What could be the relationship between food and memory or caffeine and memory? Are you eating the right food for a better memory? Or is it true that caffeine can improve your memory?
Your memory is your brain’s ability to encode information, retain and store them and recall vital data whenever needed.
Food and  Memory
How many times have you been told that you are what you eat? If you eat lots of greasy or sugary foods it eventually shows up as fat and you gain weight.
How are food and memory associated?
The foods you eat play a significant component in how your memory functions when it comes to your memory.
No doubt, your mother always told you to eat all your vegetables so you would do good at school. She was definitely right!
You must eat right for your brain to function well. It will not help if you will be distracted by your hunger for your thoughts to come out fluently.
By eating right, it means that you have to eat the kinds of foods that are healthy in proportions that will help you stay fit and energetic.
If you are into some type of diet, just be sure that you follow the recommended intake of the food that you are allowed to eat. Consult your doctor, a nutritionist or a dietitian regarding this matter.
Being aware of the nutritional value of the foods you eat is obviously essential to a healthy body.
Eating the right combination of carbohydrates, proteins, and healthy fats work towards keeping muscles strong and organs functioning the way nature intended.
Your minds are no different and eating foods rich in certain nutrients can help alleviate brain fog and boost your memories back to the place they were when you were younger.
It only seems natural that since most of your body is fueled by the healthiest of foods, feeding your minds the same way follows suit.
There has been extensive research done into studying the effects of certain minerals and vitamins in relation to brain function. It’s common sense that sugar although a temporary stimulant quickly loses its luster.
Although you might feel very vibrant and alive after eating a candy bar, within an hour or two your bodies have become sluggish and less responsive.
Your minds and therefore your memories would feel the same high and crashing low if fed a diet of sweets.
Eating sensible is important for boosting your memory. Foods that are rich in antioxidants are said to work in helping memory function.
The benefits of antioxidants are often associated with fighting cancer and playing a positive role in certain diseases of the heart.
Now with the knowledge that they also work towards improved memory function, having them as a staple in the daily diet seems natural.
Some examples of foods readily available that are high in antioxidants include carrots and certain kinds of nuts.
Green tea is also an excellent source of antioxidants and its benefits reach well beyond boosting the memory.
Eating an adequate amount of vegetables will help improve your memory.
The best ones to eat are those dark, leafy green ones such as kale, broccoli, cabbage, spinach and collard greens.
If you aren’t a fan of these veggies try eating them in your salad. Or you may like to join the green smoothie revolution.
Mix up 2 cups of greens, add a banana and some berries, mix with water and you have a tasty smoothie, filled with brain boosting power.
Broccoli is sure to get the cognitive clock ticking. According to latest research studies broccoli, cauliflowers and other Cruciferous vegetables improves the memory and reverse the aging process by nothing less than one and half year.
Spinach that is high on folate is proved to reduce the risk of Alzheimer by breaking the homocysteine, an amino acid that is toxic to the nerve cell.
Like vegetables, you want to increase your intake of berries.
Fruits such as blackberries, blueberries, and cherries contain something called anthocyanins. Another memory boosting element.
Nuts contain healthy fats that you can include into your diet.
These seeds contain an abundant source of Vitamin E, an antioxidant that helps out in improving your memory as you grow older.
Other rich sources of Vitamin E include hazelnut, spinach, kiwi, broccoli, wheat germ oil, mango and dry almond.
Another product that helps with memory function is soy. Eating foods like tofu will provide benefits that help improve memory.
Another great source of soy is the soy milk, available in most food markets. Many are flavored and the taste although not exactly the same as cow’s milk is considered appealing to many people.
Soy also offers many other benefits to the body and knowing that it can help with boosting your memory is good stimulation for trying it and possibly making it a regular part of your diet.
Most people use oil in some form for cooking and if choosing a specific type of oil can boost your memory it would seem sensible to incorporate it into your everyday cooking.
Olive oil is a healthy choice for many reasons including its effects on memory function.
Using it to cook or within salad dressing is a healthy way to work towards having less brain cloudiness and improved memory clarity.
It’s another step towards feeling confident that you are doing everything you can to ensure that your memory stays sharp.
Omega 3 fatty acids are also great for your brain and memory.Â
These fatty acids contain DHA (docosahexaenoic acid), which has been shown to improve memory, especially in young adults. The higher your levels are of this fatty acid the more efficiently your brain will function.
Your best sources of DHA can be found in seafood, algae, fish oil and in fatty fish such as salmon, tuna, sardines and herrings. Walnuts and chickpeas are other sources of Omega 3 fatty acids.
One lesser known good source is found in crabs. Crabs contain an amino acid called phenylalanine. This helps in the production of adrenaline and helps to keep your thyroid hormones in top shape.
Eating moderate amounts of red meat can also assist in improving your memory.
Red meat contains the vitamin B12, which provides your brain with an energy boost.
Lean beef is rich in iron that will help you boost and help better your memory if taken in moderate proportions. But make sure that you do not eat much of this because you may encounter weight problems if you do so.
For seniors who are finding they are becoming forgetful adding extra celery to your diet is recommended.
Celery contains luteolin, which helps to reduce inflammation in your brain, this will help reduce the amount of memory loss due to the aging process.
An added benefit of eating these foods regularly is that you are not just improving your memory. You are also improving the health of your heart and this can help you live a longer, happier life.
Adjusting one’s diet to balance the effects of memory loss seems a perfect solution.
With just a small change in the consumption of certain foods, anyone can feel as though they are not only eating healthier but also improving their memory.
Caffeine and Memory
Most of the time you associate drinking caffeine, as something which is bad for you. When it comes to your memory, this may be another ball game altogether.
What is the relationship between caffeine and memory?
A recent study was conducted by the John Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland. This study determined that caffeine can improve certain memories for up to a day after the memory has been formed.
This seems to help solidify the reasoning behind students drinking energy drinks and filling up on coffee and tea right before an exam. A shot of caffeine can boost your memory.
Previously any findings on the benefits of caffeine had been dismissed. So why now are people agreeing that caffeine can indeed help?
Scientists have turned up some interesting facts on caffeine.
For example, caffeine actually blocks the effects of a neurotransmitter in the brain (adenosine) that otherwise makes us feel tired.
This is why it works so well to keep us awake.
It also encourages the release of another brain chemical, dopamine (as well as adrenaline). Dopamine contributes to a feeling of wellbeing.
The results of one study indicated that people who drank more than 2 cups of coffee a day had a 44% lower chance of showing actual liver damage compared to those who drank no caffeine.
This was not a clinical trial, and the reason why coffee and tea had such an effect is not known. Coffee and tea contain a range of plant chemicals (phytonutrients) that could be responsible for this.
A 2005 Norwegian study also found similar benefits for coffee with regards liver disease. This study found that drinking 3 cups of coffee a day could lower the risk of death from liver cirrhosis.
Even if you’re not at risk of liver disease, caffeine still has some advantages. Recent research from Austria showed that caffeine may actually enhance short-term memory.
Researchers found that there was an increase in brain activity as measured by functional magnetic resonance imaging in the parts of the brain that were associated with memory and attention.
These parts of the brain were the frontal lobe and the anterior cingulum. This was a placebo-controlled study, meaning that some people were not given any caffeine.
Another, an earlier study (2004) found that caffeine did support short-term memory, but only when it was in relation to a topic that people were already thinking about.
This study found that when testing coffee’s effects on unrelated subjects, a short-term recall was actually inhibited.
Everything does have a flip side, though. Adenosine, which is blocked by coffee, is also calming. This could be why it can also cause anxiety in excess, and in some individuals.
After all, the balance of our brain chemistry is unique. And when we are addicted to stimulants like caffeine, we lose the sensitivity to our own natural stimulants (dopamine and adrenaline).
Your actual state of mind could determine just how well a boost of caffeine can improve your memory.
When you register memories from reading, it seems that the more eager you are the more information you will retain.
This is a different concept to seeing how your natural alertness increases due to drinking coffee or tea. In an attempt to differentiate from being eager and willing, to seeing just how much more alert a person became, an alternative approach was necessary.
In the new study 73 volunteers were asked to look at images of objects, for example, plants, a horse, a basket, or a musical instrument.
Once the group had looked at the objects half were given caffeine, about two cups of strong espresso. The remaining volunteers were given a placebo.
The doctors took saliva samples on a 1,3 and 24-hour basis and measured the participant’s caffeine levels.
The next day everyone was asked to look at a new set of images. Now, some of these images were the same, some were very similar and others were brand new. The goal of the doctors was to see who could identify the changes that had been made.
The study showed that those volunteers who drank the caffeine found it easier to identify similar pictures. They were much more alert and picked out the similar images more easily.
The group who had taken the placebo could tell which images were old and which were new. But they had a harder time when it came to the similar images.
This research test was conducted differently to a standard recognition memory test. Viewing the images uses a part of your brain that distinguishes between patterns called the hippocampus. To do this effectively you need to have good short and long term memory.
This is the process that is enhanced by caffeine and means that drinking coffee may not be as bad for you as once thought.
Caffeine is a stimulant and it works to stimulate not only our hearts but our minds as well.
It can give a person the extra boost they need to clear their mind. Many people feel the need to have a cup of coffee each morning so they can focus.
The caffeine that is found within the coffee jolts the brain and the memory can retain more information.
You probably know someone who says that they can’t function until they’ve had their coffee. It appears that there’s more truth in that statement than most of us have ever realized. That first cup of morning coffee gets the memory gears moving in many people.
This can be especially important for many people at work. Having the ability to retain important information is essential for their employment.
If they find their memory lacking it could have serious consequences that stretch far beyond some of the minor annoyances that they might experience at home when they forget to do things.
A cup of coffee in the morning might be just the prescription to boost the memory enough that the rest of the day you function at full memory capacity. The same can be said for the lull that many people experience by mid-afternoon.
Having a piece of chocolate or a cup of hot chocolate stimulates your memory again and the rest of the day will flow as smoothly as the beginning did.
There you go! Take care of your brain through eating right and taking some moderate amount of caffeine.
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