16 Brain Foods You Should Eat To Boost Productivity

The ingredients you eat enter your blood stream and flow to the brain, so inevitably, the way you think, focus and work is literally the food you eat.

But you can increase this brain power by 20%, according to the World Health Organization.

"Food is like a pharmaceutical compound that affects the brain," Fernando Gómez-Pinilla, a UCLA professor of neurosurgery and physiological science, says in his research about brain foods.

"Diet, exercise and sleep have the potential to alter our brain health and mental function. This raises the exciting possibility that changes in diet are a viable strategy for enhancing cognitive abilities, protecting the brain from damage and counteracting the effects of aging."

To get an understanding of what's going to affect our body's energy system, we compiled a list of brain foods from Psychology Today and other sources that will improve the way you think and work.

Berries have potent combinations of antioxidants that

 improve both memory and motor coordination.

Neuroscientist James A. Joseph says that the antioxidants in berries 

counteract oxidative stress and function as anti-inflammatory agents,

 which are "the evil twins of brain aging."

Berries eaten with oil-rich walnuts or avocados keep brain 

cell membranes "youthfully flexible."

A banana holds the daily amount of glucose 

needed for your brain.

Researcher Leigh Gibson found that "the brain works best with 

about 25 grams of glucose circulating in the blood stream 

— about the amount found in a banana."

Eggs contain a fat-like B vitamin called choline that

 enhances memory and reaction time.

Salmon has omega-3s, protein, iron and B-vitamins,

 which support memory, recall, reasoning and focus.