veggies, to making salmon and broccoli for dinner, these foods contain nutrients your brain needs.

Get in Your Leafy Greens

You might not want to hear this – but leafy greens are one of the most important foods for your brain health. Try to sneak in these best brain foods in any way you can, even if you don’t necessarily enjoy the taste of spinach and kale. While salads with greens are an easy option, they are definitely not the only way to eat your greens.

You can add some chopped kale to your soup or chili while it is cooking, add spinach to scrambled eggs or quiches, or add any leafy greens to a smoothie. Green smoothies typically taste like the sweet fruits you use in them, as opposed to those veggies. I love sneaking in some spinach to my kids’ fruit smoothies – they never even taste the difference!

{ Read More: Kid-Friendly Green Smoothie }

What Foods Enhance Brainpower?

Nuts and seeds

Being high in omega-3 fatty acids, nuts and seeds are among the best foods to boost your brainpower. The best nuts to boost your memory are walnuts, almonds, cashews, pistachios, and hazelnuts. In particular, walnuts have been found to increase your cognitive performance, as they mimic the shape of your brain.

Fish

Fish is high in omega-3 fatty acids, which are critical to brain health and proper brain functioning. Research has shown that people who eat fish regularly lower their risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease by 60 percent. Another study found that fish oil supplements help improve memory in older adults.

The two best fish sources of omega-3s are salmon and albacore tuna; aim for two servings per week. In addition to being a good source of omega-3 fatty acids, fish also contain vitamins A and D, which are essential for keeping your nervous system healthy.

Eat Fruits and Vegetables

It’s not just that fruits and vegetables are full of vitamins. They’re packed with antioxidants, which help protect our brains from free radicals. Free radicals are molecules that damage DNA and can lead to diseases like cancer or brain disease. Eat dark green vegetables (kale, spinach, chard), berries (blueberries, strawberries), and red-purple fruits (plums, pomegranates) for the most antioxidants.

Eggs

Egg yolks contain choline, a B vitamin known for its role in brain development. Choline also helps regulate mood and learning ability and is involved in the production of the neurotransmitter acetylcholine, which is thought to play a key role in memory

Which Fruit is Good for the Brain?

Berries
Blueberries, in particular, have been shown to help improve memory and learning ability. Researchers discovered that blueberries boost the learning capacity and motor skills of aged rats, making them psychologically equal to much younger rats, in trials on rats.

Blueberries’ antioxidants may reduce or prevent several types of dementia, including Alzheimer’s disease, in addition to aiding memory.Strawberries are another fruit that can boost brainpower as they are rich in vitamin C and antioxidants.
Mangoes
The king of fruits, mangoes are rich in vitamin B6, which improves memory and cognitive abilities. They are also a great source of vitamin C and dietary fiber, which can help improve your mood.
Bananas
Bananas are rich in potassium, vitamin B6 and fiber. All these nutrients help improve cognitive function. Bananas also contain tryptophan, an amino acid that helps produce serotonin, calming effect on the body.
Oranges
Oranges are rich in vitamin C, which can help protect your brain and boost memory power. Citrus fruits are also known to lower the risk of stroke by lowering high blood pressure.
Guavas
Low in calories but packed with nutrients like vitamins A, B, and C and potassium and iron, guavas can go a long way in boosting your brain health. Guavas are also a great source of dietary fiber.
Apples
Apples are a great source of antioxidants such as flavonoids and quercetin, reducing cell damage and keeping the brain healthy. Research has shown that people who eat apples regularly have better mental health than those who don’t.

What are the Three Foods that Fight Memory Loss?

The brain is like a muscle; it needs to be fed well to perform its best. Studies have shown that eating certain foods can help protect your brain against degenerative diseases and age-related declines in brain function.

Here are three brain foods you should add to your diet:

Salmon

Wild salmon is one of the best foods you can eat for brain health. It’s packed with omega-3 fatty acids, which have been shown to improve brain function and lower the risk of dementia. Other fatty fish like halibut, tuna, and sardines also have plenty of healthy omega-3s. If you don’t like fish or are worried about mercury levels in fish, try taking a fish oil supplement instead.

Green leafy vegetables

Green leafy vegetables like spinach and kale are rich in brain-healthy nutrients, including folate and vitamin K. They also contain antioxidants that can help protect the brain against free radical damage.

Walnuts

Walnuts contain high amounts of omega-3 fatty acids and vitamin E, an antioxidant that protects nerve cells from damage. Walnuts also contain high levels of melatonin, a hormone that helps regulate sleep.

Always ensure you have a healthy diet when trying to improve your brain activity. It’s not just what you can eat, but also the timing and quantity of meals. You should avoid sugar and processed foods as much as possible too. These changes will help you immensely in both the short and long term.

Add More Color to Your Plate

It isn’t always easy to know what to eat and when, but there is no reason it has to be complicated. A simple way to make sure you are adding more nutrients to your diet is try to have a colorful plate. Before you might have had chicken and rice, but why not top your chicken with some avocado salsa, and add colorful veggies to the plate, like broccoli, red bell peppers, and carrots?