Nutrition to Boost Your Memory Function

One of the most feared health issues for many men and women is the loss of brain function. Memories, in particular, are treasured and irreplaceable. So, it’s important that you do everything in your power to protect your mind.

Alzheimer’s disease is one memory disease that hits particularly hard, but it’s not the only one. Some aging citizens suffer from milder forms of dementia, too. You can protect your mind in many ways.

Some people like to work on their mental clarity and memory retention by exercising it with strategy games and puzzles. Playing Sudoku, for example, can help you with your brain health.

But food can also help (or hurt) your memory function.

Ridding Your Body of Memory-Stealing Toxins

The brain is a very sensitive thing. Deficiencies can cause permanent damage, but so can the flood of toxins in your body that impair your cognitive function. You have to know what harms your brain so that you can replace it with memory boosting foods instead.

One thing scientists are concerned about is that men and women are consuming foods that result in brain plaque. Similar to how arterial plaque can block blood flow and result in coronary disease, it’s thought that brain plaque can impair your memory.

Nutritional Neuroscience reported on a study about a protein called amyloid beta, which is a sign of brain plaque. When your brain is able to break down this protein, you don’t suffer from memory ailments like you do when the brain is unable to break it down and it hardens and builds up.

Your cells begin to die off instead of strengthening their connections and eventually, you start showing signs of impairment – like walking into a room and forgetting why you are there, or not understanding how to drive home from familiar places.

Sugar is one thing that has the potential to harm your memory capabilities. When we think of sugar intake, we’re usually concerned with diabetes and obesity, but it also hurts your brain function.

The Journal of Physiology published a study about how high intake of sugar leads to long term cognitive decline. Things like sugary sodas and cakes were to blame – not naturally occurring sugars like those found in sweet fruit.

In the studies, the lab rats that showed signs of illness from high sugar intake were helped significantly when Omega-3 fatty acids were introduced to their diets.

Some of the foods we focus on in terms of obesity (trans fats like potato chips, solid fats and candy) can do tremendous damage to your mind. Not only have studies shown that memory function decreases for those who eat a diet rich in these substances, but they also show less brain volume, and lower scoring on tests for these individuals.

Processed foods are harmful to your nutritional needs when it comes to repairing or retaining memory function. You want to stick to a diet rich in fresh food sources, not packaged for long-term shelf life.

Get Plenty of These Foods for Increased Brain Function

Whenever your body is low on B12 and iron, your mind doesn’t function as sharply – and that includes recalling information of a short- or long-term nature. Foods that provide plenty of these nutrients can help significantly.

Researchers say that it’s crucial to your mind that you preserve the connections of your nerve cells – and antioxidants can help you in that regard. You can get these in various fruits and vegetables that you consumer.

In lab studies, science proved that living beings that consumed plenty of berries, leafy greens and foods packed with vitamin E suffered fewer instances of memory loss than those who didn’t.

Mice that were fed a diet of blueberries instead of the usual rat food shows significant abilities to break down the amyloid protein that built up in other rodents (who suffered cognitive impairment).

So we know that berries have antioxidants and a powerful effect on the human brain to stave off memory loss in many instances. Your brain has to protect existing connections, but it also needs to heal any injuries at times.

Blueberries have been shown to protect the part of the brain that delivers access to your short-term memories. They also help with the creation of neurogenesis, which allows for the storage of new memories.

When you’re planning your meals, you want to include foods that help the communication flow in your brain and maintain the number of healthy cells that you have to work with.

You want to adopt a diet that helps your entire body function at its best. You need plenty of blood flow and oxygen reaching your brain to keep things in tip top shape.

We often hear people talk of a heart healthy diet, but you also want to make sure you’re specifically adding brain healthy foods to your menu. Flavonoids (found in foods like kale and other leafy greens), help support your memory.

Other flavonoid foods you want to add to your diet are:

·         Berries

·         Apricots

·         Pears

·         Pinto and Black Beans

·         Red Onions

·         Apples

·         Cabbage

·         Tomatoes

·         Parsley

Folate is a brain booster, too. You want to consume plenty of foods with folic acid with vitamin B12. That means, eating foods such as:

·         Spinach

·         Asparagus

·         White Navy Beans

·         Lentils

·         Broccoli

·         Cereal fortified with folic acid

Don’t worry that it’s too late to reverse signs of memory damage. Anytime you can help clean and repair nerves and cells by restoring them to good health, you can see signs of improvement!