Top Superfoods For Brain Development

Developing good brain development starts when you are a baby and then a young child, but it doesn’t stop there. You should be focusing on it throughout your life, helping to improve your memory, gain better knowledge and focus, and helping to combat conditions like Alzheimer’s and dementia.

One way to do this is by looking at what you are eating.

Eating healthy is one of the top ways to have good brain development and to improve your cognitive function.

In addition to things like exercising your brain and trying different color combinations and activities, brain food is often recommended the most for better cognitive function.

The superfoods for your brain vary from fruits and vegetables, to healthy fats and even fish like salmon. This allows you to eat a healthy, well balanced diet that helps your overall health and your brain development at the same time.

Here is a list of the top 12 superfoods for brain development.

1: Wild Salmon

The first superfood that can help tremendously with brain development and memory function is wild salmon. While many superfoods do tend to be fruits, vegetables, and nuts, there are absolutely foods like fish on the list.

Wild salmon is considered a powerful superfood thanks to all the fatty acids it contains, including plenty of omega-3 fatty acids. Since the brain is made up of 70 percent fat, it makes sense that more fatty acids would be a good thing for proper brain health.

There have been multiple studies looking at the effects of fatty acids and brain power, particularly looking at how it can prevent Alzheimer’s in people that consume foods like fatty fish on a regular basis. This is because the omega-3 allow for better blood flow to the brain, while also reducing inflammation.

If you are going to consume wild salmon for the purpose of brain health, you should only eat wild salmon and never farmed salmon. Other types of fatty fish can also be good for you.

2: Nuts

There are a few different types of nuts that can be helpful if you want to boost your brain power, improve cognitive abilities, and help to boost your memory. Here are some of the best nuts to consume as superfoods for brain development:

Walnuts – Walnuts are one of the most popular nuts to consume, providing a lot of important omega-3 fatty acids for people who don’t like fish or can’t eat it due to a vegan or vegetarian diet. With walnuts, you are going to improve your overall brain health and development. Try crushed walnuts on your salad or just eat a handful of them as a snack.

Almonds – This is definitely one of the healthiest types of nuts around, and can also help with your brain development. You should go for the unsalted, raw almonds, instead of dry roasted or honey roasted. You want the nutrients of your nuts without the added salt. Raw almonds are an excellent source of vitamin A, which can be very beneficial for cognitive health.

Cashews – If you prefer softer nuts, you may want to eat cashews. These are one of the only nuts that contain antioxidants, so they can help with memory in addition to general brain health and function.

3: Spinach

While all leafy greens can be considered superfoods for your brain health, it is worth noting spinach specifically. Spinach is on many ‘top food lists’ and ‘top superfoods’ lists for a reason. They are packed full of nutrients, including folate, magnesium, vitamin E, vitamin K, and of course potassium.

It is the potassium in spinach that makes them suitable as a superfood for boosting your brain health. When you have potassium, it helps to send signals between neurons in your brain, which can be great for brain development. There are also antioxidants in spinach, which helps reduce damage by protecting the brain cells. The other nutrients and vitamins help to prevent Alzheimer’s disease and dementia.

Spinach is easy to add to your meals, whether you add spinach to your breakfast scramble, or you have a mixed green salad.

4: Blueberries

In terms of healthy fruit, it doesn’t get much better than blueberries. These are loaded with antioxidants, and particularly flavonoids, which can help improve your cognitive functions and help to improve memory.

The flavonoids in blueberries also provide a wide range of other health benefits, which is partly why blueberries are such an amazing superfood. They can help prevent the decline of your memory, such as with conditions like Alzheimer’s, and they can protect you against damage to healthy tissue and free radicals. You will also be at a reduced risk of side effects from Parkinson’s disease.

Try to eat at least ½ cup of blueberries every day if you want to have them for brain development and memory function. Here are some recommended ways to enjoy your blueberries:

• In yogurt or ice cream
• In your morning cereal or oatmeal
• Handful of blueberries as a snack
• In baked goods
• Healthy dessert with mixed berries and whipped cream

5: Dark Chocolate

Believe it or not, there are sweets on the list of superfoods that help with brain health and development, including dark chocolate. While milk chocolate and other types of chocolate aren’t the best for you, it is a completely different story with dark chocolate. You should try to find dark chocolate with 70% of cacao or higher, as this will have less sugar and other additives.

Dark chocolate is often considered a healthy superfood because of all the antioxidants it contains. These antioxidants are great for avoiding illness and disease, but it can also help to stimulate the alertness in your brain and improve your focus. You also get this health benefit from the caffeine that naturally occurs in dark chocolate.

6: Apples

While there are a lot of vegetables on this top list of superfoods for brain health and development, there are also multiple fruits. You already learned about all the antioxidants blueberries have, and now it is time to talk about apples.

The good thing is that many people already enjoy eating apples, so it shouldn’t be too difficult to add more of them to your regular diet. Like blueberries and many other foods on this list, they have an excellent amount of antioxidants. Plus, apples also have fiber, which keeps you fuller longer and can help you with regular digestion.

The antioxidants in apples are what make them the ideal choice when you want to help with proper brain development. These antioxidants are going to help you improve your memory and get better focus. There are so many different ways to enjoy your apples, but here are a few to try out:

• Make a healthier dessert with baked apples and cinnamon
• Add apples to your green smoothie to sweeten it up and increase the nutrition
• Add peeled and diced apples to a summer salad
• Enjoy sliced apples with almond butter or peanut butter

7: Cinnamon and Oregano

When it comes to herbs and spices, there are two that you should know about for superfoods for brain development. These include cinnamon and oregano.

Cinnamon

First up is cinnamon, which is a very common spice people like to use for sweetening up fruits, vegetables, and various treats. Like many of the superfoods on this list, cinnamon is good for brain health because of the antioxidants.

Believe it or not, spices like cinnamon have a very high amount of antioxidants, even though you might not realize it. Plus, it is low in fat and has no carbohydrates, so you can enjoy this spice on just about any diet imaginable. Cinnamon is excellent for improving your memory and overall brain health.

Oregano

Next up is oregano, which as you probably know, is an herb. This is also a good non-food source of antioxidants that are going to help with your brain development, specifically with your memory and improving your focus.

8: Leafy Greens

Yes, lots more leafy greens are going to be on the list for the healthiest superfoods for your brain! You already know from a previous section that spinach is an excellent leafy green for your brain health, but don’t forget about the other ones available.

Specifically, consuming darker, leafy greens like kale, cabbage, and turnip greens will be an excellent source of iron, antioxidants, and phytonutrients. These are all wonderful for cognitive health, along with general health and wellness.

9: Coffee

Another surprising superfood that can actually be really good for proper brain development and improved brain function is coffee. This isn’t just because of the caffeine, though that does help like dark chocolate, but also because coffee has a good amount of antioxidants.

Since it has caffeine, you just want to be careful with how much coffee you consume. Try to keep it to just 1-2 cups a day, and also be careful of how much sugar or creamer you add to your coffee. Like everything else on this list, you should have it in moderation.

10: Sweet Potatoes

There are many vegetables on this list because they contain so many different nutrients, they are pretty much all wonderful superfoods. For brain development specifically, sweet potatoes should definitely be on the list.

With sweet potatoes, you are getting multiple nutrients that are good for your brain health, including vitamin A, fiber, and phytonutrients. These are all good for better focus and improved memory, plus an increase in cognitive function.

The great thing about sweet potatoes is that they are a little healthier, lower in fat, and lower in carbs than red potatoes or white potatoes. They tend to be approved on more diets, including some of the low-carb diets.

11: Olive Oil

Something a little different that you want to add to your superfoods for brain development list is olive oil. While this is an oil and it might seem unhealthy, olive oil is actually one of the healthiest things you can put in your body. It is considered a healthy fat, along with avocados and some other foods.

Olive oil is a really good source of antioxidants and monounsaturated fats. This makes it a healthier choice for oil and flavoring for your food, which is going to help with brain function and also helps to protect you against heart disease.

Here are some ideas for getting more olive oil into your diet:

• Make a healthier salad dressing with olive oil and vinegar
• Toss your veggies with olive oil and add seasoning before roasting them
• Cook your morning eggs in olive oil instead of butter or saturated oil

12: Eggs

The last superfood on the list to help with your brain health are eggs. Eggs are also good for brain health due to their various nutrients, from the protein is an excellent choice for getting more energy throughout the day without turning to sugar.

Something really good about this healthy food is that not only is it so easy to eat more eggs, but they go great with many of the other superfoods on this list. You can make a scramble with different veggies, or add hard-boiled eggs to a dark greens salad with some avocado and olive oil on top. There really are a lot of ideas to choose from.