Food for Thought

As a part of the Culinary Comforts Late Night Snacks series, we talk about brain health and how to make our memories stronger.

Our brains are so often taken for granted, until we can’t find our keys or recall the name of someone we know so well.

It is important to intentionally acknowledge and care for our brain health. There are many ways. Here are some that we discuss in “Food for Thought”:

Five ways to improve brain health and memory

1.      Memory Exercises

2.      Physical activity

3.      Journaling and organizing

4.      Eat food that supports brain health

a.      Nuts and seeds

b.      Fish

c.       Berries (Blueberries)

d.      Broccoli (and green leafies)

e.      Dark chocolate (70% cocoa content)

5.      Sleep

So that you won’t take your brain for granted, write a letter of appreciation and post it somewhere you can read it periodically. Here’s mine:

Dearest Brain of Mine,

During this season of gratitude, I am so thankful for all you do for me, from maintaining my heartbeat to allowing me to decode challenging cryptograms.

Brain, you have come so far, although I deprived you of sleep when I was a child and young lady, you have been able to recover and, now I can (not so humbly) say, that I am one of the smartest people I know.

I have been hard on you, Brain, but, moving forward, I promise to:

·       practice good sleep habits

·       give you exercise in the form of strategy games

·       increase blood flow (and trim my tummy) by physically exercising

·       practice calming myself before going into social interactions

·       not have unreasonable expectations for you

Dearest Brain, thank you so much for all you do to make me who I am.

Sincerely,

Brandi Redo