Food for Thought! Boost Your Memory & Brain Function -A Galaxy Classic

One 25-year Harvard Medical School study of more than 13,000 women showed that the participants who ate relatively high amounts of vegetables over the years had less age-related decline in memory. Cruciferous vegetables and leafy green vegetables had the biggest effect.

In another study, the phytochemicals, anthocyanin (which also has anti-cancer properties, see earlier Raspberry post) and quercetin, has reversed some of the age-related memory deficits in animals. Tufts University in Boston found that eating foods rich in folic acids protects memory. Also, an Australian study found that eating plenty of foods rich in folic acid was associated with faster information processing and memory recall.

A study conducted by Rush University Medical Center in Chicago followed more than 3,000 men and women for six years to see how diet affected memory. The found that people who ate fish at least once a week had a 10 percent slower decline.

Below are some specific suggestions for foods you can eat regularly that will help optimize brain health and sharpen memory.

Cruciferous vegetables: Broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, cauliflower, and bok choy.

Leafy green vegetables: spinach, collard and mustard greens, kale and Swiss chard.

Anthocyanin: Berries (all varieties), cherries, black currents, eggplant, red, black, and purple grapes, plums, rhubarb, red onion, red apples, red/purple cabbage, and red beets.

Quercetin: Onions (red, yellow, white), kale, leeks, cherry tomato, broccoli, blueberries, black currants, elderberries, apricots, apple with skin (Red Delicious), and red, purple, and black grapes.

Folic acid (folate): fortified whole-grain breakfast cereals, lentils, black-eyed peas, soybeans, spinach, green peas, artichokes, broccoli, wheat germ, beets and oranges.

Fish: almost any type of fish will do, but if you want to double up the nutritive powers, eat fish high in omegas like salmon.

Posted by Rebecca Sato.

Link: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/