Looking to Boost Your Brain Power?

pp-0313brainsTrying to stay sharp? You might be interested in Lumosity, a company that specializes in “brain training” to help people sharpen or test their cognitive skills. The company offers brain games and other activities to help people maintain their focus and concentration.

Of course, if you really want to boost your brain, it’s important to eat vegan foods, too. Research shows that people who avoid “bad fats”—the kind found in meat, eggs, and dairy products—cut their risk of Alzheimer’s disease by about two-thirds.

Meat, including lobster, shrimp, and some other kinds of “seafood,” is often high in metals—iron, copper, and zinc—which have been found in the brains of Alzheimer’s patients. While we need traces of these metals for health—and we get them from vegetables, legumes, and whole grains—meats tend to overdose us.

Eating plant-based foods, which are rich in vitamins E and B6, folic acid, and other nutrients, can reduce your risk for Alzheimer’s by as much as 70 percent. And since vegan foods are cholesterol-free and generally low in saturated fat, they’re also heart-healthy, which is important, considering that researchers from the Mayo Clinic have found that women with heart disease are three times more likely to develop cognitive problems that are associated with certain types of dementia.

If you want to have a healthier ticker and be a quicker thinker, try noshing on walnuts. Seriously. Walnuts contain omega-3 fatty acids, which decrease your risk of heart problems, and research suggests that they can help improve your cognitive function, too. Who knows—if you eat walnuts and other wholesome vegan foods, you might even become the World Memory Champion, a title currently held by Swedish vegan Jonas Von Essen, who scored the highest number of points ever recorded in the competition.

But, hey, if that goal seems a little too lofty, you can at least show your friends up when you’re playing Scrabble, Simon, or other brain games. Anyone with half a brain knows that it’s unwise—not to mention unkind to animals—to eat meat, cheese, and other unhealthy animal-based foods. Stay smart—and sharp—by eating fruits, vegetables, nuts, grains, and other tasty vegan foods.