The Best Vitamins for Your Brain's Health

Food for BrainHeather Ford/Unsplash

Do you want to live a healthy, happier, and longer life? Then you better take care of your brain. The brain is the control center of your body. It enables your lungs to breathe and heart to beat, which allows you to think and feel.

Working out and getting enough sleep are some of the ways to boost your brain's health. Yet, eating the right food is very important. As a result, dieting plays a significant role in keeping your brains healthy. Therefore, eating healthy helps reduce the risks of mental illness, especially as you age.

Keeping a healthy diet gives your brain the nutrients and vitamins it needs. Thus, it is good if your brain is working at its peak.

According to the National Library of Medicine, nutrients like omega-3 fatty acids help slow cognitive decline and reduce the risks of dementia. You can get the Omega 3s nutrients by consuming whole foods.

Although, some people prefer taking supplements. It would be better to consider taking the proper foods because your diet affects your brain's health.

Besides, eating a well-balanced diet combines healthy fats, vitamins, minerals, and more, which helps your body absorb the nutrients it wants.

What doctors say about taking a supplement that claims to improve brain health

Every drug store right now claims to have vitamins and supplements that help support brain health.

But do they work?

However, as much there's a shortage of food that provides vitamins doctors still insist on purchasing whole foods.

According to them, the Food and Drug Administration does not standardize supplements. So, it's hard to tell if the ingredients written on the bottle are accurate.

Besides, science has not provided information showing that brain health supplements do work.

So, if your doctor prescribes a supplement to you, go for it.

But always check if the supplements have a seal from the US pharmacopoeial Convention(USP).

The USP is a third-party certification program that tests products to ensure it has the ingredients it claims.

Below are some of the vitamins specialists say you need to boost your brain health and the foods that provide the vitamins.

Vitamin E

Vitamin E works as an antioxidant in your body. It defends your cells from oxidative stress( a type of injury caused by free radicals).

As you get older, your brain becomes vulnerable to oxidative stress, which contributes to cognitive impairment.

Some of the foods that are rich in vitamin E are ;

• Avocado
• Red bell pepper
• Mango
• Nuts and seeds
• Leafy greens
• Asparagus

AsparagusAmy Burk/Unsplash

B vitamins

Three types of B vitamins focus on brain health.

Like:

• Vitamin B9(folate)
• Vitamin B12
• Vitamin B6

According to Dr. Agarwal, "one needs the three kinds of B vitamins for the brain to function as usual." Lacking any of them can supplement the risk of memory loss and other signs of cognitive decline.

For this reason, these vitamins help improve the production of neurotransmitters. These neurotransmitters help send messages from the brain to the body.

Here are foods that are rich in vitamin B6 ,

• Salmon
• Tuna
• Poultry
• Bananas
• Oranges
• Papaya
• Cantaloupe

You can find folate in foods such as:

• Whole grains
• Eggs
• Peanuts
• Sunflower seeds
• Broccoli
• Greens

While foods with Vitamin B12 are meat and fish products, you can get the nutrients you need from nutritional yeast if you're vegan.

Still, Vegetarians are at a higher risk of lacking Vitamin B12. Thus you need to see a health care provider to determine whether you need the vitamin.

Omega- 3 fatty acids

Fatty fish like tuna and salmon are part of a healthy diet.

Why? Because they are high in omega-3 fatty acids. The polyunsaturated fatty acids(PUFAs) in fish help the brain reduce damages caused by vascular inflammation.

The omega3s are also the building block of cell membranes in the brain.

Omega-3s also help lower levels of beta-amyloid.

Beta-amyloid is a protein found in the brains of people with damages related to Alzheimer's disease.

Dr. Agarwal says the Omega -3s penetrate the blood-brain barrier and help the brain's functionality and structure.

Some of the foods that have Omega 3 fatty acids are;

• Eggs
• Yogurt
• Nuts and seeds

Vitamin C

Vitamin C is famous for its immunity capabilities. It also supports the brain and subdues brain-damaging inflammation.

According to Researchers from Rush University, people who eat Vitamin C-rich strawberries once a week are less likely to develop Alzheimer's.

And you can get vitamin C by eating the following foods,

• Brussels sprouts
• Tomatoes
• Citrus
• Peppers
• Red and Green bell
• Berries
• Cauliflower
• Kiwi

TomatoesRobert Kalinigil/Unsplash

Conclusion

As discussed above, if you want to have a sharper mind, pick a healthy diet. There is no shortcut.

Your focus should be on adopting a healthy lifestyle.

Be mindful of what you what and think of how it will affect your body.

Doing that will improve your cognitive functions and reduce the risks of dementia and Alzheimer's disease.

But, Eating healthy alone is not enough.

Remember to combine a good diet with other healthy lifestyle habits like working out.

Red StrawberriesSahand/Unsplash