If you’re living in Louisiana and searching for food to improve your brain power, consider Salmon New Orleans. This delicious recipe contains pan-seared salmon with sauteed shrimp. Salmon, like other fatty fish, is brain food because of the omega-3 fatty acids it contains. The brain is mostly fat, with half the fat being omega-3 fatty acids. The fatty acids help build both nerve and brain cells that help you learn and retain what you learned. Omega-3 fatty acids help prevent mental decline, including Alzheimer’s.
Start with green tea or coffee.
Both coffee and green tea contain caffeine and antioxidants. Caffeine improves concentration and alertness. It also boosts dopamine, which makes you feel good. Studies show that if you drink coffee frequently, it lowered the risk of Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s. Green tea has antioxidants to protect the brain but also has an amino acid, L-theanine, that can cross the brain’s blood-brain barrier, increasing GABA, a neurotransmitter that helps you feel more relaxed.
Include fruit like blueberries or oranges or veggies like broccoli.
Most people automatically think of vitamin C if asked what vitamins oranges have. Vitamin C is important for brain health and preventing damage from free radicals that cause mental decline. People with higher levels of vitamin C have improved focus, memory, and decision-making speed. Not only do oranges provide vitamin C, but so do bell peppers, strawberries, and tomatoes. Blueberries and other blue or purple fruit contain anthocyanins, which gives the berries their color. It helps reduce inflammation and oxidative stress. That helps slow brain aging and improve memory and cognitive functioning.
Nuts and eggs also help boost brain power as it protects the brain.
Get brain-boosting nutrients from the vitamin B family when you consume eggs. Eggs contain B6, B12, choline, and folate. All of these are important to the brain. Vitamin B6 is an antioxidant and helps make neurotransmitters, promoting brain health. A vitamin B12 or folate deficiency is associated with low cognitive functioning and dementia. Choline improves mental functioning and memory. Nuts have a variety of brain-boosting benefits from reducing the risk of cognitive decline to improving memory. They contain healthy fat and vitamin E, which protects the brain.
- It’s not always about what you eat that boosts your brain power, but what you don’t eat. A low-carb diet, devoid of foods with added sugar, can boost your brain power by reducing inflammation.
- Dip a strawberry in dark chocolate for a dessert that packs power. Dark chocolate with a cocoa content above 70% is healthy. It has caffeine, antioxidants, and flavonoids to help boost brain health. The flavonoids enhance memory and slow mental decline.
- Food high in vitamin K, like spinach, broccoli, and leafy greens, provide anti-inflammatory and antioxidant benefits for the brain. It can protect the brain and aid in maintaining memory and cognitive functioning.
- Spices can benefit the brain, too. Turmeric is the one best known for brain benefits, but sage and lemon balm also have them. Turmeric is anti-inflammatory and antioxidant. It helps brain cells grow, improves memory, and reduces depression.
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