Brain Foods
By Makena Wood, B.Sc. Neuroscience student
There are plenty of resources available to tell you what to eat to keep your body healthy and, through experience, you likely know which foods help you feel your best. While eating the right foods to support your physical health is of the utmost importance, you may have also wondered if there are foods you can eat to support your mental health. Questions about “Brain Foods” are popular in our older adult programs (and inspired this blog), but being conscious about consuming foods that contribute to brain health is important for all ages. This blog will explore the facts and fiction behind “Brain Foods” as well as what real additions you can make to your diet to support your brain health.
Fiction
You’ve probably heard the modern adage, “Don’t believe everything you read on the internet.” Unfortunately, this is especially applicable for neuroscience “news” online. Because the study of the brain (and ultimately, behaviour) is so relevant to popular topics like stress, productivity, aging, and overall health, blaming an invisible process in the brain for all your problems and selling a solution to act as a “cure-all” is a common strategy for internet advertisers. In reality, these advertisers know nothing concrete about the brain, and are likely citing a source out of context, if at all.
Given this, if you’re interested in supporting your brain health through diet, “brain food” supplement pills are probably not going to be the solution you’re looking for. There isn’t a single food or pill that is going to accelerate brain development, prevent cognitive decline, or enhance your current abilities (as much as I wish I could just eat a lot of broccoli instead of studying for my university exams).
Most importantly, to effectively support your brain through diet, it’s also important to be equally concerned about other lifestyle factors like your amount of sleep, water intake, and exercise (we’ve got blogs and an education series about these!). Lastly, foods won’t develop your executive function (EF) or other cognitive skills on their own. It remains crucial to engage in playful activity to develop and maintain EF, but eating the right foods can help to support the progress you make.
Fact
Despite other questionable science and advertising online, there are “Brain Foods” you can incorporate into your diet to support your brain health and function.
The scientific focus behind investigating what foods to recommend to support cognition has been identifying foods that directly or indirectly supply your brain with neurotransmitter precursors (the molecules that your brain uses to communicate), influence synaptic transmission and signal transduction pathways (the chemical reactions in your brain), and interact with the gut-brain axis (more on this last item later in this blog) (Gomez-Pinilla, 2010; Ekstrand et al., 2021).
A brain foods shortlist:
The following foods are those that I found were listed most often in scientific literature and other online blogs about brain foods. I tried to include foods that had a number of different nutrients that have been researched as being important to cognitive function, rather than listing hundreds of foods each with a different vitamin that would be impossible to incorporate all at once into your diet. Further, I have focused on foods you can add to your diet rather than “what to avoid”. This blog does not include research on any particular diet because there are many other personal and health factors that go into choosing to restrict your diet in any way.
Foods:
A list of foods and the nutrients they contain that support cognition:
1. Cold-water fatty fish (salmon, sardines, tuna, cod): omega-3, vitamin D, selenium, iron, folate
2. Kiwi fruit: omega-3, vitamin C, folate
3. Citrus fruits: flavonoids, vitamin C and E
4. Broccoli: choline, folate, vitamin B6, vitamin C
5. Cocoa: flavonoids, choline
6. Egg yolk: choline, selenium, phospholipids
7. Dairy products: calcium, vitamin D
8. Beans: iron, selenium, zinc
9. Nuts: vitamin E, selenium, zinc, choline (peanuts and almonds), phospholipids (peanuts)
10. Green vegetables (spinach, kale, asparagus, brussel sprouts): vitamin E, vitamin B6, folate, choline
11. Liver: vitamin C and E, choline, folate, selenium, phospholipids
Nutrients:
The nutrients listed in the above foods and how they support cognition:
1. Omega-3 (fish, kiwi): Omega-3 fatty acids contribute to the generation and maintenance of the myelin sheath of neurons. The myelin sheath is a white matter coat around neurons that helps them conduct signals quicker and more efficiently. Higher levels of omega-3 fatty acids in blood plasma have been correlated to reduced cognitive decline in older adults (Bowman et al., 2013; as cited in Ekstrand et al., 2020)
2. Folate (vitamin B9) (fish, kiwi, broccoli and other green vegetables, liver): You may know about folate and its importance for prenatal brain development given a modern emphasis for folate supplementation for pregnant women. The importance of folate extends much beyond the prenatal age, and folate deficiency has been associated with impaired cognition throughout the lifespan (Craenen et al., 2019).
3. Vitamin B6 (broccoli and other green vegetables): Vitamin B6 also supports cognition, mainly by enhancing the effects of folate during brain development (Craenen et al., 2019) and through its involvement in the production of the neurotransmitter serotonin from tryptophan (Ekstrand et al., 2020).
4. Vitamin C (kiwi, citrus fruits, broccoli, liver): Vitamin C is an antioxidant, which helps protect the brain from oxidative stress. Oxidative stress is an excess in harmful waste products from normal cellular products like metabolism, but antioxidants are needed to neutralize these waste products. Antioxidant intake has been correlated to reduced cognitive decline in older adults (Wengreen et al., 2007; as cited in Gomez-Pinilla, 2008).
5. Vitamin D (fish, dairy products): Vitamin D has its own specific receptors in the brain and contributes to intestinal absorption of calcium, which is essential for synaptic transmission. Low levels of vitamin D have been correlated to memory loss and dementia (Nourhashemi et al., 2018; as cited in Ekstrand et al., 2020).
6. Vitamin E (citrus fruits, nuts, green vegetables): Vitamin E is also an antioxidant.
7. Phospholipids (egg yolk, nuts, liver): Phospholipids and their precursors are important because they contribute to the composition of cell membranes throughout the body. Dietary phospholipids have been shown to improve cognitive processes across the lifespan (Schverer et al., 2020).
8. Choline (broccoli, cocoa, egg yolk, nuts, green vegetables, liver): The precursor to the neurotransmitter acetylcholine, which is present throughout the body. Acetylcholine is the primary neurotransmitter involved in Alzheimer’s disease (AD), and research surrounding lifelong supplementation with choline in mice has shown promising results for improving AD pathology (Velazquez et al., 2019).
9. Selenium (fish, egg yolk, beans, nuts, liver): Selenium deficiency is related to impaired cognition. Selenium may play a role in the synthesis of proteins in the brain related to neural signalling (Bai et al., 2023).
10. Zinc (beans, nuts): Zinc is important for neurodevelopmental processes like the creation of neurons, migration (when neurons travel to where they will mature), the formation of connections in the brain, and myelination (wrapping the neurons in white matter) (Ekstrand et al., 2020).
11. Iron (fish, beans): Iron is important for normal brain development (Ekstrand et al., 2020).
12. Calcium (dairy): Calcium is necessary for basic neuronal functioning because it is primarily involved in synaptic transmission (communication between brain cells) (Ekstrand et al., 2020).
13. Flavonoids (citrus fruits, cocoa): Flavonoids help to restore microglia (the immune cells of the brain) in the brain. They have been found to be protective in Alzheimer’s disease and Parkinson’s disease (Braidy et al., 2017; as cited in Ekstrand et al., 2020).
Gut-brain axis
A final important piece to mention when discussing brain foods is the gut-brain axis. A review by Ekstrand et al. (2020) details the importance of the connection between the gut and the brain and how nutrients can play a role. The gut is sometimes referred to as the “second brain”, and the neurons and connections between the gut and the brain are formally called the enteric nervous system. The gut can communicate directly with the brain primarily through vagus nerve signalling. Your vagus nerve is responsible for the “rest and digest” response that calms your nervous system down. The relationship between the gut and the brain has been associated with gastrointestinal disorders like irritable bowel syndrome, as well as neurological disorders like depression, schizophrenia, and bipolar disorder. It makes sense, then, that we can take care of our mental health, in part, by taking care of our gut. Primarily, Ekstrand et al. discuss the role of dietary fiber in influencing the gut microbiota that make up the enteric nervous system. They discuss a finding by Khan et al. (2015) that identified a positive correlation between dietary fiber intake and improved cognition in children. Dietary fiber can be found in a variety of different foods such as fruits and vegetables, legumes, and whole grains. Choosing brain foods from the above list that are also good sources of dietary fiber can support both your brain and your “gut-brain” (e.g., kiwi, broccoli and other green vegetables, citrus fruits, and beans).
Making changes to your diet
As discussed, there isn’t one ultimate diet or food that will change your brain for the better. As with any change to your diet, it is important that the change is consistent for it to be effective. When it comes to brain foods, it’s not necessary to restrict any one thing, but rather to ensure you’re getting reliable sources of the nutrients necessary to support cognition. If you’re making a daily effort to work in some of the foods and/or nutrients described in this blog, then you’ll be well on your way to harnessing the power of “Brain Foods”.
References
Bai, Y., Li, J., & Zhang, S. (2023). Potential novel mechanism of selenium on cognition. Metabolic Brain Disease, 39(1), 249–251. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11011-023-01289-1
Craenen, K., Verslegers, M., Baatout, S., & Benotmane, M. A. (2019). An appraisal of folates as key factors in cognition and ageing-related diseases. Critical Reviews in Food Science and Nutrition, 60(5), 722–739. https://doi.org/10.1080/10408398.2018.1549017
Ekstrand, B., Scheers, N., Rasmussen, M. K., Young, J. F., Ross, A. B., & Landberg, R. (2020). Brain foods - the role of diet in brain performance and health. Nutrition Reviews, 79(6), 693–708. https://doi.org/10.1093/nutrit/nuaa091
Gómez-Pinilla, F. (2008). Brain foods: the effects of nutrients on brain function. Nature Reviews. Neuroscience, 9(7), 568–578. https://doi.org/10.1038/nrn2421
Harvard Health. (2024, April 3). Foods linked to better brainpower. https://www.health.harvard.edu/healthbeat/foods-linked-to-better-brainpower. Accessed June 2025.
Optimising Nutrition. (2025, March 31). Optimising nutrition. https://optimisingnutrition.com/. Accessed June 2025.
Schverer, M., O’Mahony, S. M., O’Riordan, K. J., Donoso, F., Roy, B. L., Stanton, C., Dinan, T. G., Schellekens, H., & Cryan, J. F. (2020). Dietary phospholipids: Role in cognitive processes across the lifespan. Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews, 111, 183–193. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neubiorev.2020.01.012
The Truth About Brain Foods: Myth VS. Reality. (n.d.). https://www.ecpi.edu/blog/truth-about-brain-foods-myth-vs-reality. Accessed June 2025.
Velazquez, R., Ferreira, E., Knowles, S., Fux, C., Rodin, A., Winslow, W., & Oddo, S. (2019). Lifelong choline supplementation ameliorates Alzheimer’s disease pathology and associated cognitive deficits by attenuating microglia activation. Aging Cell, 18(6). https://doi.org/10.1111/acel.13037