The title of this article reveals a crucial point about the so-called “brain food” or “foods to boost brainpower” which have in recent years became something of a health craze. The maintenance of your cognitive health is quite a different thing from what is suggested by such terms. If you are looking for a magic chemical fix located in the nutrients and other contents of some food, then the enterprise is doomed. As far as we know, there is no food that can “boost your brainpower”, but there are plenty that will help your cognitive health.
The important difference can be pretty well explained by the concept of IQ, a metric of cognitive agility and efficiency which has been proven to be the gold standard for assessing such things. Importantly, this figure does not change, and no amount of dietary changes or vitamin supplements can actually increase or decrease it. Therefore, when we speak of cognitive health, we are talking about something quite different to “how smart you are”.
Nevertheless, cognitive health does have a massive role to play in your mental performance. If you feel confused, slow or like you are suffering what is normally called “brain fog”, then this is a minor example of cognitive impairment. It is in this area that certain foods certainly can play a helpful role.
What Do We Mean by Cognitive Health?
Cognitive health therefore can be thought of not as the overall ability of your brain to recall information and solve problems, but instead how well it can make use of that innate potential. This is something which, unlike IQ, very certainly does fluctuate. When you are drunk you are cognitively impaired, when you are overly tired you are cognitively impaired, and so on.
The Top Food and Drink for Cognitive Health
Here follows a list of some of the best foods to help boost your cognitive ability and prevent those days when your brain just does not seem to be working as efficiently as you would like:
Leafy Green Vegetables
These easily identifiable vegetables – kale, spinach, collards, broccoli, and so on – are known to be rich in the brain-supporting nutrients such as vitamin K, folate, and beta carotene. And especially where long-term cognitive decline is concerned, research suggests that these vegetables can help.
Hydrogen-Enriched Water
Although we should be somewhat skeptical of the health fads marketed as “brainpower-boosting”, hydrogen water is a product that certainly doesn’t come under this umbrella. Offering a range of other benefits such as anti-ageing and resistance to inflammation, hydrogen water has been shown to lessen brain fog and boost cognitive performance. The world leaders in hydrogen water, Synergy Science, have enumerated the many benefits of this product on their website.
Fatty Fish
Fatty fish, as a source of the famous omega-3 nutrient, has been tipped for some time as one of the best things to eat to reduce cognitive impairment. Salmon, cod, light tuna, and pollack are some of the best sources of this nutrient.
Berries
Berries are brightly colored because of the presence of flavon oids, which are the natural plant pigments that cause these rich hues. Flavon oids are also great for reducing cognitive impairment. Strawberries and blueberries are best source of these remarkable nutrients.
Last Word
Besides what you eat and drink, cognitive impairment can also be significantly reduced by all the usual lifestyle choices such as exercising and getting enough sleep. The latter of these, in particular, is massively important for proper mental functioning. Thus, you should be sure to make these lifestyle choices as well – but eating the right things can go a long way too.
