Foods that sharpen focus and concentration

In today’s world full of distractions and overwhelm, it’s getting more and more difficult to focus and make things done. Improving your ability to concentrate and focus gives you an edge. It seems everything and everyone is competing for our attention and mental bandwidth. In fact, experts estimate we’re bombarded with 5, 000 to 10,000 ads daily. And that’s not including everyone who comes into our lives wanting or needing something, spreading us way too thin. It's high time to enhance and boost our brain’s ability to focus.

Your diet can give you an unfair advantage because of how certain foods are able to sharpen cognitive functions such as focus and concentration. Nutritionists emphasize that the most important strategy is to follow a healthy dietary pattern that includes a lot of fruits, vegetables, legumes, and whole grains. Certain foods are particularly rich in healthful components like omega-3 fatty acids, B vitamins, and antioxidants, which are known to support brain health and often referred to as foods. The best brain foods are the same ones that protect your heart and blood vessels.

Omega-3 fatty acids

Foods high in Omega-3 fatty acids help the brain function properly. Great sources of Omega-3 fatty acids include cold-water fatty fish, flaxseed, chia seeds, walnuts, and plant oils like soybean and flaxseed oil.  Omega-3 improves the amount of oxygen available to the brain and boosts the ability to retain new information.

Fatty fish are abundant sources of omega-3 fatty acids, healthy unsaturated fats that have been linked to lower blood levels of beta-amyloid—the protein that forms damaging clumps in the brains of people with Alzheimer's disease. You can try to eat fish at least twice a week, but choose varieties that are low in mercury, such as salmon, cod, canned light tuna, and pollack. If you're not a fan of fish, ask your doctor about taking an omega-3 supplement, or choose terrestrial omega-3 sources such as flaxseeds, avocados, and walnuts.

Green, leafy vegetables

 Leafy greens such as kale, spinach, collards, and broccoli are rich in brain-healthy nutrients like vitamin K, lutein, folate, and beta carotene. Research suggests these plant-based foods may help slow cognitive decline.

Berries

 Flavonoids, the natural plant pigments that give berries their brilliant hues, also help improve memory, research shows. In a 2012 study published in Annals of Neurology, researchers at Harvard's Brigham and Women's Hospital found that women who consumed two or more servings of strawberries and blueberries each week delayed memory decline by up to two-and-a-half years.

Vitamin D

Research shows that a Vitamin D deficiency is associated with cognitive impairment, especially in older individuals. According to a recent study published in the journal, Trends in Neuroscience, healthy neurons in the brain are surrounded by what are known as perineuronal nets. These nets act as supportive structures that help maintain the connections between various neurons to facilitate the relay of information via synaptic pathways. Researchers speculate that a vitamin D deficiency allows certain enzymes to degrade these nets, leading to cognitive deficiencies pertaining to focus and concentration.

Ginkgo Biloba

People have been using the ancient herb Ginkgo Biloba for thousands of years. Although research has yet to pinpoint exactly how this herb improves our ability to focus and concentrate, the working theory is that it helps to increase the flow of blood and oxygen to the brain.  

Green Tea

Caffeine is a hotly debated topic because it’s a stimulant that can have adverse side effects. In fact, consuming large amounts of caffeine can make some people feel like they’re on a jittery, out-of-control roller coaster ride with a mental crash at the end.

However, although green tea has caffeine, it contains a chemical called L-theanine which causes caffeine to be released more slowly into the bloodstream. This results in a sustained sense of focus and concentration without the unwanted “crash”.We think it’s wise to consult with your health care provider before consuming green tea because of its potentially harmful impact on the liver. 

We live in a time when distractions and overwhelm are coming at us so fast that our brains can barely keep up. All of us should give ourselves an edge by consuming foods that will boost out focus and concentration.

Tea and coffee:

 The caffeine in your morning cup of coffee or tea might offer more than just a short-term concentration boost. In a 2014 study published in The Journal of Nutrition, participants with higher caffeine consumption scored better on tests of mental function. Caffeine might also help solidify new memories, according to other research. Investigators at Johns Hopkins University asked participants to study a series of images and then take either a placebo or a 200-milligram caffeine tablet. More members of the caffeine group were able to correctly identify the images on the following day.

Walnuts:

Nuts are excellent sources of protein and healthy fats, and one type of nut, in particular, might also improve memory. A 2015 study from UCLA linked higher walnut consumption to improved cognitive test scores. Walnuts are high in a type of omega-3 fatty acid called alpha-linolenic acid (ALA), which helps lower blood pressure and protects arteries. That's good for both the heart and brain.