Top Foods to Boost Brain Health

Had too much fun on Arise TV talking top foods to boost brain health. Clearly, I need to sniff more Rosemary!

Here are some top, easy and accessible foods, to help boost brain health:

1. Turmeric
Turmeric is a root veggie that belongs to the ginger family, but most of us know it best in its powdered form as a bright yellow spice. Its active flavonoid, curcumin, helps reduce inflammation.
Recent research suggests curcumin has neuroprotective properties that may be beneficial in slowing down the progression of neurodegenerative diseases like dementia and Alzheimer’s. It does this by reducing the number of amyloid plaques—protein deposits—in the brain. The buildup of these plaques is an inevitable degenerative process that happens to ALL of us as we age, gunking up our brains and decreasing our memory and learning abilities. Studies show that turmeric can reduce the number of these plaques by HALF. Curcumin has also been shown to inhibit the cell death of neurons in mice with Alzheimer’s, significantly improving their memory ability.
it also increases the concentration of acetylcholine in the brain, which enhances memory and is a good thing for everyone.

2. Rosemary
Want a quick way to improve your mental acuity and add some green to your office? Then get a rosemary plant. Just inhaling its aroma increases blood flow to the brain and makes for a stimulating effect on the mind. Studies show that smelling rosemary improves cognition, memory, alertness, and even performance in speed and accuracy tests. Plus, it’s natural antioxidant, rosmarinic acid, helps destroy peroxynitrate, a harmful oxidant that contributes to Alzheimer’s related memory loss.

3. Red Beets
Red beets are rich in anthocyanin, a phytochemical antioxidant that gives veggies, berries, and other fruits their rich shades of red, blue, and purple. But anthocyanin is more than just a pretty face. This antioxidant protects the brain from oxidative damage and age-related memory decline. Studies show it actually reverses age-related memory loss, and helps boost cognitive function as well.
Beets are also an excellent source of folate, which is good for lots of things, like your brain. Low folate levels have been linked to cognitive decline and dementia in the elderly.
And one more place beets shine is in nitrates. Red beet juice has a lot of them, which act as vasodilators, thereby increasing blood flow to the brain. This is good, because the more oxygen-rich blood the brain gets, the better it is at processing information and fighting memory loss.

4. Sacha Inchi Seeds (aka Savi Seeds)
The brain is mostly made up of fat. Omega-3 fatty acids improve the transmission of neurotransmitters so that information is sent and received efficiently and fluidly, which increases mental acuity and cognitive performance.
Savi seeds contain the highest plant-based source of omega-3 fatty acids out there! So if you’re looking to boost your brain-power, nosh on these. [also above]But don’t inhale a huge bag of them (which can be really easy to do), since a little goes a long way. Just a single small, one-ounce serving a day packs a powerful punch, providing you with a healthy brain-boosting boast of omega 3s.
Savi seeds are also super high in protein and fiber, which stabilizes blood sugar levels and provides mental energy, focus, and improved concentration. This—coupled with the fact that they’re also rich in tryptophan, which converts to mood and memory boosting serotonin—makes these the perfect snack!

5.Broccoli
Broccoli boasts a seemingly infinite list of health benefits, but its winning combination of vitamin K and choline is what gives it a brain-boosting A+! Choline helps you retrieve stored memories and thoughts from the brain, while vitamin K helps develop and strengthen cognitive function. And just because it can, broccoli also provides nearly a quarter of your daily folic acid requirement, which translates to unstoppable brain-boosting power.

6. Wild Blueberries
Red beets are rich in the phytochemical antioxidant, anthocyanin. The powerhouse that reverses age-related memory loss. Well, wild blueberries are rich in anthocyanin, too, which also helps reduce inflammation in the brain while boosting cognitive functioning and protecting the brain from short-term memory loss.
Interestingly, blueberries also have polyphenolic compounds that defend against age-related decreases in neuronal function. (Neuronal function declines in all of us as we age; it’s what causes our memory, cognition, and motor skills to go.) Scientists aren’t sure how the compounds work—they either lower oxidative stress and inflammation, or they enhance neuronal signaling—but the good news is that blueberries make an effective weapon against the sort of mental decline most of us dread.