Brain-Boosting Foods: How Diet Can Support Cognitive Health

Understanding Brain Health and Nutrition

What Is Brain Health?

Good brain health is the level of function your brain has in cognitive, sensory, motor, and emotional well-being. 

When your brain cells are functioning well, it helps you achieve your goals and stay healthy throughout your life despite illness.

You may wonder what the effects of a healthy brain have on your overall physical and mental health. The brain’s purpose is to guide you in your daily life. 

This purpose means the brain is involved in everything, including:

• Cognitive Function: Your brain controls your memory, attention span, learning, and problem-solving.
• Motor Function: The brain is in charge of your balance, movement, and coordination.
• Emotional Health: How you handle stress, interact with friends and family, and regulate your moods is connected to your brain’s health.
• Sensory Function: Taste, touch, smell, and hearing are affected by how your brain is functioning.

A healthy brain comes from being aware of your health and lifestyle.

Factors that affect your brain health include:

• Medical: If you have chronic illnesses like hypertension, diabetes, or heart disease, it’s essential to treat them with the proper medications under the supervision of your doctor.
• Lifestyle: How you live is a key factor in your well-being. A healthy diet, exercise, the right amount of sleep, and stress management skills support brain health.
• Screening: Talk with your doctor about having regular brain health screenings. Regular screenings can detect possible brain disorders in the early stage.
• Social: Strong, supportive friendships and family connections help keep you engaged and connected with others in activities you enjoy.
• Activities: Engaging in activities or learning new things keeps your brain active and healthy. 

How Does Diet Affect Cognitive Function?

Diets that are high in fatty acids like omega-3s and omega-6s, found in foods like fish, boost your memory, learning, blood flow to the brain, and cognitive functioning.

You are what you eat. Studies have found that how and what you eat, as well as the nutrients in your food, can have a positive or negative impact on your brain health.

Your diet can also affect brain development when you’re a child and an adult. For example, healthy fats support cognitive function while unhealthy fats can negatively affect your brain structure and volume.

You can improve or protect your cognitive function by including foods that are rich in the following:

• Vitamin B12: Vital to brain function and memory
• Folate: Helps brain cell development and repair
• Choline: Boosts brain cell growth and memory 
• Antioxidants: Protect the brain from damage

Brain-boosting foods are found in several types of diets. LifeSpring Home Nutrition offers meals that use foods that promote good brain health.

Why Focus on Brain-Boosting Foods?

Brain-boosting foods hold interesting possibilities, including that they can be used to increase cognitive abilities, protect and repair your brain from damage, and counteract the effects of aging. 

The nutrients in brain food are essential because they support every aspect of your physical and mental health. They provide the building blocks and energy for your brain to be its best.

The impact of a healthy diet is also connected to your energy levels and ability to be physically active. Brain-boosting foods have specific nutrients that help you live a healthy, active life. 

Examples of why brain-boosting foods are essential include:

• Provide Energy: Your brain uses about 20% of the calories you take in every day. Your brain relies on complex carbohydrates like brown rice to provide it with a steady supply of glucose. Glucose helps you stay focused and alert.
• Decreases Inflammation: Long-term inflammation is linked to diseases like Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s.

Several brain foods have anti-inflammatory properties, such as flavonoids, that can reduce the risk of these disorders. Flavonoids also play a role in reducing cell damage, improving blood flow to the brain, and aiding cognitive functions.

Plant-based compounds, like polyphenols, are also anti-inflammatory. They help increase brain blood flow and protect against the diseases mentioned above.

You can find polyphenols in the following foods:

• Berries
• Dark chocolate
• Green tea
• Coffee 
• Spices

Making sure you have the right amount of brain-boosting foods in your diet can be challenging, but don’t worry, you’re not the only one who worries about this. That’s why LifeSpring Home Nutrition’s meals are prepared with essential brain foods. Our frozen meals are delicious and easy to prepare, allowing you to focus on the activities you enjoy.

Best Brain-Boosting Foods and Nutrients

Which Foods Are Rich in Omega-3 Fatty Acids?

When you choose a meal plan, you can be confident that your meal will be a good source of foods with fatty acids, such as:

• Fatty Fish: Fish like mackerel, sardines, and salmon are high in fatty acids.
• Eggs
• Nuts: Hazelnuts, walnuts, and almonds are good sources.
• Seeds: You can enjoy pumpkin seeds, flaxseeds, and chia seeds in smoothies or on other foods.
• Plant-based oils: Soybean, flaxseed, and olive oil are excellent sources of omega-3 fatty acids.

You should eat a variety of foods rich in omega-3 fatty acids because the levels of the fatty acids can vary.

Foods rich in omega-3 fatty acids help build your brain’s structure. Approximately 60% of your brain consists of fat. A majority of that fat is omega-3 fatty acids. Fatty acids, such as docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), play a vital role in maintaining your brain’s health.

Omega-3 fatty acids are essential in building and repairing your brain cells. They also improve communication between neurons.  

However, you may not know how to incorporate foods that are rich in omega-3 fatty acids; that’s okay. LifeSpring Home Nutrition takes the worry out of picking foods with omega-3 fatty acids.

How Do Antioxidant-Rich Foods Support the Brain?

The powerhouses of protecting your brain from aging are antioxidants.

Antioxidants found in foods like dark chocolate and blueberries offset free radicals that cause oxidative stress, which is linked to brain aging and disorders that affect the nervous system.

When looking for foods rich in antioxidants, think about color. Foods that have antioxidants come in a wide range of sizes, shapes, and colors.

A few examples of these foods include:

• Vegetables: Veggies like broccoli and cauliflower have indoles, which are antioxidants.
• Leafy Greens: Foods that have vitamin A, vitamin C, and vitamin K are good sources of antioxidants. They’re also easy to include in your diet. You can use spinach, kale, or Swiss chard in salads or as steamed side dishes.
• Think Color: Colorful produce (red, orange, yellow, and green) can have a beneficial antioxidant called carotenoids. They also contain anthocyanins, which, among the benefits of antioxidants, provide the reduction of oxidative stress.
• Berries: Berries like blueberries, strawberries, and blackberries are the perfect addition to whole-grain cereals. You can enjoy snack time knowing you’re getting antioxidants into your body. 

You can also enjoy avocados because they are rich in monounsaturated fats, vitamin E, and lutein. Research shows that monounsaturated fats improve the blood flow to your brain while also supporting cognitive functions. The presence of vitamin E and lutein ensures your brain cells are protected from damage caused by free radicals.

What Role Do Vitamins and Minerals Play?

Vitamins and minerals support nerve health. 

Both vitamins and minerals are crucial to brain and muscular functions, such as cognitive and muscular functioning. Several of them are responsible for building neurotransmitters and supporting communication between nerve cells. Neurotransmitters control your mood, thinking, and motivation.

The B vitamins, especially vitamin B6, vitamin B12, and folate, are essential for neurotransmitter health and production. One of the minerals needed for good brain health is an amino acid.

When you don’t have enough of these nutrients, your cognitive and mood functioning are disrupted.

Other vitamins and minerals that are vital to nerve health and the brain include:

• Vitamin C
• Iron
• Magnesium
• Zinc 

LifeSpring Home Nutrition makes it easy to include foods that support good brain health by including foods in our meals, like:

• Lean proteins
• Legumes
• Eggs

Are Healthy Fats Important for Cognitive Function?

Yes. While it goes against what you were told about fats in your diet, healthy fats can improve your brain health. 

Healthy fats (polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fats) support brain health because they are an essential part of the blood-brain barrier. The blood-brain barrier is a part of your brain system that defends and protects the brain from harmful chemicals. Regular consumption of these fats can help prevent cognitive decline from diseases like Alzheimer’s disease.

You may not know which fats are healthy, and that’s okay; many people share the same uncertainty. Healthy fats are normally liquid when they’re at room temperature. Take a look at your cabinets where you store oils. Do you have vegetable or seed oils? If yes, then you have healthy fats.

Healthy fats are also found in:

• Seafood 
• Nuts and seeds
• Olives

You can increase healthy fats in your diet by making a few changes to your meals.

A few examples of these changes are:

• Oils: Use plant-based oils to cook foods with instead of animal fats.
• Snacks: Eat healthy foods like yogurt, fruit, or vegetables instead of fried food.
• Cooking: You can air fry, bake, or steam foods instead of frying them.
• Meats: Choose lean meats over meats that contain unhealthy fats.

Which Whole Grains and Plant-Based Foods Help the Brain?

Whole grain and plant-based foods are healthy sources of glucose. 

Some examples of these foods include:

• Brown rice
• Quinoa
• Whole-grain bread
• Oatmeal

Foods and Habits to Limit for Brain Health

Why Should Processed Foods Be Avoided?

Processed foods are connected with an increased risk of stroke, dementia, mental health issues, and cognitive decline.

Is Excessive Saturated Fat Harmful?

Yes. Saturated fat can increase insulin resistance and inflammation, as well as impair your memory and increase the risk of cognitive decline. 

What About Alcohol and Caffeine?

Alcohol use has harmful short and long-term effects on your brain. 

Some of those effects are:

• Brain cell damage
• Loss of memory
• Decreased cognitive functioning

Caffeine is found to have positive and negative effects on your brain.

Positive effects include:

• Improved Cognitive Functioning
• Decreased Risk of Alzheimer’s disease
• Mood Boost

Some negative effects include:

• Anxiety
• Headaches
• Sleep disruption

Supplements and Nutritional Support for Cognition

Which Supplements Can Support Brain Function?

Research has found that vitamin E may have certain benefits. 

However, because it may interfere with your medication, ask your doctor before you start taking it.

How Does Turmeric Support Cognitive Health?

Turmeric contains polyphenol, which is a proven anti-inflammatory and antioxidant compound that boosts cognitive health.

Should I Work With a Dietitian?

Yes, you should work with a dietitian.

When you work with a dietitian, you will develop a personalized meal plan that is tailored to your nutritional needs.

Lifestyle Tips to Support Brain Power

How Can Meal Timing and Variety Improve Cognitive Function?

Regularly timed meals benefit you because they maintain blood sugar levels and cognitive function. 

When you include a variety of foods in your diet, you ensure you have the right amount of nutrients for good brain health.

Why Is a Balanced Diet Critical for Cognitive Longevity?

The food you eat provides your brain with the vitamins and minerals it needs to maintain its health as well as repair any damage. 

A diet rich in fatty acids, antioxidants, and other brain-protecting nutrients combats cognitive decline caused by free radicals, oxidative stress, and unhealthy fats.

You can support your brain and body health by adopting the following into your routine:

• Exercise: Physical activity increases your overall health because it’s good for your cardiovascular system. For example, exercising can decrease your blood pressure.
• Mental Activities: Reading, learning new skills, or being with friends can increase your cognitive functioning. Additionally, social activities can improve your emotional health.

How Does Overall Health Affect Brain Function?

Medical conditions and harmful lifestyle choices can damage your brain cells, increasing your risk of cognitive decline. 

Lifestyle choices and a poor diet can affect how your brain is able to combat harmful free radicals, inflammation, or mental health issues. When your physical and mental health are good, your brain is able to function properly.

FAQs About Brain-Boosting Foods

What are the best foods for brain health?

The best foods for brain health are fruits, vegetables, lean meats, plant-based oils, nuts, and seeds.

However, some have more of an impact than others. Researchers have identified five superfoods. A super food is rich in nutrients that enhance good brain health.

The foods with the most impact are:

• Fatty Fish: Fish like salmon and tuna are rich in omega-3 fatty acids, which are vital in building brain and nerve cells. These cells can help slow mental decline associated with aging.
• Blueberries: These snackable berries are packed with antioxidants that protect your brain from damage related to oxidative stress and inflammation.
• Leafy Greens: Whether you cook or eat leafy greens like spinach or kale raw, they have nutrients like vitamin K, lutein, beta-carotene, and folate, which keep your brain sharp.
• Nuts: A good go-to nut is a walnut. It’s rich in protein, healthy fats, and high in an omega-3 fatty acid called alpha-linolenic acid (ALA). Nuts are an excellent choice to add to food or snack on because they can improve your brain function and memory.
• Dark Chocolate: Good news for chocolate lovers. Dark chocolate is a superfood because it contains caffeine, flavonoids, and antioxidants. A small square of dark chocolate can boost your mood, memory, and focus.

Can diet prevent cognitive decline or Alzheimer’s disease?

A diet high in healthy fats can reduce the risk of cognitive decline, Parkinson’s, or Alzheimer’s disease. 

How do antioxidants help the brain?

Antioxidants are vital to protect your brain and brain cells against free radicals and oxidative stress.

They also help prevent cognitive decline and maintain the resilience and health of your brain.

Do I need supplements if I eat a healthy diet?

People who eat foods rich in fruits, vegetables, lean protein, nuts, seeds, and healthy fats may not need supplements.

Supplements are not meant to prevent or treat an illness or chronic disease. Instead, they may be used to boost your nutrient intake. However, before you start taking supplements, you should talk to your doctor for medical advice.

Building a Brain-Boosting Meal Plan

Making changes to your diet can boost your brain health. You may not know what changes you need to make or how to include the foods you need in your meal planning. Speaking with your doctor about building a brain-boosting meal plan is a great way to start. You can also talk with a dietitian about choosing the right meal plan.

You don’t have to give up variety to eat brain-boosting food. Good brain health is attainable with a healthy diet and positive lifestyle choices. When you work with one of LifeSpring Home Nutrition’s dietitians, you can create a meal plan that reflects your nutritional needs. We can help you improve your brain health when you contact us at (800) 798-5767.