Green Your (Brain) Food

For years, fish has been considered a top brain food. But did you know that eating antioxidant-rich foods, such as broccoli and red peppers, can help protect your brain long into your golden years?

Dark colored fruits and vegetables help prevent damage caused by free radicals, the molecules in the body responsible for aging and tissue damage, improving the brain’s cognitive ability. This is according to Carol Greenwood, a professor of nutritional sciences at the University of Toronto, who tested the memory of a group of senior citizens after they had eaten carbohydrates and again after they had eaten fruit and vegetables. She found that patients who ate the fruit and vegetables were able to remember 25% more than those who only ate carbohydrates. 

Greenwood is a champion for healthier eating. She argues that there is no magic bullet for maintaining a healthy brain and that the best thing you can do is eat a variety of foods. "When you look at diet, there is no single nutrient that is the solution and that's because diet has profound effects across a number of different biologic processes," Greenwood said.

Aside from reducing the amount the intake of processed and fatty foods, the brain also benefits from physical exercise and social activity, according to Greenwood.

Food plays a major role in Type 2 diabetes, unhealthy cholesterol levels and high blood pressure. All of these disorders increase the risk of dementia, which is why making healthier food choices matters.