12 Brain Boosting Nutrients And How They Work For Supporting Brain Health

What are the nutrients you know of that help to support joint health? Did you know that supporting immune system function can also be beneficial for supporting our brain's functions?

We fear so many degenerative issues with our brain as we age, especially with degenerative pathways that can lead to Alzheimer’s or Parkinson’s issues, as I discuss in Brain Degeneration Ain’t All That It’s Cracked Up To Be (paid subscription access only). We try to do things right. We try to eat right. We try to keep fit. We try to sleep well. We try to manage our stress levels better.

Because we don’t want it to happen to ourselves.

Eating right is one of the ways that can promote brain health, but what do we need to be looking out for?

When the medical professionals tell you to have a balanced diet so that you can stay “healthy”, do they tell you specifically what nutrients to be looking out for?

Your vitamins? Your minerals? Your antioxidants?

Here’s a list of 12 of them that can support healthy brain development and function. This list is by no means exhaustive — there can always be more nutrients available. But how many of them are you consuming on aregularbasis from your diet?

1. Bacosides from the bacopa monnieri plant, which reduce brain inflammation and the aggregation of misfolded amyloid beta proteins that can be a precursor to Alzheimer’s disease. Bacosides also enhance the production of Brain Derived Neurotrophic Factor (BDNF) in the brain, which supports the survival of existing neurons and promotes the growth and differentiation of new neurons and synapses. This is usually available in supplement form.

2. Ginsenosides from Panax ginseng, which addresses brain inflammation too. It also addresses some gut health issues by regulating Th17 cell activity which is good because excessive levels of Th17 cell activity are implicated in autoimmune disorders. This is available in supplement form or, if you can get Panax ginseng root, do go for it, by all means. Panax ginseng should not be confused with American or Siberian ginseng. It is a plant that grows in Korea, northeastern China, and far eastern Siberia.

3. Magnesium aids in supporting brain neuroplasticity and helps brain cells to form connections for learning and memory purposes. (The role of magnesium therapy in learning and memory). Good sources of magnesium include greens, nuts, seeds, dry beans, whole grains and low-fat dairy products.

4. Calcium aids the signalling and communication process between brain cells. In addition, calcium and magnesium play another role — that of promoting muscular contraction (calcium) and relaxation (magnesium). Balanced contraction and relaxation movements are necessary for supporting gut health, because the intestinal muscles use these contraction and relaxation movements to move food along the length of the intestine all the way out into the toilet bowl. A subpar movement of food would negatively influence the gut microbiota. Many foods are rich in calcium, including milk, collard greens and canned sardines.

5. Vitamin B6 is a necessary cofactor for converting glutamate (which excites the brain) into gamma amino butyric acid (GABA), which relaxes the brain. Brain relaxation is one of the major factors for getting a good night’s sleep. We need to balance out the concentrations of GABA and glutamate in the brain to get a good night’s sleep. Good sources of Vitamin B6 include milk, salmon and eggs.

6. Resveratrol protects the integrity of the Blood Brain Barrier (BBB) and prevents pro-inflammatory cytokines in the blood from attacking the brain by upregulating the activity of the nuclear respiratory factor 2 (nrf2) pathway. The nrf2 pathway counteracts the effect of the cellular mitochondria overproducing reactive oxygen species (ROS), which would otherwise activate other pro-inflammatory pathways (namely nuclear factor-kappa B, or NF-κB) in the cells. This nutrient is concentrated in the skins of grapes and berries, or we could obtain it via supplementation.

7. Curcumin is another nrf2 stimulant that helps to reduce common aches around the body and also helps the brain to produce more BDNF. Curcumin is found in turmeric, but the absorption rate of curcumin from natural turmeric is very low. It would be more advisable to use black pepper with curcumin, or else a highly bioavailable curcumin supplement would be desirable.

8. Green tea extract (epigallocatechin gallate, or EGCG) is another nrf2 supporting nutrient and an antioxidant that can cross the BBB and reach other functional parts of the brain to provide support. For more information about how nrf2 activity reduces inflammation from the NF-κB pathway, do check this link out. We can get EGCG from green tea directly or in supplemental forms. I personally do use a multivitamin supplement product that includes all these nutrients on top of the necessary vitamins and minerals.

9. Coenzyme Q10, which facilitates electron transport in the cellular process of generating energy. Sufficient levels of CoQ10 in the cell will aid the transport of these electrons and reduce the formation of ROS that would otherwise upregulate NF-κB activity. It is found in larger quantities in organs such as the liver, but one would need to eat a high quantity of liver just to obtain useful amounts of it. It would be better to supplement; however, do ensure that you are sourcing them from the right brands.

10. Docosahexanoic acid (DHA) and eicosapentanoic acid (EPA), which are the common omega-3 fatty acids found in fatty fish. DHA and EPA are the most abundant fatty acids in the brain and the eye and are required for healthy brain development and nervous functions. They also aid in downregulating inflammation and may also play an important role in supporting cardiovascular health. One ought to obtain these omega-3s from fatty fish sources — omega-3s from plant sources contain mainly alpha-linolenic acid (ALA), and the conversion of ALA into DHA or EPA in the body is very low.

11. Ginkgo biloba, which is used to alleviate symptoms associated with amnesia that the elderly face. Ginkgo also contains ROS neutralising antioxidant capabilities, which could be one of the ways that it can be used in the brain for protection purposes.

12. Phosphatidylserine, which is a fatty substance that is an essential component of the cell membrane. It can cross the BBB and is essential for protecting the nerve cells in the brain from any damage.

As you can see, a lot of these nutrients overlap with the nutrients that are used to counteract mild chronic inflammation and oxidative stress.

Supplementation is possible if one is unable to obtain the necessary nutrients, but the choice of the supplement brand is also important if one wants to choose an effective supplement that i) actually contains what its label states that it contains; nothing more, nothing less, and ii) is designed for the digestive system to absorb most of the nutrients that are included in the tablet.

Earlier, I touched on a bit about the BBB. The brain is protected by the BBB and is hence more resistant to the effects of chronic inflammation. However, as the BBB gets weakened over time by chronic inflammation, the brain will eventually succumb to the effects of inflammation as well.

Supporting and protecting brain cells are key.

Oxidative stress and chronic inflammation are indeed a possible route for the development of Alzheimer’s or Parkinson’s disease. Alzheimer’s doesn’t develop overnight when we’re 70, but we can definitely draw a link with it to poor lifestyle choices that we made habitually/chronically/continuously in our younger years. It’s a gradual symptom, not a sudden symptom. In fact, as inflammation is an immune system response to any damage or injury to the body, one could even draw a link between Alzheimer’s and a suboptimal immune system function.

When addressing the issues of Alzheimer’s at its deepest roots, we do have to go back and look at how our body’s cells function and how we can protect them from a holistic perspective. Especially when we do notice that most people with Alzheimer’s don’t just have Alzheimer’s — they’d be exhibiting other symptoms of chronic inflammation, such as Type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, cancer or any other long-term autoimmune disorders.

In fact, most of the 12 nutrients that I’ve listed will also be able to provide some form of support for your immune system functions, and as such be able to regulate the inflammation in the body better. Given that Alzheimer’s is related to brain inflammation, we’d not only be supporting brain health, but we’d be reducing the risk of developing chronic inflammatory problems as well. And we’d also be able to recover from acute illnesses (such as colds and flus) more quickly.

Are you consuming enough nutrition to not just adequately nourish your brain, but the rest of your body as well?

Supplementation might be a useful tool to use as a cheat code to provide nutritional support; however, one does have to know the criteria for choosing a good brand, which I outline in this article: Dietary Supplements- How Does One Choose A Good Brand for Consumption?

Here’s a product stack of brain-supporting products from the brand that I prefer, which I do know meets the criteria set out in the article that I have mentioned:

Disclaimer: These lists are affiliate links and I may receive commissions for any purchases made via those links.