5 Foods to Boost Your Memory: Simple Tips for Eating Healthy to Improve Your Mind and Body

Closer shares five foods to eat to help boost your memory and improve your mind and body.

Sea to It: According to the Mayo Clinic: “Fatty fishes, such as salmon, trout, mackerel, herring, sardines, pilchards and kippers, are rich in heart-healthy omega-3 fatty acids. These have been shown to improve memory when eaten one to two times per week. Shellfish and crustaceans, such as oysters, mussels, clams, crayfish, shrimp and lobster, are good sources of vitamin B12, a nutrient involved in preventing memory loss.”

Go Green: Leafy greens, including kale, spinach, collards and lettuce, boast “brain-healthy nutrients like vitamin K, lutein, folate and beta-carotene,” say the experts at Harvard Medical School. “Research suggests these plant-based foods may help slow cognitive decline.”

Also, colorful veggies and fruits contain certain antioxidants that can also aid in slowing memory loss.

Be Nutty: Per the folks at Unity-Point Health: “Nuts such as walnuts, almonds and peanuts, as well as sunflower and pumpkin seeds, are brain foods high in protein and omega fatty acids. Protein is the second largest matter in the brain, second only to water, so it’s important to nourish your brain with [it].”

Like a Virgin: A big boost can come from extra-virgin olive oil, that oil’s least-processed version. “It’s linked to low incidence of Alzheimer’s disease because it increases autophagy of the cells,” says Dr. Uma Naidoo, a nutritional psychiatrist and author of This Is Your Brain on Food. “That’s the process of our own cellular cleanup.”

Drink Up: “Coffee and green tea both contain caffeine, which has been shown to improve cognitive function by helping to solidify memories,” says Nicole M. Avena, assistant professor of neuroscience at Mount Sinai School of Medicine. “Tea and coffee can also help with short-term memory boosts.”