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Title tag: Best Natural Brain Foods for Boosting Your Mental Power

Meta description: Eating natural brain foods can give you a mental edge. Learn what these foods are, and how they can help you improve your focus, learning and memory functions.

Keyphrase: natural brain foods

Alt tag – main photo: An array of natural foods featuring fish, eggs, blueberries and broccoli

Alt tag –  fish: Salmon fillet on a cutting board

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Alt tag – blueberries: Hands holding a mound of blueberries

Alt tag – broccoli: Broccoli florets laid out on a cutting board

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Brain Boosters: Best Natural Brain Foods for Fueling Up and Performing at Your Peak

Want to get a mental edge? Eat these natural foods that boost short- and long-term brain power.

Does your mind drift off to other places during business meetings or class lectures? Have you ever lost your train of thought when speaking to others? Do you struggle to remember the name of someone you just met?

These could be signs that your brain isn’t running on full power. One of the best ways to improve your mental strength is by eating the right foods.

Studies have shown that eating a diet of healthy, natural foods can help you stay alert, boost cognitive function, and improve your memory … while protecting your precious gray matter from mental decline.

Here are four of the most powerful, brain-boosting foods for increasing your mental edge.

#1 – Oily fish: Key omega-3 source for maintaining a healthy body and mind

Oily fish tops the list of best brain foods because it’s an excellent natural source of omega-3 fatty acids. These essential nutrients, specifically DHA and EPA, are critical for your brain’s health.

That’s because omega-3s offer a long list of benefits, which help to:

• Reduce cellular inflammation
• Increase focus and alertness
• Improve memory and learning ability
• Promote a positive mood
• Support healthy brain function
• Lower blood pressure and triglyceride levels
• Slow age-related memory loss and cognitive decline

In fact, a 2012 study showed that fish oil helped study participants perform better on a memory test than those who received a placebo. Those who took fish oil also improved their heart health by lowering blood pressure and triglyceride levels.

Another recent study found that people with high omega-3 levels had more blood flowing in their brains. Scientists believe this increased circulation boosts mental performance.

As a result of these studies, medical experts now advise consuming at least 1,000 milligrams of omega-3s per day to maintain a healthy body and mind. Want to amp up your omega-3s? Your best sources are salmon, mackerel, tuna, herring and sardines.

#2 – Eggs: Performance boosters that improve mood and test performance

Eggs are another proven brain performance-booster. They’re a good natural source of vitamin B₆, vitamin B₁₂, folic acid, and choline, which promote better memory and mental function.

Choline is especially important. This micronutrient is used to make acetylcholine, a neurotransmitter that controls your mood and memory.

In two recent studies—the Hordaland Health Study and the Framingham Offspring Cohort study—test subjects with high choline levels performed better on tests than those with low choline levels.

With promising findings like these, eating eggs for the choline is a smart idea. Medical experts advise a daily intake of 425 mg for women and 550 mg for men.

Since a single egg yolk contains 112 mg—making it one of the most concentrated sources of choline—eating just two eggs will get you halfway to the recommended daily amount.

Another reason to crack open an egg is for the B vitamins it contains. Research shows that these nutrients may help slow mental decline, reduce depression, and help regulate sugar levels in the brain.

#3 – Blueberries: The superfood that slows memory loss and improves learning

One of the “superfoods,” blueberries are a power-packed brain food.

These sweet treats from nature are high in fiber and deliver vitamin C, vitamin K, and manganese. They also offer antioxidant and anti-inflammatory benefits, helping to:

• Curtail inflammation
• Boost learning and memory
• Improve cell communication
• Slow age-related brain diseases
• Delay short-term memory loss
• Reduce your risk for diabetes, heart disease, and hypertension

In fact, drinking blueberry juice could substantially increase your brain function, according to a University of Exeter study.

After 12 weeks, study subjects who drank 30 ml of concentrated blueberry juice daily showed significant improvements in brain activity.

The reason? Blueberries are chock-full of plant compounds called flavonoids, which reduce inflammation and fight disease-causing free radicals.

To improve your brain’s abilities, you could drink the same amount of concentrated blueberry juice used in the study, or eat about 1.5 cups of blueberries per day.

#4 – Broccoli: A powerful food ally that improves recall and combats brain disease

As far as vegetables go, broccoli is one of the best natural foods for your brain. It’s packed with flavonoid antioxidants and is extremely high in vitamin K.

In fact, just one cup of this colorful vegetable delivers more than 100% of the Recommended Daily Intake (RDI).

Vitamin K is especially important because it’s used to make sphingolipids, fats that are densely packed into brain cells. High levels of this vitamin lead to improved memory function, according to a 2013 study.

Broccoli also contains glucosinolates, compounds that help reduce oxidative stress and lower the risk of brain diseases. Another plus is that it’s high in sulforaphane, a chemical that may help prevent heart disease, diabetes and cancer.

In short, broccoli is a powerful food ally that can protect your brain cells from damage, improve cognition and memory, and help keep your nervous system functioning properly.

Final Thoughts

Whether you’re looking to perform better in the boardroom or the classroom, it all starts with a healthy brain.

Fueling your gray matter with nutrient-packed, natural foods can help you achieve the mental edge that allows you to perform at your peak.

What’s YOUR favorite brain-boosting food? Share in the comments below!

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Other articles you might enjoy:

Why You Need Sulforaphane in Your Diet … and Where to Find It

DHA and EPA: Everything You Need to Know About Omega-3 Fatty Acids

Dark Chocolate: How This Sweet Indulgence Improves Your Memory

Why Sleep is the Key to Unlocking Your Brain’s Full Potential

*Note: Project was not published, but provides a representation of my writing ability.