Foods to help keep your memory fresh

Mr Gboyega is right. Many lose their memory as they grow older. But health expert think differently. They say if you can eat more vegetables and fruits daily, and other foods which are brain boosters, then you will not suffer memory loss when you are old. Mrs Sarah Abagai, Head Dietetics Department at the National […]

Mr Gboyega is right. Many lose their memory as they grow older. But health expert think differently. They say if you can eat more vegetables and fruits daily, and other foods which are brain boosters, then you will not suffer memory loss when you are old.

Mrs Sarah Abagai, Head Dietetics Department at the National hospital explains. “When you eat lots of fruits and vegetables the first thing they do is to release their natural enzymes to interact with enzymes in your body. This creates an equilibrium that is desirable for good health. As people progress in age, the experience senile-dementia, but vegetarians don’t experience that. Very insignificant percentages of vegetarian have senile-dementia. They don’t have all these memory issues, their brains function at top levels because of vegetable intake.” Abagai explains.

Dementia is a decline of reasoning, memory, and other mental abilities (the cognitive functions). This decline eventually impairs the ability to carry out everyday activities such as driving; household chores; and even personal care such as bathing, dressing, and feeding (often called activities of daily living).

Dementia is most common in elderly people; it used to be called senility and was considered a normal part of aging.

A main component in fruits and vegetables is sugar which is broken down in our body into glucose. Scientist say glucose is the main food for our brain as it is required by our brain to be able to function properly. As a result, if we increase our consumption of fruits and vegetables, we indirectly increase our amount of glucose in our body, this means an improvement in our brains functioning ability.

Some fruits and vegetables that can improve our memory are green peas, spinach, watermelons, avocadoes, oranges, pears and apples.Others are carrots, red grapes , tomatoes, broccoli and cabbage. Nuts such as almonds are good too.

Scientist say sardines which are rich in omega-3 fats are also great for improving memories. As some of the important parts in our brain are made up of fats, fish oil is also good to help improve our memory and our mental health. Fish oil has long been connected with better memory and much clearer thinking. Fish oil experts say not only affects our mental ability, but it also significantly improves the health of your heart too.

Another great food that helps improve your memory is soya bean! When eaten on a regular basis can help improve our memory and our brain functions. Given the variety of soya products we have in the market, it is almost impossible to find that you dislike them all. You can drink soya milk, eat soya beans, and season your food with soya sauce, and while doing all that, receive the benefits of having an improved memory!

Again, middle-aged and older men with higher levels of vitamin D in their blood performed “consistently better” in neuropsychological tests designed to assess mental agility.

Scientists from the University of Manchester and European partners compared the cognitive performance of more than 3,000 men aged 40 to 79 years at eight test centres across Europe.

They found that men with higher levels of vitamin D were able to process information faster. The association was found to be particularly strong in men over the age of 60.

Vitamin D, often gotten from sunshine is produced by the skin when exposed to the sun. It helps the body absorb calcium, important in maintaining strong bones and teeth.

It is only found in a few foods, namely oily fish, liver, milk and eggs – for most individuals, the sun is the main source of vitamin D. Because of this, older people who are housebound are more at risk from vitamin D deficiency. The scientists suggest 10-15 minutes in the sunlight should be enough.