Meals for Better Memory: Know the Nutrients You Need for Sharper Thinking

Just as eating the right foods is critical for managing your weight, blood glucose, blood pressure and other measures of good health, a proper diet is also essential for optimal brain function. Fortunately, it’s not a complicated task. Simply spending a little more time in your grocery store’s produce section is a good start.

Among the keys to plant-based protection for your brain are phytonutrients, which are chemical compounds found in fruits, vegetables and other plants. The benefits of phytonutrients, also known as phytochemicals, include their anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties, as well as their ability to boost your immune system.

“A rainbow of colors in vegetables and fruit are pointing to the positive effect of phytonutrients,” says Uma Naidoo, MD, director of Nutritional & Lifestyle Psychiatry at Massachusetts General Hospital. “Some types of phytonutrients include flavanols and carotenoids think of the bright orange color of carrots and red bell peppers. The anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects of these substances may help protect against diseases like Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s.”

Other phytonutrient-rich foods that should be a part of your regular diet include tomatoes, sweet potatoes, mangos, berries, citrus fruits, and dark, leafy green vegetables, such as spinach, broccoli, kale and romaine lettuce.

What the Research Shows

The benefits of fruits and vegetables to preserve thinking skills and memory, as well as boost your emotional wellbeing, have been shown again and again in nutrition studies. Earlier this year, for example, the International Journal of Public Health published a study that found a strong association between a high consumption of fruits and vegetables and lower odds of memory loss and heart disease, which are two factors that can also negatively affect brain health.

The study also found that it’s especially important for older adults to keep up their intake of protein for healthy brain function. Dr. Naidoo says studies suggest that for older individuals, approximately 30 to 35 percent of daily calories should be from protein. “This is always based on a discussion with a doctor because your medications and other health conditions would also be an important variable,” she says. “For example, patients with kidney or liver diseases would need lower levels, so checking with a doctor first is important. Obtaining more protein from plant-based sources and adding a variety to daily meals is also helpful.”

Researchers also noted that older adults shouldn’t neglect their intake of whole grains, as fiber is critical to digestive health, as well as to your healthy gut bacteria, which plays a role in brain function and most other systems in the body.

 “It is an important part of a healthy and balanced diet to include whole grains such as oats, barley, and quinoa, for example,” Dr. Naidoo says. “Fiber is an important component of gut health as fiber feeds the good bacteria in your gut, thereby helping the gut to maintain a good balance.”

Dr. Naidoo adds that a 2017 meta-analysis of studies involving more than 31,000 people found that increasing the amount of fruits and vegetables you eat may help protect against mild cognitive impairment (MCI). The researchers compared the diets of people with normal cognition to those with MCI and found that vitamin C, vitamin B6, and carotenoids were associated with the highest protection against MCI, which is thought to be linked to the nutrients’ antioxidant effects.

Two other studies that underscore the connection between nutrition and brain health include a 2007 study published in the American Journal of Epidemiology and a 2012 study in the Annals of Neurology. In the 2012 study, researchers found that higher consumption of saturated fats was associated with worsening verbal memory and other measures of cognitive health.

The 2007 research study suggests that regular consumption of dietary flavonoids is associated with better cognitive performance. Flavonols are plant pigments with health benefits, and they are found in such diverse foods as citrus fruits, legumes, berries, tea and red wine. “Older individuals who ate more flavonoid foods had better cognitive performance at the outset of the study and also had much less age-related cognitive decline over the next 10 years compared to individuals with lower flavonoid intake,” Dr. Naidoo says. “Therefore, it seems that colorful produce should be included in your grocery list and be part of your regular diet if you are aiming to help your thinking.”

Making the Change

Consuming five to nine servings of fruits and vegetables daily is a generally accepted guideline for most people. That may sound like a lot, but it’s important to understand what a “serving” really is and to think about all the ways you can sneak fruits and veggies into every meal.

The following are some examples of one serving of a fruit or vegetable:

• One medium apple or orange
• Half a medium avocado
• One small banana
• Four large strawberries
• Half a medium grapefruit
• A quarter of a medium pineapple
• Half a large bell pepper
• Five to eight florets of broccoli or cauliflower
• One medium or six baby carrots
• One cup raw leafy vegetables or half a cup cooked
• Half a potato or yam
• Half a large zucchini

In addition to getting your veggies and fruit in a salad or as a side dish, consider these strategies to get more produce on the plate:

• Make a veggie omelet with spinach, tomatoes and other items, or simply stir some chopped vegetables into your scrambled eggs.
• Make vegetable-based soups, which are excellent ways to consume multiple vegetables in one meal.
• Add veggies to casseroles, lasagnas, and pasta sauces.
• Make smoothies with apples and carrots or other fruit and vegetable combinations.
• Have berries or other fruit for dessert instead of ice cream or sweets.
• Swap out nutrient-poor crackers or chips with a piece of fruit or kale chips as an afternoon snack.

Just as using a pedometer to track your steps can be an incentive to hit your walking goals, having a target of at least five vegetable and fruit servings a day may make you more likely to go beyond the guidelines and give your memory and cognition fuel for a long and healthy life.

“A combination of healthy eating, good hydration drinking enough water every day, and some form of regular movement and exercise that you enjoy are the pillars of optimal brain and heart health,” Dr. Naidoo says. “Cutting back on fried foods, high-fat processed snack foods, candy, cakes and sugar-sweetened beverages is also important.”

 Related post: “Memory Maximizer: Slowing Brain Aging; Protecting Memory and Brain Health“

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