When you want to keep your brain healthy and stimulated it’s important to eat the right types of food. Eating well is good for not only your physical health but for your mental health as well. Your muscles, lungs and heart all need nutrients to function and so does your brain. Here are 7 of Heart2Heart’s favourite brain-healthy superfoods that you should incorporate into your diet today.
Whole Grains
This food gives your brain the energy it needs to keep working. If you find that you aren’t able to focus or concentrate as well as you used to, try adding more whole grains into your diet. You may just find that you’re more mentally alert during the day once you’ve added more whole grain bread, pasta, rice and cereals into your daily routine.
Blueberries
Blueberries make a wonderful snack and studies have shown that they may be effective in delaying or improving short-term memory loss. Blueberries can easily be added on top of your whole wheat cereal in the morning for added flavour.
Oily Fish
Since your body cannot make essential fatty acids on its own, you’ll need to supply them through your diet. Omega-3 fats can be found in oily fish as well as in soybeans, walnuts, pumpkin seeds and linseeds. Oily fish contains DHA and EPA, which are the omega-3 fats you require for a healthy brain. Oily fish sources include trout, sardines, kippers, mackerel, and salmon, to name a few. Omega-3 fats are also available in a supplement form for people that don’t like fish or are following a strict vegetarian or vegan diet.
Tomatoes
Tomatoes contain a powerful antioxidant called lycopene, which helps keep free radicals under control. Free radicals are uncharged molecule that can damage cells. Make sure that you add tomatoes to your next salad to help your brain cells or slice them up and place them beside your favorite dish.
Avocados
Avocados also promote brain health by providing monounsaturated fat, which encourages healthy blood flow. When you have your blood flowing freely it helps the brain function. It’s recommended that you eat only 1/2 or even 1/4 of an avocado per day, however, since they are quite high in calories.
Seeds and Nuts
Vitamin E is an important nutrient found in seeds and nuts that can help with your cognitive ability as you grow older. When you add more vitamin E to your diet your brain will love you for it! Eat an ounce of almonds, walnuts, cashews, sunflower seeds, peanuts, flaxseeds and other nuts and seeds per day to keep your brain operating at its optimum level.
Broccoli
If you want to improve your brain power and cognitive function, eat broccoli. This vegetable contains a lot of vitamin K and glucosinolates, which are both an important part of maintaining a healthy brain.
When you are incorporating ways to stay healthy into your lifestyle, think of your brain. It’s an important part of your body that deserves all the care you can give it. To find out more about a healthy lifestyle please visit our website or call 416.960.5319 in the Toronto area.
