Vitamins play an important role in your health and your brain function. They can make your body work at an optimal level as long as you make sure that you’re getting enough vitamins from your diet. You can use supplements, but, ultimately, you need to eat better as well.
So, Do Brain Vitamins Really Work?
Yes! Brain vitamins do work. I fact, they’re vital to maintaining brain health and keeping it younger and sharper for longer. You’ll want to make sure that you get them by following a healthy diet rich in healthy foods. You can also get these essential brain vitamins from supplements that you can take every day.
This is exactly what you’re going to learn in this article.
Which ones are the best vitamins for the brain, and, more specifically, the 15 best vitamins and minerals for optimal brain health. Then, what to eat and how they affect your brain in a positive way.
Vitamin B1 (Thiamine)
Vitamin B1 is an important ally of both the brain and the body. It acts as a diplomat by helping the brain and the body communicate better. It’s also important for the nervous and immune systems.
You can find this vitamin in beans, sunflower seeds, and whole grains. It’s important to have this vitamin in your daily diet, since it’ll help restore your brain’s energy.
One of the main side effects of not having normal levels of vitamin B1 is bad memory and difficulty concentrating.
In more serious cases, it can lead to a problem with your emotions and feelings of empathy.
Vitamin B2 (Riboflavin)
This is one of the most important brain vitamins, specifically for energy.
It plays an important role in easing the symptoms of certain headaches as well. For your brain health, this will turn into fuel, which promotes faster thinking.
To eat foods that have a rich source vitamin B2, you have to eat lean meats, almond milk, eggs, and leafy vegetables.
If you’re finding yourself having a hard time with mental energy, make sure to include these options in your diet.
Vitamin B3 (Niacin or nicotinic acid)
Vitamin B3 is great for brain agility and improved memory.
Not only tha,t but it’s another vitamin with antioxidant properties for the brain.
To have a great memory and sharper brain, vitamin B3 is important.
The best foods to comsume with great sources of vitamin B3 are chicken, pork, beef, and mushrooms. With time, you’ll start to notice that you don’t take as long to recall things and your comprehension will be much faster.
You can either include more of the foods that are rich in vitamin B3 into your diet or you can add a vitamin B3 supplement powder to your meals.
Vitamin B5 (Pantothenic Acid)
Vitamin B5 has three main benefits for your brain, making it another one of the best brain vitamins. (Mental energy, memory, and regulates the nervous system)
It mainly helps with 1.) mental energy and 2.) memory. This means that it’ll boost your energy while also improving your short-term and long-term memory.
Try to eat more fish, avocado, mushrooms, and lean chicken since they’re high in vitamin B5.
Since knowing how much of each vitamin you’re actually taking in from your food sources isn’t very easy to gauge, you can add in the use of vitamin B5 supplements to your diet.
Finally, the third benefit 3.) that vitamin B5 can give you is a spike in your acetylcholine receptors, which regulates the autonomous nervous system.
Vitamin B6 (Pyridoxine)
Vitamin B6 is great for preventing the onset of Alzheimer’s and dementia. It reacts to the brain by decreasing your homocysteine levels that have been associated with most brain diseases.
You can eat pork, poultry, and fish to increase the level of vitamin B6 that you currently consume. As you can see, you don’t need to eat food that doesn’t taste good to get your vitamin source right.
Vitamin B8 (Inositol)
This is vitamin has been linked with improved brain and mental health alongside anti-cancer properties as well.
This is enough reason to include it in your diet. You should try to consume as much food that contains vitamin B8 as you can.
The best sources are cooked liver, eggs, yeast, and salmon.
Some foods lose the levels that it has of the vitamin when cooked or when eaten in its raw form.
For instance, the salmon should be cooked, but cauliflower, which is another great source, should be eaten raw.
Vitamin B9 (Folate or folic acid)
When you’re having a hard time regulating your mood, you may be suffering from a B9 vitamin deficiency.
In this case, you’ll not only need to eat foods rich in vitamin B9, but also to consider taking supplements.
The main sources for vitamin B9 are leafy vegetables, orange juice, and beans. This vitamin is great against symptoms of dementia and an aging brain because it has micronutrients that act as anti-oxidants.
This makes it great for overall brain health as well. So, make sure to include these sources of vitamin B9 in your diet.
Vitamin B12 (Cobalamin)
Vitamin B12 is great for improving your performance in studying. It boosts mental energy, memory, and concentration. It does this by increasing blood flow in your nerves and in your brain.
Another way that improves your concentration, focus, and motivation is through mood regulation.
That’s why you need to have regulated levels of vitamin B12 when you have important tasks to get done.
The best sources for vitamin B12 are meat, fish, and dairy. So, make sure to include them in your diet. Once again, adding in a supplement might help as well.
Vitamin C (Asorbic Acid)
Vitamin C is, perhaps, the most famous vitamin of them all.
It has various functions in the body. It can be turned into energy, and it certainly boosts your immune response. Now, when it comes to the brain, there are a lot of things that it can help optimize.
Vitamin C is another one that has antioxidant properties. This means that it helps your brain get rid of waste, which is usually in the form of free radicals.
Free radicals are related to Alzheimer’s and dementia.
So, look for vitamin C in citric fruits, kale, and broccoli. It’s important to include it in your everyday diet as well.
Vitamin D – Fish eggs and cheese
As you can see, the best sources for vitamin D are fish, eggs, and cheese.
You need to consume a certain amount to match your daily needs. It’s important to keep in mind that after a certain point, the body stops absorbing the vitamin.
So, it doesn’t make a difference having too much of it.
What vitamin D does in your body is protect your neurons and prevent inflammation.
This vitamin also activates and deactivates enzymes that are involved in nerve growth.
CoQ10 (Coenzyme Q10)
If you’re all about brain health and preventing diseases that either happen in the brain or affects the brain, CoQ10 is another great option.
This is another vitamin that has antioxidant properties.
It acts as a detox for your brain by getting rid of plaques that affect important receptors.
This will promote mental clarity, and improved memory.
The best sources are fatty fish, organ meats, and cruciferous vegetables. Even if you don’t have any signs of dementia, Parkinson’s, or Alzheimer’s, you can benefit from this Coenzyme 10.
Here is a link to my go-to CoQ10 supplement: Click Here
Zinc
Zinc is great to improve memory and learning.
A deficiency of Zinc has been linked to a loss of both. In the case of memory, it affects both short-term and long-term memory.
Not only that, but it also has antioxidant properties that protect both the brain and the heart.
The best sources for zinc are legumes, oysters, and shellfish. You can also add supplements to your food since they’re a great source of zinc too.
As a bonus, zinc (especially in ZMA supplements) can help give you vivid / lucid dreams!
So, if you want to improve your memory, learning, and protect your brain cells, you should make sure that you get a great source of zinc from your diet.
Magnesium
The main benefits that you’re going to get from magnesium are improved memory, a better quality of sleep, and mood regulation.
It does this by stimulating electrical activity in the brain, which helps the brain process information better. That’s why you experience improved memory and learning.
You should try to eat more dark chocolate, avocado, pumpkin seeds, and spinach. These are all great sources of magnesium.
They’ll help improve your studying performance not only by improving memory but also by helping with your anxiety and sleep.
Omega-3 fatty Acids / Fish Oil
Omega 3 is quite famous, and for good reason!
It has an incredible track record of helping people with mild memory loss.
Omega 3 has an important role in brain development and function.
Fish oil is the best source for omega 3 fatty acids. You can find omega-3 in higher quantities depending on the type fish you consume. Sardines and salmon are two of the best examples of delicious fish that are rich in omega 3 healthy fats.
Iron
Finally, you should make sure that your diet has food rich in iron.
It plays an important role in managing your levels of dopamine release in the brain, which regulates your mood and makes your muscles move.
Iron also plays a role in brain growth and development.
To find foods that are rich in iron you should eat chicken, turkey, beef liver, cooked beef, canned sardines, and oysters.
These are all great sources of iron to add to your diet.
What Omega Brain Vitamin Supplements do I Recommend / Use?
I personally take Ultimate Omega by Nordic Naturals because it is an all-in one high potency solution that doesn’t have you burping up nasty rotten fish taste for hours after you take it.
If you’ve taken fish oil supplements before, you know exactly what I’m talking about!
Ultimate Omega capsules have a lemon flavor, so you won’t experience any nasty fish burps which are common in most fish oil supplements.
They non-GMO, contain both EPA & DHA, and are high potency, so you only need to take 2 capsules (unlike some omega supplements that require up to 5 or 6!)
They are simply a much better option than your average omega-3 fish oil supplement for many reasons.
You can learn more about it here…
Do Brain Vitamins Really Work? – Final Thoughts…
So, to answer your question, yes they work, and in fact, they are essential to overall brain function, health, and regulation.
The vitamins listed above are the 15 best brain vitamins and minerals to work into your daily diet if your goal is ultimate brain function.
Make sure to include these in your diet whether its from actual foods, or through the use of added supplements.
If better brain performance and overall mental sharpness / brain health is what you’re after, then these 15 brain vitamins are what you need!
Do you take any Brain Vitamin Supplements for your Brain Health?
Leave a comment below.
Let me know which ones you take, and what benefits you’ve experienced!
About David Gracey
Founder of SuperMindHacker.com
In other words, I am completely obsessed with anything and everything related to cognitive brain enhancement!
Whether it's nootropic supplements, challenging brain puzzles, or even meditation techniques, chances are, I've tried it! This website is my outlet to give back and share what I've learned in the past 15+ years in this field of study.
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