What would be without our brains? Our brain health is central to our overall health. Afterall, it is the point of communication that controls our bodies, including our thoughts, movements, and feelings. Nourishing our brains is of utmost importance.

Don’t know where to start? Here are some foods that you might be quite excited to learn encourage brain health:

Dark chocolate

When done right, consuming dark chocolate can help enhance memory function. Look for at least 70% cocoa with low added sugar. Up the benefits by choosing organic and fair trade too.

Nuts

Similarly, research has shown that nut consumption helps with facets of memory and cognitive function. Nuts are full of brain healthy fats and nutrients like vitamin E and omega-3 fatty acids, that protect from oxidative stress-related damage and prevent cognitive decline.

Turmeric

The versatile spice, turmeric, is likely helpful for memory, mood, anxiety, and depression. What’s more, is that turmeric likely boosts brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) which is linked to brain cell growth and prevention of brain decline. Turmeric is a great addition to any morning beverage of choice, vegetable sautée, soup.

Green tea

Green tea helps to improve brain health in a multitude of ways, including: staving off cognitive decline, and improving memory, anxiety, focus, alertness, and task performance. It is no wonder that in the Blue Zones, with the highest densities of healthy centenarians or people who live to over 100 years old, green tea is often a staple.

Fatty fish

Fatty fish, offer a wide array of brain boosting benefits from memory and learning to preventing cognitive decline – likely attributable to their high omega-3 fatty-acid content. About 1/4th of our brain is made up of omega-3 fatty acids which help support brain and nerve cell growth, so it makes sense that fish consumption encourages brain health. When choosing fish, go for environmentally-friendly, low-mercury, and wild-caught fish like salmon and sardines.