Best Foods for Brain Health: Nutritional Insights

“You are what you eat.” At its core, this saying refers to how the people, situations and emotions you absorb affect your life. It also applies very literally to the food you eat and how it physically impacts you.

Diet plays a huge role in maintaining your mental health, energy levels and cognitive function throughout the day. But what are the best foods for brain health specifically?

Brain-healthy foods contain antioxidants, vitamins, minerals, fatty acids and more, and they’re easier to incorporate into your diet than you may think. To prove our point, this guide takes a dive into the best foods for brain health and the many benefits they bring.

A Super Boost from Superfoods

Superfoods are exceptional when it comes to cognitive health. They have high nutritional density, meaning just one serving can deliver your entire daily recommended dose of certain vitamins. Some superfoods, like kale and acai, have gone viral in health circles over the years, while others aren’t quite as well-known yet.

Keep this list of brain foods with you the next time you head to the grocery store so you can stock up on tasty superfoods you may not have otherwise considered grabbing.

Leafy Green Vegetables

Leafy greens are essential not just for your brain, but for your entire body. They’re rich in B vitamins like folate, which is noted for its ability to boost memory.

They also have lutein and beta carotene, which can help improve how your brain functions while keeping its structure sturdy.

These greens also pack a lot of fiber. Fiber is great for your gut health, and thanks to the brain-gut connection, that means it’s good for cognitive function, too.

If you’re looking for some leafy greens to try, start with:

Kale
Lettuce and cabbage
Spinach
Bok choy
Swiss chard
Mustard greens

You can easily incorporate these into a salad or cook them up and add them to soups, pastas and more.

Nuts and Seeds

Nuts and seeds are among the healthiest brain foods you can snack on. However, some stand ahead above the rest when it comes to nutrients:

Pumpkin seeds – Known to enhance memory and boost mood, pumpkin seeds contain zinc, magnesium, copper and iron. They also offer antioxidants, a powerful free radical fighter.
Walnuts – The vitamin E and healthy fats found in walnuts may give your cognitive capabilities a boost. What’s more, walnuts offer omega-3 fatty acids, which help to reduce inflammation, and boast twice the amount of antioxidants compared to other nuts.
Almonds – Almonds may help improve memory and can help boost your mood.
Pistachios – The nut oils in pistachios may help prevent inflammation and preserve the fatty acids you get from other foods.
Macadamias – These nuts are rich in healthy fat and help keep your brain running as it should.

You can shell and eat some nuts raw, but others are best roasted first. Fortunately, it’s easy to stop by most grocery stores and buy ready-to-eat nuts of all kinds. Add them to your snacking routine and your body will thank you.

Antioxidant-rich Foods

It’s not foolproof, but you can often tell what foods have more antioxidants based on their color. Darkly colored foods that are orange, yellow, red or blue usually have more antioxidants. These include:

Kidney beans
Blueberries
Prunes
Blackberries
Sweet cherries
Black beans
Red Delicious apples

Plenty of other fruits, vegetables, legumes and nuts have antioxidants too, so don’t worry if you’re not a fan of these top picks.

Eggs

Studies show that eggs may help support graceful brain aging. They’re chock full of B vitamins like folic acid, B6 and B12, which help manage levels of homocysteine in the blood. This metabolite tends to rise in our bodies as we age — keeping it low and in check may help maintain healthy brain function.

Fatty Fish

Omega-3 fatty acids are a powerhouse when it comes to maintaining a lively body, strong joints, luscious hair, sharp eyes and a healthy brain. Some of the most popular and easily accessible fatty fish are:

Trout
Salmon
Albacore tuna
Sardines
Herring

Since 60% of your brain is made of fat and over half of that is omega-3 fatty acids, fatty fish directly supports healthy brain function.

Turmeric

The active ingredient in turmeric — curcumin — can directly enter the brain, passing through the blood-brain barrier. It can potentially boost the growth of brain cells, reduce inflammation and improve your memory.

Supplements Make Up The Difference

Most of us lead busy lives, and sometimes, it can be hard to fit three square meals into a day, let alone three highly nutritious ones. In short: you can’t always get your daily recommended value for each brain-healthy vitamin and mineral through healthy food alone.

This is where supplements shine. Add a supplement to your daily routine, and you may enjoy benefits like:

Stable energy that can get you through the day
More restful sleep at night
Clarity of thought
A boost in your overall mood and mental health

It’s as easy as (an antioxidant-rich blueberry) pie to add a supplement, too. Many come in pill or tablet form that you can take with breakfast, while others come as gummies or mixes that you can add to water, promoting hydration at the same time.

How CBD Can Support a Rounded Diet

CBD is a compound found in marijuana, but unlike THC, it doesn’t have psychoactive effects. Rather, it simply helps your body relax while bringing the brain into a state of peace.

So, for even more brain-boosting support, consider adding CBD to a healthy diet in the form of hemp pills, CBD topicals or any other type of CBD. Just make sure your CBD products are high quality, like those sold by Zebra CBD. Quality makes a world of difference in how your body processes, uses and reacts to CBD. We also invite you to learn how to seamlessly incorporate CBD oil into your brain-healthy meals by checking out our detailed guide on cbd oil recipes.

Better Brain Health with Zebra CBD

When curating the optimal diet, it’s helpful to know what your brain needs. Foods rich in omega-3 fatty acids, antioxidants and vitamins can boost your cognitive health, while supplements provide the cherry on top.

You can also work CBD into your diet to enjoy its relaxing effects on your body and mind. To ensure the best quality CBD, choose Zebra CBD. We offer everything from CBD topical creams to CBD gummies, and all of our products are third-party-tested for efficacy, potency and label accuracy.

Shop Zebra CBD online today to give your brain the love it deserves.

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