Foods that Help Your Memory

I’ve looked around the internet a bit and mostly see articles that are entirely fluff about the foods that best help your memory.

Whole grains aren’t doing you any favors.

I will do my best to attempt to cut through the junk.

Let’s start with the basics.  The brain is predominately built of fat.  It also uses nearly 20% of the energy (calories) we consume.

When you feed your brain the right type of fat it just plain works better.  So add healthy fats and remove sugars.

Wild Caught Fish

Before you go fish crazy, realize there is a huge difference in the quality of fish.  Farm raised fish is terrible for you.  Fish raised on a farm are basically fed cat food.  The result is a low quality fat that has out of balance omega-3 fatty acids.  If you are eating farmed fish, you aren’t doing yourself any favors.

It should be..

• Wild
• From Cold waters

Salmon, Mackeral, Tuna are all great choices.

Healthy wild caught fish also tastes better.  The only downside is it can be prohibitively expensive depending on where you live.  I shoot for eating healthy fish 2 times per week.  I would like to eat more but at $12-$16 per pound it can add up quickly.

In order to increase my healthy fats from fish I supplement.  It’s important to think of fish oil as not just a supplement that your body constantly uses and needs to be taken daily to get any effect like Vitamin C.  Fish oil actually get incorporated into your cells.

Think of each drop of fish oil as one of the healthiest things you can add to your body…and you get to keep it!

Besides just being good for your brain, fish oil is good for your heart, arteries, skin, joints, hair, nails…basically everything.

Fish Oil Supplements

A topic I keep coming back to is inflammation — the root cause of many health problems.  If you can address inflammation you will begin to heal your body and mind.  Fish oil is anti-inflammatory.

Krill oil is an excellent choice.  I take it with lunch and because it’s in pill form it’s easier to take on the go.  Krill oil is also more potent than other fish oils, so you need less of it in order to get the same effect.

Carlsen Labs Very Finest Fish Oil is a great non-pill form of lemon flavored fish oil.  I drink it straight from the bottle.  This is an absolute staple.  When purchased from amazon it’s also very affordable.  Check the reviews this is high quality and free of heavy metals found in a lot of store bought fish.  Take after a meal.

And don’t be afraid to mix it up.  Some days I take krill oil.  Others I take Carlsen Fish oil.  Sometimes I take both or none if I’ve eaten fish.

Coconut Oil

Wait isn’t coconut oil high in saturated fat?  Why, yes it is!  That’s exactly the point.  It is becoming more widely known and accepted that the saturated fat is actually good for you and necessary for a host of bodily function including testosterone production.

It also helps fuel the brain by a variety of mechanism, one of which is likely related to a ketones (a great source of energy for the brain).  Dr. Newport has done some important work on Alzheimer Disease and ketones that you can check out here.

Basically it is a true super food.

Wont this make me fat?

Short answer: No.

Slightly longer answer:

As you add healthy fat to your diet, remove simple carbohydrates.  You will probably lose body fat too.