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Can the foods we eat help with sharper thinking and mental health?

FAQ

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Can the foods we eat help with sharper thinking and mental health?

Do you want to think more clearly, improve your memory and protect your brain function?

Try including foods that are good sources of:

Flavonoids, compounds found in many fruits and vegetables
Isoflavones found in soy products
Nitrates abundant in beetroot and green leafy veggies
Foods high in B-group vitamins, including salmon, chicken, liver, green leafy vegetables, eggs and fortified breads and cereals

The brain also needs enough fuel to function, and sustained energy throughout the day to avoid that feeling of your batteries running low. Rather than choosing foods that are high in refined carbohydrates, like highly processed snacks, take-aways, and sugar-sweetened drinks, include carbohydrates that are based on wholegrains, and lower GI.

The good news is that the same foods that are high in vitamins, minerals and flavonoids also have an important impact on your mood, and may help reduce the symptoms of depression, and preserve brain health as you age.

Foods that may support you with sharper thinking include:

Beetroot
Blueberries
Grapes
Rolled oats
Salmon
Strawberries
Tofu

You can read about the link between these foods and sharper thinking here:

Sharper Thinking | No Money No Time

Read about the healthy eating tips that we suggest to promote mental clarity, and support your mental health here.

For more information about food and mental health, you can also download our Mood Foods cookbook for recipe inspiration.

Your Personal Healthy Eating Quiz

What you eat or don’t eat affects how you look, feel and perform. Take our short quiz to find out what foods you could introduce to help you be your best.

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What is healthy eating?

Eating healthy is making sure you enjoy a wide variety of foods from each of the five major food groups daily, in the amounts recommended. The five major food groups as recommended by the Australian Guide to Healthy Eating are:

vegetables and legumes/bean
fruit
lean meats and poultry, fish, eggs, tofu, nuts and seeds, legumes/beans
grain (cereal) foods, mostly wholegrain and/or high cereal fibre varieties
milk, yoghurt, cheese and/or alternatives, mostly reduced fat.

Foods are grouped together because they provide similar amounts of key nutrients and eating a variety of foods from the list above helps to promote good health and reduce the risk of disease.

How do I improve my diet?

If you want to improve your diet you have come to the right place. By completing the Healthy Eating Quiz you’ll receive instant personalised feedback and a report on your diet quality to highlight any areas where you can improve your overall eating habits. Your score is based on the frequency and variety of the foods consumed from the five major food groups mentioned above. No Money No Time can help you improve your score by providing tips, goals and suggestions. On top of this we will provide quick, cheap and healthy recipes as well as credible answers to diet hacks, myths and FAQ’s.

Is my diet healthy?

Dietary habits are different between people. Some people choose to follow a particular diet (i.e., Keto diet or vegan diet) while some have to make changes due to certain food restrictions or health conditions. If you want to know if what you usually eat is healthy, then do the Healthy Eating Quiz today to give you the answers in less than 10 minutes.

Why is healthy eating important?

Your HEQ score and personalised feedback report is based on the frequency and variety of healthy core foods you usually eat. This is important because no single food contains all the nutrients we need to stay healthy. Some foods are higher in nutrients than others and people who have a lot of variety in the foods they eat are more likely to be healthy and to stay healthy. In other words, if you can eat a large variety of vegetables as opposed to only 2-3 types of vegetables, the benefits are much greater. This type of diet also helps you to feel better, think better and perform better during your usual daily activities.

Take the Healthy Eating Quiz

The University of Newcastle Australia