How To Improve Brain Health Through Diet?
Are you trying to keep your brain active and alert every time? Or you want to ameliorate your memory so that it could respond more actively? In rush of our busy schedule, we often ignore our health, majorly brain health that may raise many mental issues. There are various ways to improve your brain function that helps to reduce the risk for mental decline.
Method 1. Make Some Changes in Your Diet
1. Enhance Fruits And Vegetables In Your Intake
More fruits and vegetables help to get antioxidants so one should eat at least five serving of fruits and vegetables each day. Antioxidants help to stop free radicals from damaging your cells and these free radicals cause inflammation, destroy your cells and damage your DNA. For more antioxidants, you should eat berries, apples, bananas, papayas, pears, pulp, and dark chocolate.
2. Choose Complex Carbohydrates
Glucose acts like energy for your brain and this glucose come from the complex carbohydrates and it will come from whole grain, legumes, beans, and good sources. This steady supply of glucose will improve the brain function, concentration, and prevent you from confusion. You should eat brown rice, green vegetables, beans, lentils and peas for more complex carbohydrates.
3. Consume Vitamin E
Vitamin E is the fast soluble vitamin that works as an antioxidant and mainly useful for adults as they require 22.5 IU (15 mg) of the vitamin each day. It helps to improve the immune system, cardiovascular system and may also prevent cataracts and some forms of cancer. Food items like cooking oils, nuts and seeds have a rich quantity of vitamin E.
4. Drink Tea
Strange to hear but yes we are talking about tea. Make your habit to have 2-3 cup of green, black and white tea each day. According to the studies, tea contains antioxidants that can protect your cells from free radical damage. It can also enhance the blood flow of your body and also help to keep you alert as it contains caffeine.
5. Increase Iron-Rich Food In Your Child Diet
If you want to make your child more active and looking for his/her personal growth then increases iron-rich food in his diet. Because teenage is the age of development of mind. Research shows that iron can revamp cell communication within the brain and protect against many diseases later in life. Lack of iron may be the reason for most of the diseases. Foods like eggs, spinach, peanut butter, tofu, seafood, meat, whole grains are rich in iron.
Method 2. Choose Your Diet
1. Prefer DASH Diet More
DASH refers to Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension and it may ameliorate your health and also reduce the risk of dementia. If you are keen to follow the DASH diet, go for the foods that are low in saturated fat and cholesterol. While considering a DASH diet, you should eat fruits, vegetables, fish, nuts, poultry, and whole-grain foods and should avoid red meat, sweets, fats, and sodium.
2. Follow a Combination Diet
MIND (Mediterranean-DASH Intervention for Neurodegenerative Delay) diet combines elements of other diets that cut 53% risks of Alzheimer’s. The MIND diet includes fruits, vegetables, nuts, beans whole grain, etc. There are other foods also that have been linked to improving the brain and functions and these are like olive oil, green tea, broccoli, spinach that helps to prevent inflammation, beets, tomatoes, nuts, fish, grapes, coffee, dark chocolate, etc.
Method 3. Protect Your Brain Health
1. Take an OMEGA-3 Fatty Acid Supplement
To improve your brain health, choose a supplement that has 2000-4000 mg of combined EPA and DHA fatty acids. Taking the OMEGA-3 supplement is closer enough to the ideal ratio of one to one. If you go for OMEGA-3 fatty acids then they are anti-inflammatory whereas OMEGA-6 fatty acids are so plentiful in foods.
2. Say no to Smoking
No doubt, smoking is harmful to health as it doubles the risk of dementia and Alzheimer’s disease. Quitting smoking is a great way to keep your brain healthy. If you are unable to do so then try START that helps to quit smoking to an extent.
- S- Set a date.
- T- Tell your friends that you have planned to quit smoking.
- A- Anticipate problems and concern with quitting.
- R- Remove it from everywhere you used to keep it.
- T- Tell your doctor if these things couldn’t help you.
3. Drink More Water
Get in the habit of drinking more water right from the time when you get in the morning to just before you go to bed. Drink at least 6-8 ounce of water throughout the day. Water will prevent you from dehydration. Dehydration can be the reason for shrink brain tissue, visual processing, and lower cognitive function and impair brain function responsible for planning.
4. Maintain BMI
Keeping a healthy weight may improve your health as well as memory. To find out your BMI (Body Mass Index), determine your weight to height ratio. The ordinary weight should be 18.5-24.9. If you are facing an excess or deficit of weight then concern to your doctor as soon as possible.
5. Do Exercise Regularly
Exercise creates new blood vessels in the body which can improve the blood flow to your brain and make cell-to-cell communication better. Although, it improves the overall health that helps to fresh the mind and give a positive effect on the mind. No matter what age you are, it will moderate your brain so finely. You should give at least 30 minutes to exercise daily and exercise that boost your brain is cycling, water aerobics, meditation, yoga and may more.
6. Other stimulating activities
Your brain can develop in the new ways and different connections when it gets connected with new stimulating things. We are not asking about big tasks rather include some small activities in your daily routine like playing puzzles, painting, playing instruments, creativity, listening to music, reading books, etc. All these activities revamp your thinking skills and make your brain strong.