Five foods linked to a better memory
There is no magic pill for a sharp brain with age, Harvard Health Publishing says – what matters most is the overall pattern of eating, not any single item.
Five everyday foods, from leafy greens to berries, keep turning up in research linking diet to a sharper memory, Harvard Health Publishing says.
WHO says 57 million people were living with dementia worldwide in 2021, with nearly 10 million new cases every year.
Diet is only one part of that picture. The list below comes from that guidance:
- Dark, leafy greens such as kale, spinach, collards and broccoli are rich in nutrients including vitamin K, folate and beta carotene. Research suggests they may help slow the loss of memory and thinking skills.
- Oily fish such as salmon, sardines and mackerel are rich in omega-3 fats, linked to lower blood levels of beta-amyloid, a protein that clumps together in the brains of people with Alzheimer’s disease. The advice is to choose varieties low in mercury. The NHS says a healthy, balanced diet should include at least two portions of fish a week, one of them oily.
- Women who ate two or more servings of strawberries and blueberries a week had memory decline set in up to two and a half years later, researchers at Harvard’s Brigham and Women’s Hospital found. Flavonoids, the natural pigments that give berries their colour, also help improve memory, research shows.
- Coffee and tea may do more than give a short-term lift to concentration. People with a higher caffeine intake scored better on tests of mental function in a study published in The Journal of Nutrition. In a separate Johns Hopkins University trial, more of those given a 200-milligram caffeine tablet after studying a set of images identified them correctly the next day than those given a dummy tablet.
- Higher walnut consumption was linked to better memory and thinking scores in a study from UCLA. Walnuts are high in a type of omega-3 fat, alpha-linolenic acid; diets rich in it have been linked to lower blood pressure and cleaner arteries.
No one food can keep a brain sharp on its own. Nutritionists put the weight on the whole diet – fruit, vegetables, legumes and whole grains, protein from plants and fish, and olive oil rather than saturated fats.
A healthy, balanced diet is also only one of several actions WHO lists for lowering dementia risk, alongside being physically active, not smoking and managing blood pressure.
The NHS advises seeing a GP if memory problems start affecting day-to-day life. It is often nothing serious, but treatment may work better if started early. Anyone worried about an older relative becoming increasingly forgetful is advised to ask a GP whether it could be a sign of dementia.
For anyone who dislikes fish, Harvard Health Publishing suggests asking a doctor about an omega-3 supplement, or plant sources such as flaxseeds, avocados and walnuts.