Neurological Foundation of New Zealand

What foods can help you develop a healthy brain and decrease the risk of neurological diseases such as Alzheimer's.

Salmon
There’s nothing fishy about it, salmon stacks up as one of the top tier brain-power foods. A great source of essential fatty acids (such as the all-important Omega-3), protein, low saturated fat and with generally among the lowest amounts of contaminants (such as mercury) among seafood, wild salmon is good for your brain, your mood, your synaptic connections and your arteries and helps reduce your risk of a stroke, Dementia and Alzheimer's. Other oily fish also stacks up pretty well, but no, deep fried doesn’t count.

Cocoa Beans
Cognitive enhancement, mood and bliss-enhancement, antioxidants, flavonoids, catechins and many other brain & body-enhancing elements, this is one of nature’s super-foods. While it is better known to us in the not-quite-so-healthy form of chocolate, you’re not doing yourself any favours by grabbing a block of the old dairy milk. For some of the good stuff, look out for products which have a high percentage of cocoa such as in dark chocolate bars, or pick up some organic cocoa powder for nomnom drinks (refining, processing and over-roasting depletes the actual nutrients so be wary).

Berry Good
They’re delicious, they’re nutritious, get berrilicious for some super-good brain action. Blueberries come out on top with the highest antioxidant power, which can in turn help protect your brain against stroke or other neurological diseases such as Alzheimer’s disease.

Wholegrain
Having issues remembering why you came into a room? Remember what this article is about? Make sure you’re getting enough folic acid, vitamin B12 and vitamin B6 and you might just see an improvement in your ability to recall information. Hit up your cereals, wheat bran, wheat germ and
whole wheat pasta to get your daily dose.

Eat more tomatoes
A tomato a day keeps dementia away. Chuck these little beauties into your salads and sammies because there is good evidence to suggest that tomatoes contain a powerful antioxidant called Lycopne. This lovely little lifesaver can help protect against the kind of free radical damage to cells which occurs in the development of dementia, particularly Alzheimer's.