Top 5 Foods to Boost Brainpower
1. Walnuts
Walnuts are good sources of plant-based omega-3 fats, natural phytosterols, and antioxidants, and have been shown to reverse brain aging in older rats. DHA, in particular, is a type of omega-3 fat that’s been found to boost brain function and even promote brain healing, although it’s more plentiful in animal-based omega-3 sources, like krill and wild Alaskan salmon, as opposed to walnuts.
Walnuts contain a number of other neuroprotective compounds as well, including vitamin E, folate, melatonin, and antioxidants that lend even more brain benefits. Research shows walnut consumption may support brain health by increasing inferential reasoning in young adults,9 for instance.
Another study found that consuming high-antioxidant foods like walnuts “can decrease the enhanced vulnerability to oxidative stress that occurs in aging,” “increase health span,” and also “enhance cognitive and motor function in aging.”10
2. Wild Alaskan Salmon
The omega-3 fats found in wild Alaskan salmon help fight inflammation throughout your body, including in your brain, and offer numerous protections to your brain cells.
For instance, a study in the journal Neurology found “older women with the highest levels of omega-3 fats… had better preservation of their brain as they aged than those with the lowest levels, which might mean they would maintain better brain function for an extra year or two.”5
In separate research, when boys were given an omega-3 supplement, there were significant increases in the activation of the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex part of the brain.6
This is an area of your brain that is associated with working memory. They also noticed changes in other parts of the brain, including the occipital cortex (the visual processing center) and the cerebellar cortex (which plays a role in motor control).
You can get omega-3 fats in therapeutic doses by taking a supplement like krill oil. But if you’re looking for a food source, wild Alaskan salmon (along with sardines and anchovies) is among the best.
Many are concerned about radiation from Fukushima contaminating the salmon, but our primary source is Vital Choice and they regularly check for this radiation and never find it in their salmon.
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