Nourish your Brain: Exploring 20 Best Brain Foods

“No brain means no you!” It’s a fact that we wouldn’t be alive without a brain. The brain is on 24/7, even when you are sleeping. So, fuelling the brain with proper nutrients is essential for us all. Eating healthy and including certain foods in your diet can help power your brain and boost its functioning. Today, we will take you through a few best brain foods that will help your brain function at its optimal.

What is Brain Food?

Like all your body parts, the brain also needs good food for its proper functioning. By having certain foods, you can boost your memory and concentration, increase productivity and creativity, and help in healthy brain growth and development. Let’s explore the best brain foods. 

1. Green Vegetables

Benefits: Boosts memory, decision-making abilities, and reduces decline in cognitive functions
Nutrients: Vitamin A, K, E, C, B1, and B2
Includes: Spinach, cabbage, moringa, bitter gourd, and arugula

‘Have your greens,’ is something that we have all heard from our parents since childhood. Although we didn’t understand then, now we all know how important it is to have green, leafy vegetables. Packed with multiple nutrients like beta-carotene, folic acid, and lutein, green veggies sharpen memory, enhance cognitive abilities, and relieve stress. Here are a few more foods that help with stress. So, make sure to add this best brain food to your diet.

2. Berries

Benefits: Prevent neuro-degenerative diseases and improve movement and brain function
Nutrients: Antioxidants, Vitamin C, magnesium, and fibre
Includes: Blueberry, strawberry, cranberry, and raspberry

Next on our list of the best brain-boosting foods are berries. Having berries in your diet can help you in many ways. It protects brain cells from damage and improves motor control and cognition. Blueberries, being highly rich in antioxidants, help boost one’s intelligence and enhance memory.

3. Fish

Benefits: Healthy brain function
Nutrients: Eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), Docosahexaenoic acid (DHA)
Includes: Salmon, trout, mackerel, and sardine

Love fish? Great, because this is next on our list of the best foods for brain function! The Eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) present in fish helps in fighting depression and improving brain function. Docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) boosts your learning ability and reduces the risk of Dementia, Alzheimer’s, and memory loss.

4. Whole Grains

Benefits: Improve concentration and focus
Nutrients: Boosts memory
Includes: Oats, wheat, rye, millet, barley, and spelt

Better concentration, sharpened memory, and improved learning - is what you get when you consume whole grains, the best food for brain. You can add whole grains to your diet in the form of oatmeal porridge, brown rice, barley in soups, and stone-ground corn tortillas. Adding this good brain food to your diet will also help with digestion and reduce heart disease, type 2 diabetes, and obesity.

5. Coffee

Benefits: Increased alertness, improved mood, and more focus
Nutrients: Caffeine and antioxidants
Includes: Black coffee and milk coffee

“Too much caffeine is not good for you!” Do you hear this quite often when you’re on your 4th cup of coffee in the office or at home? While drinking too much coffee can be bad for you, it is also good for your brain (but only if you have just the right amount). Coffee will give you a dopamine hit (the feel-good chemical) and also help you focus more in your studies and work.

6. Turmeric

Benefits: Improves cognitive functions, reduces inflammation, and encourages brain plasticity
Nutrients: Protein, carbohydrates, and fibre
Includes: Raw turmeric and turmeric powder

Turmeric, also known as Curcumin, is also a healthy brain food. Mostly found in Indian curries, you can add turmeric to milk, roasted meat, and soups. Including this brain food supplement in your diet will improve your memory, ease depression (as it releases serotonin and dopamine in the brain), and help in the development of new brain cells.

7. Eggs

Benefits: Healthy brain aging
Nutrients: Vitamin B6 and B12, folate, and choline
Includes: Chicken and duck egg

Egg is also one of the best brain boosting foods; therefore, it has to make it to your everyday diet. Vitamin B12 boosts memory and helps slow cognitive decline. Even choline is an essential nutrient for boosting memory and mood and forming cell membranes. You can include eggs in your meals in many ways. You can have boiled or poached eggs, omelette, scrambled eggs, or baked.

8. Oranges

Benefits: Production of neurotransmitters and enhance focus & concentration
Nutrients: Vitamin C

Time to add more oranges, one of the brain health foods, to your diet! Oranges are rich in Vitamin C, which protects brain cells and decreases your chances of getting dementia or any kind of memory loss. Eating oranges will also improve your focus, attention, and decision-making skills. So, don’t forget to add this brain improvement food for memory to your diet!

9. Kale

Benefits: Enhances memory and brain performance
Nutrients: Beta-carotene

Kale is also one of the memory-boosting foods that must be in your meals. Enriched with beta-carotene, this brain nutrition significantly reduces the risk of brain cancer, Alzheimer's, and ALS. You can take in Kale in the form of salad, smoothies, and soups and stews.

10. Broccoli

Benefits: Reduces stress and risk of neurodegenerative diseases
Nutrients: Antioxidants, Vitamin K, and Sulforaphane

Next on our list of best foods for brain function is Broccoli. Containing compounds such as glucosinolates, Broccoli keeps our memory sharp. Sulforaphane in the brain is responsible for protecting the brain against damage. Wondering what other things a Broccoli can do? From rebuilding neural cells and boosting cognitive functions to increasing intelligence and reducing inflammation, Broccoli can do it all!

11. Chocolate

Benefits: Improves blood flow to the brain
Nutrients: Flavonoids, caffeine, cocoa, and antioxidants
Includes: Dark chocolate and white chocolate

Who doesn’t love chocolates? Dark chocolate is another healthy brain food that you must add to your meal plan. It contains cocoa, which helps in improving attention, verbal learning, and memory. It also reduces the chances of getting dementia. More chocolates; keeping them coming!

12. Avocados

Benefits: Lower the risk of cognitive decline
Nutrients: Omega fatty acids and vitamin E

Avocados are also one of the best memory-boosting foods. The omega fatty acids in Avocados help in brain cell growth and development. Vitamin E safeguards brain cell membranes and also decreases the risk of degenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s. You can take Avocados in the form of salad or a smoothie.

13. Beans

Benefits: Build and maintains brain tissues
Nutrients: Omega-3s, fibre, and protein

While preparing your diet plan, do mention beans, the best brain food on the list! The fibre in beans helps you focus and concentrate more on your studies and work. Vitamin E aids in the creation of new memories, and omega 3s help in brain development and maintenance.

14. Green Tea

Benefits: Improves memory and attention
Nutrients: Antioxidants

Better cognition, mood, and brain function - are what you get when you add green tea to your list of best brain foods. Catechins present in green tea prevent cell damage. It also protects the brain from ageing. A good cup of green tea in your diet, and you’re all set to roll!

15. Red Meat

Benefits: Prevents fatigue, brain fog, and optimise brain function
Nutrients: Vitamin B12, omega-3 fatty acids, and iron

Rejoice all you meat lovers, as red meat is here to fuel your brain. One of the best foods for good memory, having red meat helps you better remember things. The omega-3 fatty acids boost blood flow to the brain and enhance cognitive skills. The proteins help neurons to communicate with each other and iron helps in developing motor skills and language.

16. Tomatoes

Benefits: Delay age-related cognitive impairment
Nutrients: LycopeneIncludes: Cherry, roma, and grape tomatoes

Tomatoes are next on our list of the best food for brain. The lycopene in tomatoes regulates cell growth in the brain. It also reduces the risk of dementia and Alzheimer’s. So, do keep in mind to add more tomatoes to your daily meals.

17. Quinoa

Benefits: Maintain cognitive function
Nutrients: Carbs, iron, B vitamins, and flavonoids

A flowering plant in the Amaranth family, Quinoa is also the best brain food that carries oxygen to the brain. You can improve your learning and memory by eating more Quinoa. The potassium in this best brain food carries messages through nerves. The vitamin B2 is good for your brain and muscle cells.

18. Brown Rice

Benefits: Cut down the risk of cognitive dysfunction
Nutrients: Glutamine, glycerin, and GABA

Do you love rice but are conscious of your health? Brown Rice, one of the best brain foods, is your alternative. Rich in nutrients, brown rice helps in curing mental health disorders such as the risk of Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s. It also prevents depression, stress, and anxiety. Learn about more ways on how to deal with anxiety.

19. Pumpkin Seeds

Benefits: Enhances memory and thinking skills
Nutrients: Magnesium, zinc, copper, and iron

Pumpkin seeds are also one of the best foods for brain health. Zinc in pumpkin seeds can prevent diseases like Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s, and depression. Magnesium helps in improving memory and learning. Copper helps in controlling nerve signals and iron can help with brain fog and impaired brain function.

20. Nuts

Benefits: Lowers the risk of neurological disorders
Nutrients: Healthy fats, vitamins, and antioxidants
Includes: Almonds, cashews, walnut, and Pistachio

Another best food for brain activity you need in your diet is nuts. This brain food helps slow mental decline. Almonds enhance memory, and pistachio prevents inflammation. Packed with omega-3 fatty acids and DHA, Walnuts help counteract cognitive decline.

This is our list of some of the best brain foods. Clearly, we cannot ignore the importance of including the best foods for brain performance into our diets. These brain foods, rich in omega-3 fatty acids, antioxidants, and minerals, play a big role in supporting and maintaining our cognitive functions like thinking, memory, and learning. Make sure to include all of these best brain foods in your meal plan for your mind’s optimal performance and long-term health. And, while you create your diet plan, do go through tips for healthy eating for students on a budget.