Say Goodbye to Forgetfulness: 5 Simple Brain-Boosting Tips
Many people are becoming more concerned than ever about maintaining their brain health. Consumer Reports has found that 34% of Americans are noticing signs of forgetfulness that are significant enough to worry about, and according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, one in nine adults report experiencing subjective cognitive decline, such as confusion and memory loss. With Brain Health Month upon us, it’s important to prioritize strategies for maintaining a healthy mind. Here are five tips to help you build a brain health routine.
1. Plan Your Breakfast Every Day
Starting your day with a healthy breakfast is essential for building a healthy body, which in turn supports a healthy brain. Preparing your breakfast in advance and having the necessary ingredients on hand can help you stay on track with a nutritious start to your day. Here are three healthy breakfast options to try:
- Egg Muffins with Spinach and Feta: These egg muffins are perfect for meal prep over the weekend. You can heat and eat them in just 30 seconds.
- Strawberry Mint Overnight Oats: Oats contain beta-glucans, a type of soluble fiber that helps maintain steady glucose levels, which are important for the brain to function at its best.
- Strawberry-Kiwi Yogurt Parfaits: This is another easy recipe you can meal prep over the weekend. They’re perfect to grab and go during your busy morning.
2. Incorporate Fatty Fish into Your Diet
Fatty fish, such as salmon, trout, albacore tuna, herring, and sardines, are high in omega-3 fatty acids, which are essential building blocks for the brain. Omega-3 fats can help sharpen memory, improve mood, and keep cognitive performance at its best.
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3. Include Turmeric in Your Healthy Diet
Research has shown that curcumin, a polyphenol found in turmeric, is associated with better cognitive performance. One study of older individuals found that those who consumed curry (which contains turmeric) occasionally or often had higher scores on a mental exam compared to those who never or rarely consumed curry. Turmeric is a beautiful yellow spice that can be added to a variety of dishes.
4. Make Cocoa Flavanols Part of Your Healthy Diet
Since flavanol levels can vary greatly in cocoa-based foods, taking a daily cocoa flavanol supplement like CocoaVia™ Memory+ is an easy way to incorporate cocoa flavanols into your diet. It contains 750mg of cocoa flavanols. It is proven to improve memory and brain function in as little as 8 weeks. It can help improve 3 types of memory including word recall (+31%), spatial memory (+24%) and long-term memory (+14%). As flavanol levels can vary greatly and are not labeled in cocoa-based foods, a daily cocoa flavanol supplement, like CocoaVia™ Memory+, is an easy way to incorporate cocoa flavanols into your diet.
5. Get Your Exercise
Aerobic exercise has been found to improve cerebrovascular function and cognition. Aerobic exercise is defined as exercise done “with oxygen,” meaning that breathing controls the amount of oxygen that makes it to the muscles to help them burn fuel and get you moving. Examples of aerobic exercise include swimming, biking, walking
Summary
Taking care of our brain health is essential to maintaining a healthy and happy life. With the prevalence of cognitive decline and forgetfulness, it’s important to take proactive steps to build a brain health routine. By incorporating healthy breakfast options, fatty fish, turmeric, cocoa flavanols, and aerobic exercise into our daily lives, we can give our brains the support they need to function at their best. By following these five recommendations, we can help protect our brain health and potentially reduce the risk of cognitive decline in the future.