11 Best Food to Boost your Brain and your memory
As the control center of your body, it is in charge of keeping your heart beating and lungs breathing and enabling you to move, feel and think.
That's why it's very important to keep your brain in peak working condition
The foods you eat play a role in keeping your brain healthy and can inhance specific mental tasks, such as memory and concentration.
This article lists 11 foods that help boost your brain.
When people talk about brain foods, fatty fish is usually at the top of the list.
This type of fish includes salmon, trout and sardines, that are all rich sources of omega-3 fatty acids.
Fats constitute about 60% of your brain, and half of that fats are the omega-3 kind.
Your brain uses omega-3s to form brain and nerve cells, and these fats are important for learning and memory.
Omega 3-s also have some additional benefits for your brain.
For one thing, they can slow age-related mental decline and help prevent Alzheimer's disease.
On the flip side, not getting adequate omega-3s can lead to learning impairments, as well as depression.
Generally, eating fish seems to have positive health benefits.One study found that people who ate baked or broiled fish often had more gray matter in their brains. Gray matter contains most of the nerve cells controlling decision making, memory and emotion.
Overall, fatty fish is an excellent option for brain health.
If coffee is the favorite of your morning, you'll be glad to hear that it's good for you.
Two main components in coffee — caffeine and antioxidants — are useful for your brain.
The caffeine in coffee has a number of positive effects on the brain, including :
- Increased alertness: Caffeine keeps your brain alert by blocking adenosine, a chemical messenger which makes you feel sleepy.
- Improved mood: Caffeine can also boost some of your "feel-good" neurotransmitters, like serotonin.
- Sharpened concentration: One study found that when participants drank much coffee in the morning or smaller amounts throughout the day, they were more effective at tasks that required concentration
Blueberries provide numerous health benefits, including those that are specific for your brain.
Blueberries and other deeply colored berries provide anthocyanins, a group of plant compounds with anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effectsAntioxidants act against both stress and inflammation, conditions that may lead to brain aging and neurodegenerative diseases.
This may at least be partly due to coffee's high concentration of antioxidants.
- 3.Blueberries
Blueberries provide numerous health benefits, including those that are specific for your brain.
Blueberries and other deeply colored berries provide anthocyanins, a group of plant compounds with anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects
Some of the antioxidants in blueberries have been found to accumulate in the brain and help inhance communication between brain cells.
Animal studies have shown that blueberries help improve memory and can even delay short-term memory loss.
Broccoli is packed with powerful plant compounds, including antioxidants.
It's also very high in vitamin K, supplying more than 100% of the Recommended Daily Intake (RDI) in a 1-cup (91-gram) serving.
This fat-soluble vitamin is important for forming sphingolipids, a type of fat that's densely packed into brain cells.
A few studies in older adults have linked a higher vitamin K consumption to a better memory.
Beyond vitamin K, broccoli contains a number of compounds that give it anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects, which can help protect the brain against damage.
They contain powerful antioxidants that protect the body and brain from free radical damage.
They're also an excellent source of magnesium, iron, zinc and copper.
Each of these nutrients is essential for brain health:
Zinc: This element is crucial for nerve signaling. Zinc deficiency has been linked to a lot of neurological conditions, including Alzheimer's disease, depression and Parkinson's disease.
Magnesium: Magnesium is essential learning and memory. Low magnesium levels are linked to a lot of neurological diseases, including migraines, depression and epilepsy.
Copper: Your brain uses copper to help control nerve signals. And when copper levels are out of range, there's a higher risk of neurodegenerative disorders, such as
- Iron: Iron deficiency is usually characterized by brain fog and impaired brain function.
- The research focuses mostly on these micronutrients, instead of pumpkin seeds themselves. However, since pumpkin seeds are high in these micronutrients, you can likely enjoy their benefits by adding pumpkin seeds to your diet.
- 7. Dark Chocolate
Dark Chocolate and cocoa powder are packed with some brain-boosting compounds, including flavonoids, caffeine and antioxidants.
Flavonoids are a group of antioxidant plant compounds.
Chocolate is a legitimate mood booster too,according to research.
One study discovered that participants who ate chocolate experienced increased positive feelings, compared to participants who ate crackers.
However, it's still not clear whether that's due to compounds in the chocolate, or simply because the yummy flavor makes people happy
Research has shown that eating nuts may improve markers of heart health, and having a healthy heart can be linked to having a healthy brain
A 2014 review showed that nuts can improve cognition and even help prevent neurodegenerative disorders
Also, another large study revealed that women who ate nuts regularly over the course of several years had a sharper memory, compared to those who didn't eat nuts
Several nutrients in nuts, like healthy fats, antioxidants and vitamin E, may explain their brain-health benefits.
Vitamin E shields cell membranes from free radical damage, helping slow mental defects.
Vitamin E shields cell membranes from free radical damage, helping slow mental defects.
While all nuts are good for your brain, walnuts might have an extra edge, since they also supply omega-3 fatty.
You can get all the vitamin C you need in a day by consuming one medium orange.
Doing so is important for brain health, since vitamin C is a vital factor in preventing mental decline.
Eating sufficient amounts of vitamin C-rich foods may protect against age-related mental decline and Alzheimer's disease, according to a 2014 review article.
Vitamin C is a powerful antioxidant that helps fight off the free radicals that can affect brain cells. Plus, vitamin C supports brain health as you age.
You can also get excellent amounts of vitamin C from bell peppers, guava, kiwi, tomatoes and strawberries
Eggs are a good source of many nutrients tied to brain health, such as vitamins B6 and B12, folate and choline.
Choline is an important micronutrient that your body needs to create acetylcholine, a neurotransmitter that helps regulate mood and memory
Two studies found that higher intakes of choline were linked to better memory and mental function.
Nevertheless, many people don't get adequatecholine in their diet.
Eating eggs is an easy way to get choline, given that egg yolks are among the most concentrated sources of this nutrient.
Adequate consumption of choline is 425 mg per day for most women and 550 mg per day for men, with a single egg yolk containing 112 mg.
Furthermore, the B vitamins have various roles in brain health.
To start, they may help slow the progression of mental decline in the elderly.
Also, being deficient in two types of B vitamins — folate and B12 — has been associated to depression
Folate deficiency is common in elderly people with dementia, and studies show that folic acid supplements may help minimize age-related mental decline
B12 is also involved in synthesizing brain chemicals and regulating sugar levels in the brain.
It's worth noting that there's very little direct research on the link between eating eggs and brain health. However, there is research to confirm the brain-boosting benefits of the nutrients found in eggs.
As is the case with coffee, the caffeine in green tea boosts brain function.
In fact, it has been discovered that it can improve alertness, performance, memory and focus.
But green tea also contains other components that make it a brain-healthy beverage.
One of them is L-theanine, an amino acid that can cross the blood-brain barrier and increase the activity of the neurotransmitter GABA, that can help reduce anxiety and make you feel more relaxed.
L-theanine also increases the frequency of alpha waves in the brain, which can help you relax without making you feel tired.
One review revealed that the L-theanine in green tea can help you relax by counteracting the stimulating effects of caffeine.
It's also rich in polyphenols and antioxidants that can protect the brain from mental decline and lower the risk of Alzheimer's and Parkinson's.
Many foods can contribute to maintain your brain healthy. Some foods, like the fruits and vegetables in this list, and also tea and coffee, have antioxidants that can help protect your brain from damage.
Others, like nuts and eggs, contain nutrients that support memory and brain development.
You can help support your brain health and boost your alertness, memory and mood by selectively using these foods in your diet.
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