The Best Brain Food - Sharon L Edwards

What is the best brain food you can eat for optimum alertness, memory, and focus? Here are 5 tips for keeping your brain health at optimum levels.

Anti-oxidant Rich Food

Some of the best brain food you can eat are anti-oxidant rich. Things like pomegranates, artichokes, blueberries, walnuts, and cocoa. You can also add more choline-rich foods like chickpeas, cod, salmon, lentils, eggs, chicken, turkey, beef, scallops, and shrimp. Be sure to get these things as natural as possible, otherwise you run the risk of being exposed to chemicals, antibiotics, and hormones.

Limit Consumption of Charred Meats

While the charring of meat may look attractive or appetizing, the char is full of cancer-causing compounds called heterocyclic amines (HCAs). The more there is, the more carcinogens there are. Studies have shown they can cause cancer in laboratory animals exposed to them.

Brain Supportive Supplements

There are many different nutriceuaticals that are known to be superfoods for the brain. One is the sacha inchi nut (Plukenetia volubilis) which is native to the Peruvian Amazon. It is also referred to as the Inca Peanuts, Sacha nut, mountain peanut or Inca Nuts. It is rich in omega fatty acids 3,6, and 9, protein, fiber and antioxidants. Another is tumeric root. The chemical compound found in turmeric, is actually of the most powerful and natural anti-inflammatory agents. It also helps boost antioxidant levels while improving the brain’s oxygen intake.

Healthy Fats

Healthy fats are part of the best brain food and can be found in avocados, coconut, walnuts, olives, and other plants. Since the brain is nearly 60% fat with much of that being cholesterol, it is essential to supply it with fats. Without adequate amounts of cholesterol, your brain cells will die. It is needed to make neurotransmitters which are the chemicals brain cells use to communicate with each other. That is why cholesterol lowering drugs are such a danger for our brains. Cholesterol lowering statin drugs are suspected to contribute to memory loss, fuzzy thinking, and learning difficulties

Dark Green Leafy Vegetables

Kale, collard greens, spinach, and broccoli are good sources of vitamin E and folate, or folic acid. Vitamin B9, also known as folic acid, is the synthetic form of folate and is crucial for proper brain function. It also plays an important role in mental and emotional health. Folate is crucial for proper brain function and plays an important role in mental and emotional health. It is necessary during rapid cell division and growth. In fact, pregnancy is known to actually double the need of dietary folates. There are more and more studies that highlight the need for naturally occurring folate instead of the synthetic version known as folic acid.