You already understand you should be eating a healthy breakfast each morning. Eating a good quality breakfast will help you do better at work and boost your overall brain power, according to new research.
A new April 2021 study in the journal Nutrients discovered that adolescents who consumed a nutritious breakfast had better performance at school compared to people who did not. A small 2016 study in Neuroscience & Medicine revealed that specific segment of the brain experienced much higher activation when adults ate a nutritionally-complete breakfast over one with sugar.
Which breakfast foods are better than the rest when it comes to boosting your cognitive function? Read on to find the best four brain-friendly breakfast foods.
The 4 best brain-boosting foods
1. Salmon
This fish gives tons of omega-3 fatty acids, specifically EPA and DHA. Salmon is an excellent choice specifically due to DHA making up a large portion of fat inside your brain, so it is critical for brain development. Research also shows that DHA helps improve the memory function in older people.
2. Eggs
The simple egg is also one of the best brain-friendly foods you can eat. It is easy to cook yet has both choline and lutein, two crucial nutrients that aid in brain development in our early years, then protect it against cognitive decline in middle age, according to a 2018 study of egg benefits released in the Journal of the American College of Nutrition.
3. Oatmeal
There is a reason that oats are often recommended by nutrition experts. As a whole grain, they have been linked to better cognitive functioning like higher reading scores and verbal fluency.
We prefer steel-cut oats, which are the best whole-food type of oats and give a pleasantly chewy texture.
4. Turmeric
Using a sprinkle of this yellow spice in your breakfast can help your brain health. It has a chemical known as curcumin, which has been proven to have cognitive and memory benefits in both healthy people and those people with Alzheimer’s disease. Try this smoothie recipe: Blend some carrots, orange juice, some cinnamon, and plain yogurt using a high-powered blender, then add in a small amount of turmeric. Or, try topping off oats with a handful of turmeric trail mix such as Toodaloo for a good crunch and more brain benefits.
Author: Blake Ambrose