Food for thought

<style type="text/css"> img.content-image {box-shadow: none;} </style>

Some foods are good for muscles, while others aid the digestive system. But what about your brain? It needs nutrients to function at a high level, too. Here are some good foods for gray matter:

• Oily fish: Your body doesn’t produce essential fatty acids itself; they must be obtained through diet. They’re good for healthy brain function, as well as your heart and joints. Sources include salmon, trout, mackerel, herring and sardines.

• Blueberries: Some research suggests antioxidant-packed berries help improve or delay short-term memory loss.

• Pumpkin seeds: A handful of these seeds contain your recommended daily dose of zinc, which helps enhance memory.

• Broccoli: It’s a source of Vitamin K, which is known to boost cognitive function.

• Tomatoes: Evidence suggests that lycopene, an antioxidant in tomatoes, helps protect against damage to brain cells from free radicals, which may contribute to the development of Alzheimer’s disease and dementia.

Source: WebMD.com