The foods you eat play a role in keeping your brain healthy and can improve specific mental tasks, such as memory and concentration.Our bodies don’t like stress. Who does? When we’re stressed out — whether it’s physical, like someone jumps out at you from a dark alley.Brain foods you should be eating to feed both your mind and body. With a mix of fruits, veggies, oils and even chocolate .

Oily Fish

The brain needs plenty of omega-3 fats to stay healthy, and the best natural source is in oily fish, such as salmon, mackarel, trout, herring, sardines, pilchards and kippers.Oily fish contains the active form of EPA and DHA in ready-made form, meaning the body can use it easily. Having healthy levels of both EPA and DHA is thought to help up manage stress and boost levels of the “happy” brain chemical.

Avocados

This fruit is one of the healthiest ones you can consume and one of my all-time favorites. While avocados often get a bad rep because of their high fat content, it’s important to note that these green powerhouses are packed with monosaturated fats or the “good” kind, keeping blood sugar levels steady and your skin glowing.Containing both vitamin K and folate, avocados help prevent blood clots in the brain.

Blueberries

Proving that great things do come in small packages,blueberries are a fruit I try to eat daily. That’s because they’ve got so many great health benefit ­while tasting like an all-natural candy!For starters, it’s one of the highest antioxidant-rich foods known to man, including vitamin C and vitamin K and fiber. Because of their high levels of gallic acid, blueberries are especially good at protecting our brains from degeneration and stress.

Celery

It’s time to stop skipping celery because it tastes like, well, nothing. Because what celery lacks in taste it more than makes up for in brain power! It’s a rich source of luteolin, a plant compound believed to reduce inflammation in the brain, thereby protecting it from the aging process.

Dark Chocolate

Dark chocolate can improve performance on cognitive tests, including memory test, in healthy adults. Chocolate has even been found to improve depression and anxiety symptoms and help enhance feelings of calmness and contentedness, thanks to its mood-enhancing flavanols and methylxanthines.They can also help lower blood pressure and improve blood flow to both the brain and heart.

Dark chocolate is loaded with flavonols that help in proper blood flow to your brain. This adequate flow of your brain performs many functions preventing you from memory problems. However, you need to consume less processed chocolate containing almost 70% cocoa to ensure proper cognitive functionality.

Walnuts

All nuts are good for brain health, but walnuts are at the top of the list.Their high levels of antioxidants, vitamins and minerals also improve mental alertness. The vitamin E in the nuts can also help ward off Alzheimer’s.Nutrients have recommended that munching on handful walnuts can do wonders for your psychological health.

Carrots

Substances called free radicals float through the bloodstream and try to break down the brain cells, which can lead to memory loss as you age.However, antioxidants merge with free radicals and make them harmless—and carrots are loaded with them. Carrots can also protect against other types of cognitive decline.

Tomatoes

This fruit contains the powerful antioxidant lycopene, which is believed to help protect against the kind of free radical damage to cells which occurs in the development of dementia. Tomatoes also contain other compounds that can protect the brain’s health.A powerful antioxidant that is known to protect your brain from the hazardous free radicals. These free radicals have potential to damage your organs adversely including brain thus, incorporating foods that contain antioxidants is essential in this regard. Apart from this, lycopene is said to improve your weak memory as well.

Eggs

One egg a day did not have a higher risk of dementia or Alzheimer’s disease. In fact, the opposite turned out to be true.Eggs are a natural and safe source to consume choline that is known to promote enzymes necessary to maintain psychological health. The nutrient is also said to break down into a chemical called bethane that produces happy hormones.

Pumpkin Seeds

Seeds are great for the brain, and pumpkin seeds among the best. These little delights are packed with omega-3 fatty acids to improve mental health, help maintain memory and support brain development, and they also contain high levels of magnesium, which is believed to have a calming effect on the brain, and zinc, which increases brain power by enhancing focus and memory.

Broccoli

Cruciferous vegetables like broccoli contain sulforaphane compounds, which can stimulate the renewal and repair of nerve tissue in the brain.In a recent Chinese study, researchers found that sulforaphane may have significant ameliorative properties against underlying pathological disturbances found in common neurodegenerative diseases, including increased inflammation, disconcerted calcium homeostasis, oxidative stress, and neuronal death.

Turmeric

Some scientists have hailed turmeric a “wonder spice” due to its seemingly endless list of health benefits—including relief from digestive issues such as heartburn and gas. In terms of brain health.Turmeric may contribute to the regeneration of a “damaged brain” and help with neurological disorders.Turmeric can prevent and even reverse damage from exposure to toxic fluoride. An easy way to incorporate turmeric into your meals is to saute it in about half a teaspoon of oil in a saucepan then add it to whatever you’re cooking.

Coconut Oil

You may be able to use coconut for your hair, skin, teeth, and even as a household cleaning product. Now it looks like it may also be good for your brain. The main reason coconut oil is considered a brain food is its high concentration of MCTs (medium chain triglycerides). The brain is usually fueled by glucose, but in coconut oil the MCTs get broken down into ketones, which feed the brain directly (without the metabolic process glucose goes through).

Beets

Beets contain high levels of dietary nitrates, which help open blood vessels in the body, increasing blood flow and oxygen to places that need it—including the brain.Drinking beet juice improved mental performance in hypertensive aging adults. Specifically, drinking a beet root juice supplement before exercise resulted in brain connectivity that closely resembled what would be expected in younger adults.Beats can help prevent cancer due to the content of antioxidants found in it.

Olive Oil

A Mediterranean-style diet is often hailed for its health benefits, including better brain function.The consumption of extra-virgin olive oil (an integral part of the Mediterranean diet) protects memory and learning ability and reduces the formation of amyloid-beta plaques and neurofibrillary tangles (classic markers of Alzheimer’s disease) in the brain.

Bone Broth

There’s a lot of hype about bone broth, and much of it is warranted. Instead of commercial broth, which is made only with the skin of the animal, homemade bone broth is full of collagen (which forms 30 percent of our bodies’ protein). When collagen is cooked it turns into another protein, gelatin, which is loaded with antioxidant-rich, gut-health-promoting, metabolism-boosting amino acids like proline, glycine, arginine and glutamine. Gelatin helps heal the lining of the gut by improving gastric acid secretion and restoring a healthy mucosal lining in the stomach.

Beans

Beans are a great source of complex carbohydrates and protein, which helps maintain healthy brain function throughout the day. They also contain omega-3 fatty acids to support brain growth and function. (Go for kidney and pinto beans for the biggest omega-3 fix.) Beans also provide a constant supply of glucose to the brain, which helps keep it energized. Garbanzo beans, also known as chickpeas, are one of the best dietary sources of magnesium, which keeps brain cell receptors working as they should and relaxes blood vessels to increase blood flow to the brain.

Tea

Tea is often credited with boosting metabolism and helping to prevent cancer, but many scientists believe this hot drink is just as beneficial for the brain. Tea obviously contains caffeine, an instant brain-booster, but it also delivers the more calming amino acid L-Theanine, which relaxes without causing drowsiness.Tea’s unique combination of caffeine and L-Theanine (in extract form) helps reduce mental fatigue while increasing reaction time and working memory.The effect of green tea catechins on mice, which found that they can prevent cognitive dysfunction, improve working memory, and prevent negative changes in the brains of at-risk mice.

Beets

Beets contain high levels of dietary nitrates, which help open blood vessels in the body, increasing blood flow and oxygen to places that need it—including the brain. A recent studyfound that drinking beet juice improved mental performance in hypertensive aging adults. Specifically, drinking a beet root juice supplement before exercise resulted in brain connectivity that closely resembled what would be expected in younger adults. This built on the findings of a 2010 study, the first to link beet consumption and blood flow to the brain.

Olive Oil

A Mediterranean-style diet is often hailed for its health benefits, including better brain function. Recent research found that the consumption of extra-virgin olive oil (an integral part of the Mediterranean diet) protects memory and learning ability and reduces the formation of amyloid-beta plaques and neurofibrillary tangles (classic markers of Alzheimer’s disease) in the brain. Previous research, published in 2013, found that the polyphenols in olives increase levels of important proteins in the brain nerve growth factor (NGF) and brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF)—both of which are key players in the development, growth, and survival of brain cells.

Bone Broth

There’s a lot of hype about bone broth, and much of it is warranted. Instead of commercial broth, which is made only with the skin of the animal, homemade bone broth is full of collagen (which forms 30 percent of our bodies’ protein). When collagen is cooked it turns into another protein, gelatin, which is loaded with antioxidant-rich, gut-health-promoting, metabolism-boosting amino acids like proline, glycine, arginine and glutamine. Gelatin helps heal the lining of the gut by improving gastric acid secretion and restoring a healthy mucosal lining in the stomach. According to clinical nutritionist Josh Axe, DMC, the gut and brain are directly connected, meaning a healthier gut can lead to a healthier brain. These healthy foods are even more nutritious than you thought.

Beans

Beans are a great source of complex carbohydrates and protein, which helps maintain healthy brain function throughout the day. They also contain omega-3 fatty acids to support brain growth and function. (Go for kidney and pinto beans for the biggest omega-3 fix.) Beans also provide a constant supply of glucose to the brain, which helps keep it energized. Garbanzo beans, also known as chickpeas, are one of the best dietary sources of magnesium, which keeps brain cell receptors working as they should and relaxes blood vessels to increase blood flow to the brain.

Tea

Tea is often credited with boosting metabolism and helping to prevent cancer, but many scientists believe this hot drink is just as beneficial for the brain. Tea obviously contains caffeine, an instant brain-booster, but it also delivers the more calming amino acid L-Theanine, which relaxes without causing drowsiness. A 2008 study found that tea’s unique combination of caffeine and L-Theanine (in extract form) helps reduce mental fatigue while increasing reaction time and working memory. Preliminary evidence suggests that drinking tea can lower the risk of dementia, such as a 2004 study testing the effect of green tea catechins on mice, which found that they can prevent cognitive dysfunction, improve working memory, and prevent negative changes in the brains of at-risk mice.

Beef

A 2004 study found that women with healthy iron levels performed better on mental tasks and completed them faster than women with lower iron levels. Iron is vital for brain health because it is the center of our red blood cells, which allow oxygen to be carried throughout the body and into the brain. Beef also contains B vitamins, which produce neurotransmitters and replace nerve cells. If you don’t eat meat, high-iron foods for vegetarians include wheat bran, cocoa powder, spinach, parsley, radishes, peas, leeks, sesame seeds, pistachio nuts, dried coconut, cashew nuts, muesli, oatmeal, and brown rice.

Yerba Mate

In South America, yerba mate is just as common as coffee is in the United States. Brewed out of the leaves of the South American holly tree, this hot drink is believed to have a stimulant effect, which enhances short-term brain power. According to yerba mate manufacturer Guayaki, this plant’s leaves contain 24 vitamins and minerals, 15 amino acids, and an abundance of antioxidants. Besides caffeine, yerba mate contains two related compounds, theobromine and theophylline, which work together to provide unique, mild stimulant effects, similar to that of green tea. Make sure you know the ordinary things that could be messing with your brain.

Rosemary

Rosemary is loaded with carnosic acid that is responsible for performing many psychological functions. The acid fights free radicals that hinder cognitive functionality improving concentration and memory decline.

Bottom Line

Maintaining psychological health is essential as it performs various functions. Weak memory and lack of focus contribute to further daunting brain problems. Therefore, you can take precautions in this regard. Foods that contain minerals and vitamins are effective for the brain and are highly recommended as they don’t possess any adverse effect. Hence, incorporate foods above into your diet and keep psychological problems at bay.