Diet and Memory
To remember things, you must be alert and be able to concentrate. If you are unfocused, your brain is not going to perform at its best. Your diet and memory are very closely linked. So what are some dietary changes you can make to help improve your memory? Here are some ideas: Cut Back on Fast Food
Carotid artery disease is a narrowing of the carotid arteries of the neck. These arteries supply blood and oxygen to the front part of your brain where thinking, speech, and other higher functions occur. If your carotid arteries become clogged with fatty deposits (as happens with carotid artery disease), the supply of blood and oxygen to your brain is diminished. This can make it harder to think clearly and remember things. It also increases your chances of having a stroke. And a diet high in saturated fats is one of the major risk factors for carotid artery disease. Lose Some WeightGet your weight down. Being overweight can lead to problems with your blood sugar - including diabetes. Your brain's only fuel is the sugar in your blood. Control your weight to keep your blood sugar steady. This will help your brain and memory work better and give you more mental energy. Here's a widget I made that shows a different fat loss tip every day of the month. Feel free to put this widget on your blog, website, or Facebook page, or just come back to this page often to see the latest tip. (Click the "Get Widget" button under the widget to get the code. I know this widget is a little off-topic, but it was fun to make.) Consider Natural SupplementsSome people claim that supplements like Ginko Biloba help them think more clearly. Ginko Biloba is supposed to increase the flow of oxygen to your brain. However, I never noticed much difference when I tried it.
I recently wrote a review discussing whether Synaptol would work for sufferers of ADD/ADHD (attention deficit disorder). But actually Synaptol is for anyone who wants to improve their focus. It's not just for ADD/ADHD. I know Synaptol works for some people. Read my review (link above) to see why I say that with confidence. Eat Brain Foods
Many of these brain foods protect your brain by releasing anti-oxidants, natural chemicals that break down harmful compounds called "oxidants" that your body produces naturally. Most of these foods also contain important vitamins and nutrients essential for health. Brain foods include:
Because each food is a little different, it is important to eat a variety. You need a well-rounded diet of brain foods to get the most benefit. Try to eat at least one serving of each brain food at least once a week. Eating them every day would be even better! Take Fish Oil
You might think something called "fatty" would be bad for you. Actually these are "good" fats. In fact, large percentage of your brain is composed of these types of fats. So if you don't consume enough fatty acids in your diet, your memory and other brain functions will suffer. The best type of fish oil to take is high-grade pharmaceutical fish oil in liquid form. I personally take one to two tablespoons of Carlson's fish oil every day. Some people prefer the fish oil capsules, and they are easier to find, but it's actually a lot more expensive that way. Stop Drinking Sodas
At a minimum, switch to diet soda - but I have heard that the artificial sweeteners in diet drinks can give you everything from gas, to cancer, to memory loss.
I keep a bottle with me at all times. Each time I drink one, I refill it with tap water. I have these bottles all over the place - in my car, at my desk, next to my bed, in the refrigerator. It's a really simple trick. Chew Gum
One theory of why this works is that the chewing motion increases your heart rate. Increased heart rate increases blood flow to your head and brain. More blood flow means more oxygen, which helps your brain work better. Rather than chewing gum constantly throughout the day, maybe save it for times when you need to perform well mentally. It's probably not a good idea to chew gum when giving a speech or other situations where you need to talk. But when studying, reading, or taking an exam, chewing gum might give you that extra mental edge. If you decide to start chewing gum, I'd suggest the sugar-free variety only. Orbitz is one brand that I like. It comes in several different flavors. But any sugar-free gum is fine. Eat Chocolate
However, chocolate is also full of sugar and fat which is bad for you. So what should you do? Save the chocolate for crunch time. Right before an exam or before you give a presentation, eat a small bar of dark chocolate to give your brain a boost. (Dark chocolate is healthier than milk chocolate, because it provides benefits for your heart.) Note: If you are trying to lose weight or trying to get very lean, skip this suggestion. Personally I almost never eat chocolate although I used to be a choco-holic. Eat More, Smaller MealsTo perform your best mentally, you must keep your blood sugar steady throughout the day. The best way to do this is to eat five or six small meals during the day rather than three large meals. Overall, you may eat the same number of calories. But spreading out the calories into smaller meals helps your body regulate your blood sugar more easily. Take a Vitamin SupplementThis is a quick diet and memory fix to cover any vitamin deficiencies you might have. Take one multivitamin a day with food. I take 1 men's multivitamin, 1 B-complex vitamin, and 1 Vitamin C (1000mg) vitamin every morning with breakfast. The B-complex is important because the brain uses B-vitamins for many functions. The Vitamin C helps with immunity and provides other health benefits. There are other supplements I take as well, including fish oil and whatever herbal supplement I'm experiementing with at the time. Eat Breakfast
Obviously, the negative effects of skipping breakfast also apply to adults and their performance at work. Do you want to advance your career and be a top performer? Start every day with a healthy breakfast! It's simple - your brain and body need refueling after fasting overnight. A quick example: Eat a banana and a piece of whole-wheat toast with peanut butter. Avoid sugary stuff that will cause your blood sugar to crash later. Traditional greasy breakfast food is probably not what your should eat regularly either. Eating breakfast every day is a quick and easy diet and memory trick that no one should neglect. Eat an Afternoon SnackBlood sugar levels can dip in the afteroon. A couple hours after lunch, have a healthy snack like a protein smoothie and a piece of fruit. This will help you maintain alertness throughout the rest of the day. Avoid White PastaAnything that spikes your blood sugar will crash your brain later and leave you unfocused. Avoid foods made with white flour, such as white bread, white pasta, donuts, and so on. Instead eat whole grains. I completely cut out white flour from my diet and now only eat whole wheat and whole grain foods. Examples: Whole wheat bread, whole wheat pasta, oatmeal. Avoid AlcoholI'm not going to lecture anyone on this. I think everyone knows that drinking too much alcohol kills brain cells. That's not where you want to go - if anything you want more brain cells! Drink moderately or not at all. Some people drink wine in moderation (one or two glasses a day) for the health benefit. This is probably fine. Brush and Floss
Clogged arteries mean restricted blood flow - which means less oxygen and nutrients for your brain, which can potentially hurt your concentration and memory. (See my discussion of carotid artery disease above.) So keep your teeth clean and visit the dentist regularly! Limit CaloriesIf you really put away the food at mealtimes, consider cutting way back. A research article in Nature Neuroscience explains that when your stomach is empty, a hormone called ghrelin is released in the memory centers of the brain. Ghrelin causes new connections to form between brain cells. The study claims that when laboratory animals were injected with ghrelin directly, their memory and learning improved significantly. So apparently there are some benefits to being hungry! The lesson: There is no magic memory pill. Instead, the link between diet and memory is to eat and drink the best fuel to keep your brain humming along at it's best. A proper, healthy diet will help improve your "natural" memory. Then use the memory systems and other memory techniques to build up your "trained" memory. Back from Diet and Memory page to Memory Improvement Tips
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Is there a connection between diet and memory? Yes, because your brain needs the right kind of energy and nutrients throughout the day. These nutrients come from your diet. 
There are certain foods that are either suspected to improve brain function or have been proven to do so. 
Your brain needs essential fatty acids to work well. Essential fatty acids are called "essential" because your body cannot make them. These fatty acids must be eaten in food. Examples include Omega-3 and Omega-6 fatty acids.
Regular soda is a sugar bomb. You brain needs a steady stream of glucose to work properly, not a truckload of refined sugar dumped on it all at once. 
This is a simple diet and memory trick. Research 
Here's a diet and memory trick you probably weren't expecting. Research from the Wheeling Jesuit University in West Virginia shows that eating milk chocolate or dark chocolate can improve memory by as much as 20%. 
Skipping breakfast is very common in the United States and some other countries. But students who skip breakfast have worse memories and get lower grades in school on average. Many research studies support this.
According to a UCLA School of Dentistry research study, tooth and gum disease are highly linked to clogging in your carotid arteries (major arteries in the neck that send blood to the brain). 
