Foods That Help Boost Your Memory

The brain is a vital organ. As your body's command center, it is responsible for keeping your heart beating and lungs breathing, as well as allowing you to move, feel, and think. That’s why it is critical to maintain optimal brain function.

Who you are is determined by what you eat. While you don't become what you eat, your nutritional choices certainly impact your overall health. Not only that, but specific foods can help you maintain or increase the health of your brain. Eating proper nutrition to keep your brain healthy will considerably reduce your chances of having neurological problems later in life.

If you're eating correctly, the foods you eat at mealtime develop muscles all over your body, even in your brain. Did you know that the brain, like the rest of the body, requires energy to function? According to a scholarly opinion published in the National Academy of Sciences, the brain can use up to 20% of the body's total daily calorie intake. But, exactly, how does one nourish the mind? It all comes down to picking healthy nutrients that have been found to increase overall cognitive processes like focus, motor abilities, and the ability to recall memories over time.¹

Certain nutrients are necessary for the brain's health. Omega-3 fatty acids, for example, aid in the development and repair of brain cells. At the same time, antioxidants reduce cellular stress and inflammation, both of which have been associated with brain aging and neurodegenerative illnesses like Alzheimer's disease.

Some foods promote mental sharpness and awareness, while others make us sluggish and even cause brain fog. Certain foods can improve your memory and enhance your focus regardless of your age.

The ideal menu for memory and brain function promotes proper blood flow to the brain, similar to how you'd eat to nourish and protect your heart. Your brain's shape and health are influenced by the meals we eat. A brain-boosting diet can help with both short- and long-term memory.

Following are some foods that may help boosts your brain function and memory.

1. Eggs

Vitamin B6, B12, folate and choline are abundant in eggs, which are essential for mood regulation and appropriate brain function and development. Many people eat eggs for breakfast, and they are a good source of brain nourishment.

Choline is an essential component for the production of acetylcholine, a neurotransmitter that helps in mood and memory regulation. Higher choline consumption is associated with an excellent memory and mental performance. Despite this, many people's diets are deficient in choline. By eating eggs, you can get it, and egg yolks are one of the most concentrated sources of choline. Choline is required by most women in the amount of 425 mg per day, and most males need 550 mg per day, with a single egg yolk yielding 112 mg.²

B vitamins deficiency is linked to depression and dementia, and these vitamins may help prevent brain atrophy and cognitive impairment.

2. Fatty fish

Fatty fish is an excellent source of omega-3 fatty acids, which are good for your brain. Omega-3 fatty acids help in memory enhancement and mood enhancement and preserve the brain against cognitive decline.

Fish including trout, albacore tuna, herring, salmon, and sardines are high in omega-3 fatty acids. Omega 3s are not only found in 60 percent of your brain's fat, but they are also required for the formation of brain and nerve cells, and they're also crucial for learning and memory.

The blood flow in the brain raises in individuals with high omega-3 levels. Omega-3 levels are also linked to improved cognition or thinking abilities. Higher levels of them in the diet have been related to a lower risk of dementia and stroke and a slower rate of mental decline. Furthermore, they may play an essential function in memory enhancement, especially as we age. Omega 3 insufficiencies can cause learning problems and depression.³

People who consume fish daily have more grey matter in their brains. The neuron cells that drive decision-making, memory, and emotion are primarily found in grey matter. In general, eating fish appears to be beneficial to one's health.

3. Nuts

Nuts are high in protein, healthy fats, antioxidants, and vitamin E, which are beneficial to the brain and heart. Walnuts may have an advantage since they contain anti-inflammatory omega-3 fatty acids, which help the brain function even better.

Nuts have been related to increased cognition, improved memory, and a slower rate of mental deterioration. According to one study, regular nut eating is associated with a lower risk of cognitive decline in older persons.⁴ According to another study, women who ate nuts regularly for several years had a sharper memory than women who did not eat nuts.⁵

4. Dark Chocolate

Flavonoids, caffeine, and antioxidants are abundant in dark chocolate and cocoa powder, all of which are good for the brain.

Flavonoids are a class of plant-based antioxidants. Chocolate flavonoids concentrate on the parts of the brain that deal with learning and memory. Chocolate flavonoids may also help protect the brain. These substances improve memory and slow down age-related mental deterioration.

Dark chocolate contains antioxidants that help prevent cognitive loss and the natural stimulant caffeine, which helps to improve focus. By increasing blood flow to the brain, dark chocolate can boost memory, alertness, and clarity. Chocolate, particularly dark chocolate, can improve memory and mood.

5. Turmeric

Turmeric is a dark-yellow spice found in curry powder. Turmeric and its primary ingredient, curcumin, have potent anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties beneficial to the brain. Turmeric offers a lot of benefits when it comes to preventing cognitive deterioration. It can also pass through the blood-brain barrier and directly reach the brain. Curcumin can penetrate the brain and assist the cells.

Turmeric has been connected to a variety of brain advantages, including:

• Better memory - Alzheimer's patients, curcumin may assist enhance memory. It may also aid in the removal of amyloid plaques, which are a defining feature of this condition.
• Relief depression - Curcumin elevates mood by increasing serotonin and dopamine levels. When used in conjunction with other treatments, curcumin can help those suffering from sadness and anxiety.
• Development of new brain cells - Curcumin enhances the production of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), a growth hormone that promotes the growth of brain cells. It may help postpone mental decline as people get older, but further research is needed.⁶

6. Berries

Berries are high in antioxidants, which may help slow the aging of the brain and boost memory. Vibrant fruits are high in nutrients due to natural plant pigments called flavonoids. Flavonoids give berries their distinctive color, and flavonoid-rich berries can boost memory and help you maintain or improve cognitive function as you get older. It has been discovered that eating two or more servings of strawberries and blueberries per week can delay memory loss by up to two and a half years.

Berries including strawberries, blackberries, blueberries, blackcurrants, mulberries are high in antioxidants and can help to boost brain health.

Berry antioxidant chemicals have several beneficial benefits on the brain, including:

• The improvement of brain cell connectivity.
• Lowering inflammation all over the body.
• Enhancing plasticity, which aids in the formation of new connections between brain cells, improving learning and memory.
• Preventing or postponing neurodegenerative illnesses and cognitive deterioration as people get older.

Anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties are found in blueberries. They protect the brain from oxidative stress and contain memory-enhancing compounds such as anthocyanin and flavonoids, which help with spatial memory and learning. Eating blueberries can help to reduce inflammation, which can help to prevent brain aging and neurodegenerative illness.⁷

7. Tea and Coffee

If tea and coffee is your morning pick-me-up, you will be relieved to learn that it is exceptional for you.

Caffeine and antioxidants, two primary components of coffee and tea, can assist boost brain health. Caffeine aids in the consolidation of new memories and short-term attention enhancements. Caffeine is a psychostimulant because it helps the brain process information faster.

Caffeine produces an increase in brain entropy, which refers to complicated and unpredictable brain activity. The brain can process more information when entropy is high.

Caffeine has a range of beneficial effects on the brain, including:

• Increased alertness - Caffeine keeps your brain alive by inhibiting adenosine, a sleep-inducing chemical messenger.
• Mood improvement - Caffeine may also increase the levels of dopamine and other "feel-good" neurotransmitters in your body.
• Sharpened concentration - Caffeine consumption improved short-term attention and alertness.

Coffee and tea also contain antioxidants, which may help to maintain brain function as people age. Research suggests that lifetime coffee drinking is associated with a lower risk of:

• Mental Deterioration
• Stroke
• Parkinson's disease
• Alzheimer's disease⁸

8. Green Tea

Green tea improves alertness, performance, memory, and focus, which are beneficial to the brain. Green tea contains catechins, which enhance memory. It has been taken for thousands of years and is believed to have anti-cancer effects. The polyphenol EGCG is responsible for many of green tea's health advantages.

Green tea's caffeine increases brain function in the same way that coffee does. Green tea, on the other hand, contains additional components that make it a brain-healthy beverage.

L-theanine, for example, is an amino acid that can pass the blood-brain barrier and boost the activity of the neurotransmitter GABA, which helps to lower anxiety and relax you. L-theanine also lets you relax without making you tired by increasing the frequency of alpha waves in your brain. It's also high in polyphenols and antioxidants, which can help protect the brain against mental decline and lower the risk of Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease.⁹

9. Pumpkin Seeds

Pumpkin seeds are high in antioxidants, which help to protect the body and brain from free radical damage. Unsaturated fatty acids, zinc, magnesium, copper, and iron are just a few of the brain-boosting components in pumpkin seeds. They provide essential minerals for improving memory and cognition. Any of these nutrients’ deficiencies might lead to a reduction in cognitive function.

These nutrients are all essential for brain health:

• Zinc - This component is vital for nerve communication. Many neurological disorders, such as Alzheimer's disease, depression, and Parkinson's disease, have been associated with zinc deficiency.
• Magnesium - Magnesium is necessary for memory and learning. Many neurological illnesses, such as migraines, depression, and epilepsy, are connected to low magnesium levels.
• Copper - Copper aids in the modulation of nerve signals in the brain. When copper levels are out of whack, neurological illnesses like Alzheimer's are more likely to develop.
• Iron - It prevents brain fog. Brain fog and poor cognitive function are common symptoms of iron insufficiency.¹⁰

10. Cruciferous Vegetables

Cruciferous vegetables are high in anti-inflammatory and antioxidant nutrients like vitamin C, selenium, folate, and potassium, all related to a reduced risk of cognitive decline. Vitamin K, iron, lutein, folate, beta carotene, and minerals are all found in cruciferous vegetables, including broccoli, collards, spinach, and kale. Getting enough cruciferous vegetables may enhance memory.

Vitamin K increase memory and aid in the production of fat inside brain cells. Cauliflower is a good source of vitamin K, which is essential for blood clotting and bone density. Furthermore, because cruciferous vegetables contain glucosinolates, they can help protect your blood vessels. They stop dangerous carcinogens from damaging DNA, which could contribute to cognitive deterioration.

Broccoli is high in antioxidants and other crucial plant components. Aside from vitamin K, broccoli includes numerous anti-inflammatory substances that may help protect the brain from injury. Broccoli also contains vitamin C and flavonoids, antioxidants that can help improve one's mental health.¹¹

The Bottom line

A variety of foods can aid in the maintenance of a healthy brain. The foods listed above may aid with memory and concentration enhancement. Some may also help to prevent strokes and age-related neurological illnesses, including Alzheimer's and Parkinson's. One or more of these ingredients are commonly included in brain-boosting foods, antioxidants, for example, flavonoids and vitamin E, B vitamins, fats, omega fatty acids.

Antioxidants included in foods like the fruits and vegetables on this list, as well as tea and coffee, can protect your brain from damage. Nuts and eggs, for example, are high in nutrients that aid memory and brain growth. Some foods contain substances that can assist strengthen the structure of brain cells called neurons, such as healthy fatty acids. 

By deliberately integrating these items into your diet, you can support brain health and improve your alertness, memory, and mood. A brain-boosting diet also has numerous health benefits for the entire body.