The Mid Life Guru-Making the Most of MidLIfe Over 50

Eating these foods for your brain will help you stay smart, alert, and attentive!!

In order to maintain a healthy brain, for a lifetime, it has to be nourished from both the outside with brain-centered activities and from the inside with foods for your brain.

A while back, I attended the Learning Brain Expo in San Antonio, Texas. As its name denotes, this three day conference was a feast of knowledge on everything about the brain. One of my absolute favorite workshops of the conference was “Brain Fuel: Nutrition for Peak Performance and Radiant Health” presented by Dr. Marcus Conyers. This seminar gave practical information on how to fuel your brain for optimum health. When your brain is properly and consistently fueled, the end result is staying younger longer.

I think the most important information I learned was what are the best foods for your brain. Not only do these Top Ten Foods For Your Brain boost your brain power for alertness, attentiveness, and all-around health, they also keep your waistline trim too. Build your menu around and eat as much of these foods for your brain every day at every meal:

Bananas

Blueberries

Broccoli

Brown Bread

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Frozen Yogurt

Nuts (especially walnuts and almonds)

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Olive Oil

Salmon

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Spinach

Photo by Viacheslav-Blizniuk

Tomatoes

Photo by Suat-Eman

Dr. Conyers also shared suggestions on how to benefit the most from your three daily meals:

Breakfast: Whatever you feed your stomach first thing in the morning feeds your brain later in the day. Start with protein because “protein perks.” The best breakfast choices include eggs, yogurt, and low fat cheese. Add oatmeal or whole wheat toast for fiber and your day will be off to a great start.

Lunch: Eating a handful of walnuts or almonds 20 minutes before lunch will not only curb your appetite, but will give you a much needed mid-day protein lift. The best brain worthy lunch includes veggies and fruits followed by a small slice of whole wheat bread topped with low fat lunch meat.

Dinner: Start with carbohydrates first (fruits, vegetables, pasta, beans, and whole wheat bread) because they will make you sleepy later on. Eat protein last. By the time the energy that the protein provides wears off, the carbohydrates will kick in to start slowing you down and get you prepared for your night’s rest.

Finally, Dr. Conyers advised that if you want to insure a healthy, youthful brain, you need to be RADIANT: