7 Best Foods to Keep Your Brain Sharp and Healthy

Diet affects the brain’s health. In fact, food has direct and long-lasting impact on the brain. This is why you feel sluggish after eating a heavy carbohydrates lunch. Or become alert after drinking a cup of coffee. A well-rounded balanced diet keeps your brain healthy as it is for the rest of your body. But there are specific foods that help your brain boosts its power and slow down its aging.

Brain is the most powerful organ in the body. Responsible for making the entire body to work properly. Including heartbeats and breathing. It requires a lot of energy as it never stops working. Consuming 20% of the body’s energy resources. As the control center of the body, the organ needs sufficient and constant topping-up of its needed nutrients to function well. 

1. Salmon – This fatty fish is highly concentrated with Omega-3 fatty acids which are essential for normal brain function and development throughout all stages of life. The brain is 60% fats. Half of these fats are Omega-3 fatty acids which help build cell membranes and facilitates communication between nerve cells. The nutrient is essential for learning and preventing neurodegenerative diseases as they keep nerve cells active and healthy.
2. Walnuts – Most nuts are rich in protein which makes neurotransmitters more active resulting to better mood. But walnuts are especially good for cognitive functions. They are rich in Alpha-linolenic acid (ALA), the type of Omega-3 fatty acids that is mostly found in plant foods. Walnuts feed the brain making it sharper, improving memory, and concentration. Studies have found that high consumption of walnuts can improve cognitive test scores.
3. Pumpkin Seeds – They contain unsaturated fatty acids which cannot be produce by the body but essential for the frontal parietal lobe of the brain. Which is responsible for thinking, reasoning, judgement, memory, problem solving, mood, movement, and speaking. In addition, the edible seeds have a good amount of zinc which improves communication between neurons in the brain. Thereby, reducing memory loss.
4. Beets – Eating these root crops or drinking them as a smoothie enable you to think clearly and improve your attention span. The vegetable is rich in nitrates which increases blood flow to the brain. Beets also enhance energy level which can help boost your performance.
5. Dark Chocolates – Are great for overall cognitive function. They increase blood flow to the brain making the nerve cells more active. This improves alertness, focus, concentration, and ability to solve complex problems. The snack also releases the “feel-good” hormones improving your mood and relieving stress. Chocolates with 70% or above cocoa content is the best choice to reap all the benefits of this chocolate has to offer. White and milk chocolates have too much sugar which is not good for the brain.
6. Berries – Adding these small sweet fruits to your diet will help you have better cognitive functions. Including memory and learning. As a bonus, berries are packed with flavonoids which has anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects. Helping your brain to build and repair cell damaged which are essential to keep the brain healthy and protected from memory decline diseases such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s.
7. Avocado – This delicious fruit that’s great for salads, sandwiches, brownies, and smoothie keeps your brain healthy. They help prevent the formation of plaques in the arteries which is a major contributing factor of Alzheimer’s disease. The fruit is rich in Omega-3 which is good for brain functions.

Adding these brain booster foods to your diet help keep your brain sharp and healthy even as you aged.