Our brain is the most vital organ in our body, controlling every function from eating to working and from sleeping to thinking.
Without us knowing, our brain follows a highly sophisticated set of instructions to get us through the day and keeps us performing at our best.
To ensure our brains remain healthy, it’s important that we follow the right diet and eat foods that are good for our neurological health.
To help you out with the right diet plan, here are our picks for the top 6 brain foods that are great for the brain and your overall health.
List of Healthy Brain Foods
Below is a list of food items that help keep your brain healthy in the long run. We have added information from popular sources like Harvard Health Publishing, Medical News Today, and more,
- Fatty Fish
- Vegetables
- Blueberries
- Dark chocolate
- Walnuts
- Coffee
Now let’s explore each brain food, one by one.
1. Fatty Fish
Fatty fish is recommended as one of the top foods for the brain and for good reason. Our brains are 60% fat, and 50% of that fat is comprised of omega-3 fatty acids, which are present in fatty fish.
You should try out Salmon, Albacore Tuna, Trout, Herring, Sardines, etc., to get the required dose of omega-3.
All of the above are rich sources of omega-3 fatty acids.
- Build Nerve Cells
Using omega-3s, our brain makes new nerve cells, which makes these fats essential for learning and memory.
- Slow Aging
The intake of omega-3 slows down age-related mental decline and helps ward off Alzheimer’s disease.
Not getting enough omega-3s, on the other side, is linked to learning impairments, as well as diseases like depression.
- More Grey Matter
Eating fish regularly results in more gray matter being present in the brain. As grey matter contains most of the nerve cells, it helps in better decision-making, memory, and emotional health.
2. Green, Leafy Vegetables
We have all heard how good veggies are for our health and that they are packed with nutrients from a broad range. It’s actually quite true, especially for your brain.
Try veggies like Kale, Spinach, Collards, Broccoli, etc., as these are rich in brain-healthy nutrients like folate, vitamin K, lutein, and beta-carotene.
- Slow Cognitive Decline
Research suggests these plant-based foods may help slow cognitive decline, which is great for you if you want a healthy brain, even in old age.
- Better Memory
For older adults, leafy veggies are even more important as they provide vitamin K, which offers better memory and cognitive status.
Veggies like broccoli contain a number of compounds that make them anti-inflammatory, and it also has antioxidant effects that protect the brain against damage.
3. Blueberries
If you love Blueberries, then we have some good news for you. The sweet treat contains a compound that has both antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects, which result in reduced stress and aging.
Antioxidants help reduce stress and inflammation and reduce brain aging and neurodegenerative diseases.
- Better Communication
Some antioxidants in blueberries accumulate in the brain over time; they help improve communication between brain cells.
- Slow Brain Aging
Blueberries help reduce inflammation, which in turn decreases the risk of brain aging and neurodegenerative disease.
- Better Memory
Flavonoids are commonly found in berries like blueberries, and it’s a natural plant pigments that give berries their brilliant color.
A Harvard’s Brigham and Women’s Hospital study found that females who consumed 2 or more servings of strawberries & blueberries each week showed delayed memory decline by up to 2.5 years.
4. Dark Chocolate
Who knew chocolate could be healthy, right?
Dark chocolate is made of cocoa, also known as cacao, which contains flavonoids, a type of antioxidant also found in blueberries.
Antioxidants help reduce age-related cognitive decline and brain diseases as the brain is prone to oxidative stress and thus requires antioxidants.
- Neuron Growth
Studies have found that dark chocolate encourages blood vessel and neuron growth in the brain and is thus involved in improved memory and learning; it also contributes to improved blood flow in the brain.
- Brain Plasticity
A 2018 study has revealed the brain-boosting effects of eating dark chocolate on the brains of people who ate chocolate with a minimum of 70% cacao.
The researchers concluded that dark chocolate improves the brain’s ability to learn and the brain’s response to external stimuli and may provide other brain-related benefits as well.
5. Walnuts
A 2014 study indicated that higher consumption of walnuts may result in improved cognitive test scores.
This results from the fact that Walnuts are high in omega-3 fatty acids, linked to lower blood pressure and cleaner arteries.
- Slow Cognitive Decline
Walnut consumption has been shown to protect brain health in newborns, prevent age-related cognitive decline, and improve cognitive performance in adults.
- Lower Blood Pressure
It has been observed that people who consume walnuts and walnut oil have lower resting blood pressure, which is great for cardiac and overall health.
6. Coffee
If you are an avid coffee drinker, you might be in for a surprise.
Coffee has two main components: caffeine and antioxidants, which help support brain health.
- Increased Alertness
Caffeine increases alertness which is one of the obvious reasons why we consume the beverage.
It keeps the brain alert by blocking adenosine, which is a chemical messenger that makes us feel sleepy.
Coffee also improves mood by boosting the “feel-good” neurotransmitters called dopamine, keeping you in a good mood.
- Reduced Risk of Neurological Diseases
A shocking benefit of coffee is reduced risk of neurological diseases, such as Parkinson’s disease and Alzheimer’s disease, due to the presence of antioxidants.
Summary
So that’s it for our list of foods that are great for your brain. From chocolate to coffee and from berries to fish, if you opt for a broad and balanced diet, you will certainly contribute to better brain health and to your overall well-being.
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