The Best Foods for Brain Health

Our diets can have a huge impact on our body, but also our mind. We can improve our muscle health, cut our waistline and brighten our skin by eating the right foods. It shouldn’t come as a surprise then to find out we can even improve our brain health by eating the right foods. Here’s how to boost your brainpower.

Fatty Fish

Seafood is packed with omega-3 fatty acids, which are crucial for a healthy brain. Did you know that around 40% of the fatty acids in our brain cell membranes are DHA, which is among the main fatty acids in fish oil? DHA is necessary for transmitting signals between brain cells, so it’s an essential part of ensuring your brain’s healthy.

Celery

Celery’s secret brainpower-boosting compound is luteolin. This has been shown to reduce brain inflammation, which could cause neuro-degeneration. In fact, luteolin has been linked with lower rate of age-related memory loss in animal studies.

Avocado, Oils, Nuts and Seeds

The above foods are full of an important antioxidant called vitamin E. In fact, a study found people who consumed moderate amounts of vitamin E lowered the risk of AD by 67%. So, for a calmer, healthier brain you should add these foods to your diet.

Curry

Who doesn’t love the smell of curry? This fragrant spice is perfect for a healthy mind. The active ingredient in curry is called curcumin. It has been shown to help reduce inflammation and reduce the amount of amyloid plaques in the brain. This is important, since the amyloid plaques have been found to cause Alzheimer.

Chickpeas

You can boost the transmission of messages in your brain by adding more chickpeas to your diet. This magic food, also known as garbanzo beans, has plenty of magnesium, which relaxes blood vessels allowing healthy blood flow to the brain.

How to Add These Foods to Your Diet Easily and Cheaply?

The above is a great selection of foods you should be eating for brain health benefits. But adding super foods into our diets isn’t always easy, even though we know about the benefits.

To help you out, here are a few ideas on how to eat more of the above foods:

• Substitute meat for your meals three times a week by cooking salmon, tuna, mackerel or sardines instead.
• Make your own curry salad dressing or dip for a healthier way to enjoy the spice.
• Celery makes a great snack when combined with a tasty chickpea-curry-hummus. If you’re not a big fan of the taste, then create a salsa with celery and eat with fish or chicken.
• Swap the butter and cheese spreads to avocado. Ripe avocados are a tasty spread alternative and you can add a sprinkling of olive oil for added flavour.

Furthermore, it’s often claimed that healthy eating costs. Whilst certain foods can be more expensive than others, healthy food doesn’t need to break the budget.

When shopping for healthy foods:

• With vegetables and fruits, try to pick the ones in season. Seasonal fruit and veggies will cost less than off-season products.
• Search for offers online. There are plenty of organic food stores online that can actually cost less than shopping at your supermarket. VoucherBin.co.uk has more information on health food shops, as well as offers for saving money with your groceries.
• Learn to freeze products. You don’t damage the nutritional benefit of fruit and veggies by freezing, so it’s a great way to buy in bulk!

Let us know if you have tips and ideas for healthy a diet!