Have you ever noticed how sluggish you feel after a heavy fast-food lunch? Or how grouchy you turn when you forget to eat breakfast — or crash after a bowl of sugary cereal? Fueling your body with the proper nutrients throughout the day helps keep your brain and mood in balance. Our noggins work around the clock, so they need well-rounded nourishment to function at their sharpest. Without the right nutrients, you’re like a car running out of gas on a busy freeway: “You might feel fatigued, foggy, or become ‘hangry,’” says Toby Amidor, a registered dietitian, and author of The Family Immunity Cookbook.
Fortunately, research shows that if you choose wisely at mealtime, food really can be medicine — fueling your body in general, but also supercharging your brain power and emotional health. Consuming healthy fruits, veggies, and proteins (and even drinking green tea) can help you focus, improve your memory, and generally offer you the opportunity to be your best self. Now that’s some food for thought.
“I always recommend eating fruits and vegetables in every color of the rainbow within an average week,” says Manuel Villacorta, a registered dietitian. Eating fresh fruits and veggies may offer more than just a treat for your taste buds — studies show that increasing your intake of healthy foods actually makes you happier. “A happy brain functions better,” he says.
Below, we asked both registered dietitians to share the lowdown on the foods that boost brain health and improve our moods.
Foods that contain flavanols
You’ve undoubtedly heard of buzzy health-food terms like antioxidants, organic, and non-GMO, but are you familiar with flavanols? They’re plant-based nutrients naturally found in foods like cocoa, apples, dark grapes, tea, red wine, and berries.
Flavanols specifically found in the cocoa plant — known as cocoa flavanols — are proven to increase blood flow, which helps pump more oxygen throughout your body and your brain. One study found that consuming ~750 milligrams of cocoa flavanols every day over 12 weeks helped boost cognitive function, significantly improving performance on a long-term memory task in trial participants.
“Research shows that what we eat does impact cognitive function,” says Amidor. “Cocoa flavanols naturally increase nitric oxide levels, helping your body to support the delivery of essential oxygen and nutrients to the brain, which helps support healthy cognitive function.”
So if you’re trying to make sure you remember your friends’ birthdays each year, adding more flavanol-packed foods to your daily menu might be a beneficial step. Luckily, our friends at CocoaVia create high-quality cocoa flavanol supplements that make getting the right daily amount of flavanols easy. CocoaVia’s Memory+ supplement, which contains 750 milligrams of cocoa flavanols, is proven to boost brain performance and improve memory. There’s also the brand’s Memory & Focus supplement, which offers a unique blend of plant-based bioactives including flavanols, lutein, and naturally sourced caffeine that work together to support five areas of brain performance: complex attention, executive cognitive function, and word recall, as well as visual and long-term memory.
“Flavanols offer important cognitive benefits, and my clients have great intentions about getting these by eating their fruits and vegetables,” says Villacorta. “But sometimes they run out of time or life gets in the way. That’s why I recommend you add a daily supplement, like CocoaVia. It’s a convenient way to get a healthy daily dose of flavanols.” (For a limited time, you can enjoy an extra 20 percent off single, bulk, or subscription purchases of CocoaVia — just use promo code KCM2024 at checkout.*)
Almonds
Not getting a good night’s rest is enough to make anyone feel groggy, but a palmful of almonds might be the trick to sleeping more soundly. “Almonds have magnesium, which helps you sleep better, and that always puts you in a good mood,” says Amidor. A handful of almonds can give you 20 percent of your daily recommended intake of magnesium — a nutrient nearly half of Americans aren’t getting enough of. (And to learn more about the connection between sleep and magnesium, check out our deep dive on the subject.)
Fatty fishes
A sunny vacation can do more than just give you a tan: Sun exposure is critical for health. (Though it goes without saying that you should be throwing on some SPF first.) Vitamin D, which your body produces naturally via sun exposure, is an essential nutrient because of its contribution to building bone, among other bodily benefits. And not having enough of it — which is something 42 percent of people in the U.S. can relate to, especially as winter approaches — can be detrimental to your health. That’s why it’s important to find ways to incorporate vitamin D into your diet, and fish is an excellent source. “It can be tough to get natural sunlight in the colder months,” says Amidor. “Fatty fishes, like tuna and salmon, have vitamin D.” And building strong bones isn’t the only reason vitamin D is crucial: “There’s a lot of research showing that a lack of vitamin D can be linked to mental health challenges,” says Amidor, “which affects millions of Americans.”
High-quality proteins
If you eat animal products, high-quality protein (“we call it high-quality if it has all nine essential amino acids,” says Villacorta) can be a mood-lifter.
“Proteins like fish, poultry, and eggs help build dopamine,” says Amidor. “That’s your ‘feel-good’ brain chemical.” Of course, protein doesn’t need to come straight from animal sources: If you’re vegan, you can still add high-quality protein into your diet by making sure you’re eating a combination of plant proteins that deliver all nine essential amino acids. Quinoa, edamame, rice, beans, and certain seeds all contain healthy amounts of non-animal-based proteins.
“I always say that your brain is like a muscle, and you need to work it out in ways that keep it healthy and functioning well, just like you do with your body,” says Villacorta. “Our brains are constantly being stimulated, so including the right foods and supplements into your diet that support brain health will help you think more clearly and remember more.”
*This offer is valid until December 31, 2024, on any single, bulk, or subscription order of CocoaVia products sold at cocoavia.com; Limited to one use per e-mail.
The information provided on this site isn’t intended as medical advice and shouldn’t replace professional medical treatment. Consult your doctor with any serious health concerns. These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. Toby Amidor and Manuel Villacorta are paid partners of CocoaVia.
