Brain food matters.
How you think and feel is directly affected by what you eat.
By simply following a brain-friendly diet, you can sharpen your memory, increase your attention span, and keep your mind young.
Whole grains – the brain power
Blood sugar dips can cause our concentration to go straight out the window. This is because our brains run on sugar. All carbohydrates break down to sugar, but only the slow releasing carbohydrates keep blood sugar stable.
Choose whole grains, oats, sweet potato, quinoa, buckwheat, brown or wild rice, amaranth, millet.
Oily fish – the architects of higher intelligence
Did you know that the human brain is nearly 60% fat? Fat is one of the most crucial molecules that determines your brain’s integrity and ability to perform.
Choose wild salmon, tuna, mackerel, herring, sardines, anchovies
Eggs – the masters of communication
Eggs are high in phospholipids, a special type of fat, which is needed for healthy signalling in within the brain.
Not only do they enhance mental performance and concentration, they protect against age-related memory decline.
B vitamins – the memory’s best friend
B vitamins are great for lowering a harmful chemical within the body called homocysteine, which has been associated with memory loss.
Boost your memory and intelligence with fish, meat, eggs, wholegrains, beans, chickpeas, lentils, dark leafy greens, broccoli, asparagus, turnip, bell peppers
Turmeric – the ancient wisdom for the mind
Studies have shown that a pinch of turmeric a day keeps the memory loss away. Now there is more reason to enjoy your favourite curry.
Gingseng – the tonic for concentration
Ginseng is a herb which has shown to improve energy, focus and memory in both young and old people.
Enjoy a daily cup of ginseng tea.
Mindfulness meditation – the thought gym
Strengthen your muscle of attention with daily mindfulness practice.
Mindfulness enhances the neural pathways within the brain responsible for concentration.
About the Author:
Lily Soutter Bsc (Hons) Nutrition, Dip ION, mBANT, CNHC
Lily’s passion for health and nutrition stems back from when she was a child suffering from chronic psoriasis. No medical treatment seemed to help and by her teens she was determined to do something about it. Lily cleaned up her diet with the advice from a Nutritionist. This was the first time in her life Lily’s psoriasis did not appear and has stayed in remission since.
Lily’s extensive knowledge of the science of food and health enables her to help you be the healthiest version of you
Once she had seen how powerful food can be to health Lily decided to train at one of the best Universities to obtain a Food and Human Nutrition degree. She was especially attracted to the large amount of research and studies Newcastle University conducted, and their high focus on evidence based science.
Lily then went on to train as a Nutritional Therapist at the Institute of Optimum Nutrition to help coach individuals on how to obtain optimal health. She is a member of BANT, the professional regulating body for Nutritional Therapy. She is also CNHC registered, the regulating body for complementary therapists.
Lily consults from her clinic based in Chelsea, The Portobello Clinic, Notting Hill and at Nuffield Health
