Top 5 Brain Enhanching Foods

Food can help better your memory. Saturated fats, trans fat and sugar are considered brain busters and interfere with your body's ability to recognize when to stop eating. However, there are healthier options to choose from.

Here are five brain enhancing foods:

1. Spinach: Along with partner leaf-greens kale and collard greens, spinach slows mental decline due to aging by 40 percent. Cleveland Clinic Chief Wellness Officer, Dr. Michael Roizen says, "Filling up on this green can keep your brain so sharp you're the one who wins the million dollar account, solves the global warming problem, and keeps doing the Saturday crossword puzzle in pen."

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2. Fish Oil: While other fats are memory takers, the Omega-3 oil found in fish oils is good for memory. WebMD reports people who eat fish fat score better on memory tests and have even been shown in scientific studies to remember things, as well as people much younger. Dr. Roizen reports those Omega-3 oils are also found in other foods such as nuts and olive oil.

3. Coffee Beans: While technically a drink, not a food, coffee has been shown in numerous scientific studies to be good for memory. Johns Hopkins researchers report the caffeine in coffee can be a powerful memory booster that lasts even up to 24 hours after it is consumed. According to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration the vast majority of caffeine intake in the United States comes from beverage sources.

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4. Cruciferous Vegetables: The easiest way to think about this memory boosting group of vegetables is to think about greens that have a "head" or look like a tree. For example, broccoli, cauliflowers, Brussel sprouts and cabbages. A Harvard Medical study which followed women over a thirty year period, found that those who ate cruciferous veggies were able to lower their brain age.

5. Chocolate: For more than just pure pleasure, dark chocolate holds the potential to provide a big boost to memory. According to The New York Times, researchers at Columbia University Medical Center looked at the flavanols in cocoa and found that aging subjects could perform about 25 percent better on memory tests after drinking a cocoa mixture. One bit of warning though, the study was small and partially funded by the chocolate makers.

This article is for information only and is not intended as medical advice. Talk with your doctor about your specific health and medical needs.

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