Eating your way to the best possible well-being can be such a fun and tasty experience, and there are many different foods which are said to be great for your brain health. Taking care of your brain should always be one of your main priorities, so read on to discover more about some of the best foods that you can eat to support a healthy brain!
Oily Fish
Oily fish is no doubt one of the best foods that you can eat when you are trying to promote great brain health. Oily fish includes salmon, trout, tuna, herring, and sardines – each of these dishes contains a rich source of omega-3 fatty acid, and this is what makes them so beneficial for your brain. Research has shown that around 60% of your brain is made of fat, and half of that fat is omega-3 fatty acids. These acids are used to build brain and nerve cells, and they are essential for learning and memory. They may slow age-related mental decline and help ward off Alzheimer’s disease, and many dementia support and advice resources will recommend an omega-3 supplement as a form of prevention. If you aren’t consuming enough omega-3s, then this has been known to increase your risk of learning impairments and depression. As a result, it’s clear to see that oily fish should be something that you start including in your diet if you want to stand any chance of protecting your brain!
Nuts
As nuts are known to help boost heart health, this in turn likely means that they can improve your brain health too. There are lots of different nutrients in nuts, including healthy fats, antioxidants, and vitamin E, and this may explain why they are so beneficial for your brain health. Vitamin E can help to protect your cells against free radical damage, in turn slowing your mental decline. Although it’s fair to say that essentially any type of nut is going to be great for your brain health, it’s important to note that walnuts may boast an extra edge over other types of nuts. Walnuts are packed full of anti-inflammatory omega-3 fatty acids, much like fish, so they can certainly aid you in taking good care of your mind if you take the opportunity to indulge regularly.
Dark Chocolate
You might be thinking.. is chocolate really good for my brain? But in fact, dark chocolate and raw cocoa powder, in general, are packed full of a variety of brain-boosting compounds, including flavonoids, caffeine and antioxidants that can certainly help to take great care of your brain! Flavonoids are a group of antioxidant plant compounds found in dark chocolate which gather in the areas of the brain that handle learning and memory, helping to enhance memory and slow down age-related mental decline. Dark chocolate generally includes more than 70% cocoa or more, so you cannot expect the same rewards from consuming milk chocolate which is usually around 10–50% cocoa. Instead, find rich dark chocolate that has a high cocoa percentage if you want the best results.