The brain is an important organ of the body and the best way is to focus on this part of the body for normal functionality of the whole body. For us to always maintain sharper and healthy living, nutritionists maintain that, we need to follow a healthy dietary pattern with natural food that boost brain power such as fruits, vegetable, legumes, whole grains and more.
The type of food we eat will determine at the end of the day, whether we are making concerted efforts to boost our brain power. To keep our brain in peak condition, this will impact our work, relationship and personal life positively, although no single brain food that can ensure sharper brain as we age but natural food that can boost brain can also make us look younger which means cognitive decline can also be prolonged when we maintain healthy dietary pattern. Research has showed that the best brain food are the same ones that protect our heart and blood vessels and these include the following:
- Berries: these are small, pulpy and often edible fruits, research showed that the natural plant pigments that gives berries their brilliant hues also help improve memory. A study done by researchers at Harvard’s Brigham and Women’s Hospital found that the women who consumed two or more serving of strawberries and blueberries each week delayed memory decline by up to two and half years. Berries are also rich in polyphenol plant which boost brain functions.
- Coffee is the most commonly consumed nootropics (cognitive enhancers) beverage. Majority of its brain boosting benefits, comes from Caffeine though it contain other element, such as antioxidant, chromogenic acid which boost our brain as well. Research showed that caffeine may improve focus, alertness, reactions time and memory in doses of 40-30mg, which is equivalent of about 0.5 -3 cups (120-720) of coffee. It is also save to note that caffeine is known to be save at level up to 400mg per day or about 4 cups (945ml) of coffee.
- Fatty Fish: This is a common knowledge about fatty fish, it is a rich sources of Omega-3 fatty acid, a major building block of the brain. Omega-3 plays a role in sharpening memory and improving mood as well as protecting our brain against cognitive decline. Research has it that Salmon is full of omega-3 a fatty acid known to be highly beneficial to the brain. Omega -3 provides more oxygen to the brain and allow us to retain new information while still remembering the old information. The best fish to eat for brain health are Salmon, Tuna, and Herring.
- Green Leaf and Vegetable: this is the most common and very important brain booster and this was established recently in a study at Rush University Medical Centre in Chicago which found that eating one serving (1/2 cup of cooked or
cup of raw) of green leafy vegetable a day may significantly reduce memory loss and better preserve cognitive functions. Vegetable is rich in vitamins and nutrients including antioxidant that can help protect the brain from oxidative stress and preserve healthy vascular function that is important for cognitive health. When we get more vegetable most especially cruciferous ones which include broccoli, cabbage and dark leaf green can improve memory functions.
- Nuts: nuts are rich sources of the antioxidant vitamin E which protect cells from oxidative stress caused by free radicals. As we age our brain may be exposed to this type of oxidative stress and vitamin E can support brain power as we get older. Researchers also found out that nuts benefit the brain by enhancing cognition, memory and recalls. Taking nuts on regular basis strengthens brainwave frequencies, healing, and learning and memory functions. Nuts like Almond, Pistachios and macadamias strengthen the brain in different ways such as Almond helps improve memory, pistachios nut oil preserve fatty acid and prevent inflammation, and macadamias contributes immensely to normal brain functions.
When we keep regular and consistent dietary pattern, we can boost brain power constantly and benefits immensely from the practice of conscious efforts to us natural foods that boost brain power.
