Top Nutrients & Nootropics to Support Focus & Brain Health

A sluggish, foggy-brain feeling makes it impossible to concentrate on what you’re doing and distracts you from what you’re supposed to be doing.

The ability to control one’s focus is a survival skill. It’s the prelude to thinking and shapes your capacity for learning, memory and recall. A focused mind influences how well you can solve problems and make decisions.

Social interactions and personal relationships rely on keen focus and attention capabilities, too. From loved ones who deserve your mental presence, to co-workers who depend on your performance and contributions, relationships and experiences are more vivid and perceptions more intense when you can focus on them.

A fitful night of sleep or an overload of stress can temporarily dim your brainpower. But if inattentiveness is causing your work, school or home life to suffer and is preventing you from sharing your gifts with the world, you may be stuck in “survival brain”.

What is “survival brain”?

Your brain is a wonderful and wild network of activities that control reason, emotions and coordination at breathtaking speed. Your learning brain helps you process information, memorize information and cope with stress.

But when you’re feeling mentally and emotionally overwhelmed, your hypervigilant nervous system switches your survival brain to protective mode, making getting through your day difficult and clouding your ability to think clearly.

Nutrients that brighten brainpower and soothe your nervous system

Whether you’re zoning out because you’re stressed out, or you just can’t break out of the brain fog, give your mind a nutritional tune-up.

Your daily nutrition is the foundation of your mental and physical health, ensuring that your body has the abundance of essential and non-essential nutrients needed to function at peak levels.

And when it comes to optimizing brain power, fatty acids and antioxidants are the nutrients that rule the day.

The three pounds of gray matter between your ears are nearly 60% fat. Fatty acids are critical building blocks that support the brain’s ability to function optimally, but they are not produced in the human body. Fatty acids must be consumed through diet.

Antioxidants are inflammation-fighting compounds that help protect brain cells from free radical destruction and aid in the repair of brain tissue. Your body can produce some antioxidants, such as glutathione and vitamin D. But most others must also be consumed through diet.

Here’s a look at top natural sources of brain-boosting fatty acids and antioxidants and why you need them.

Fatty fish

Sources: salmon, tuna, herring and mackerel

Oily fish varieties contain mega-high levels of omega-3 fatty acids that help build brain cell membranes and support neuroplasticity—your ability to form new connections for learning.

One human study revealed a positive correlation between high concentrations of omega-3s and cerebral blood flow. Link

DHA and EPA are two powerful omega-3 fatty acids that possess anti-inflammatory factors that protect cognitive function.

Shellfish and other seafood

Sources: oysters, clams, cod and shrimp

While fatty fish have the highest concentrations of DHA and EPA, there are other seafood sources that contain this brain food, which is great news if you’re not a fan of fatty, cold-water fish.

Nuts

Sources: walnuts and cashews

Certain nuts contain high levels of polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs), which include both omega-3s and omega-6s. ALA is an omega-3 fatty acid that your body converts to DHA and EPA.

Walnuts contain the highest levels of omega-3s of any nut, plus high levels of vitamin E and polyphenols. And cashews are rich in L-arginine, an amino acid that boosts blood flow; as well as magnesium and zinc.

Seeds

Sources: flaxseed, sunflower seeds and chia seeds

Like certain nuts, this select group of seeds is considered brain fuel for supplying PUFAs and being good plant-based sources of omega-3 fatty acids.

While omega-6 PUFAs are good for you, consuming them at levels that are disproportional to omega-3s can increase inflammation. Link Link

Berries

Sources: blueberries, blackberries, strawberries and black currant

Studies reveal the neuroprotective benefits of dark-colored berries. They contain powerful plant chemicals, including anthocyanins, catechins and quercetin, that are believed to promote memory, motor function and learning, and counteract the effects of oxidative stress. Link

Leafy greens

Sources: spinach, kale and collard greens

For improved focus, load up on leafy greens every day. Their brain-boosting nutrient profile includes magnesium, vitamin K and folate, all of which support cognitive and nervous system health. They’re also brimming with inflammation-fighting antioxidants.

Fill the gaps

There is no question that fortifying a sharp mind and strong memory starts in the kitchen. Nutritious foods supply perfect balances of macro and micronutrients that work synergistically to optimize health and energy.

But if you don’t have a taste for salmon or kale, you’re not doomed to living in a cognitive haze. By supplementing the nutrients your brain needs most, you can support the vast network of vital processes that center your focus and bring out your best.

Nutrients known to fire-up cognition include:

• Iron
• Magnesium
• Vitamin B12
• Vitamin C
• Vitamin D
• Vitamin K
• Omega-3s

Micronutrient deficiencies can negatively affect your attention span, mental acuity, memory and even your mood.

Deficiencies are not only the result of a lack of nutritious foods or a balanced diet—some medications and conditions, such as chronic stress, can deplete nutrients your brain needs.

Assess whether your daily menu provides a steady intake of these brain fuels, and if they don’t, consider filling the gaps with a supplement form.

Can natural nootropics enhance cognition?

Nootropics have a reputation for helping to improve memory, concentration, clarity and processing speed. Synthetic, medically-prescribed nootropics are known as “smart drugs”. Natural, plant-based nootropics are known as performance enhancers.

The word itself means “to guide thinking” in Greek. While nootropics sound exotic, natural nootropics are simply herbs or plant-compounds that activate certain responses in the brain and nervous system.

They can give you a mental edge and help slow the effects of cognitive aging.

Even if you’re still young, you can experience a decline in mental agility and performance. Believe it or not, processing speed is believed to start slowing down around age 30, especially in women. Link

Best nootropic sources

As with micronutrients, there’s a wide assortment of natural nootropic compounds, each one working to enhance cognition in different ways.

Some natural nootropic sources can boost mental stamina and focus while combatting sluggishness (coffee bean and green tea). Others promote mental and visual sharpness and processing speed (marigold seeds and blueberries).

Natural nootropics are available in supplements to deliver higher concentrations of active ingredients than what you could consume through food alone.

For one you can trust to boost your brainpower, try our Exeed Mind made with science-backed nootropics from fruit and botanical compounds.

Food for thought

If your mind needs some help to ‘get up and go’, your diet and nutrition choices are the way to go. Sparking your mind and maintaining your focus don’t have to be complicated rituals, but you do have to take action to get the results you want.

By prioritizing the foods that your brain needs most, minding the nutritional gaps and using nootropics for an extra edge, you can clear the mental fog, improve focus and get the most out of your performance.