True Health Project

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Brain exercises are not the only way to improve your mental functions. Several studies have suggested certain foods that great beneficial causation-effect on your brain too - although these studies have only been conducted on animals.

There is, as of this writing, no way for neuroscientists to know exactly what are the effects of these foods on the human brain without cutting them open.

With that said, there are studies that correlates the increased consumption of these food with higher mental capacity. What are these foods exactly?

1. Berries, specifically strawberries, blueberries and raspberries contain a certain chemical called ellagitannins, abundantly found in the hippocampus. This chemical often declines as you ago - and therefore it stands to reason that if you consume a healthy amount of it, you’ll at the very least slow mental decline. Hippocampus is the part of you brain that converts short-term memory into long-term ones. So if you are having trouble remembering stuff, or learning new skills, berries might be the answer you’re looking for.
2. If you’re always forgetting you place your keys, you might want to start drinking a glass of red wine daily. Red wine, or grapes, to be specific, contain proanthocyanins, a chemical found in the part of your brain responsible for spatial memory, the striatum.
3. Vitamin B12, is responsible for much your cognitive functions but unfortunately cannot be found in any plant source. If you’re a vegan, my recommendation is for you to supplement your diet with vitamin B12 tablets, although these synthetic version are often inferior to the natural ones.
4. If you find yourself unable to concentrate for an acceptable period of time, you might be lacking iron, a university study found. Iron, can be abundantly found in spinach. Be careful: Too much iron can lead to metal poisoning. For most of the time, only women who are menstruating require iron supplementation.
5. For every 10 point you blood pressure increases over the healthy limit, there’s a rise of you developing cognitive problems by 7%. So limit that synthetic salt you’re consuming or replace them with natural sea salts.