5 Simple Food Choices to Support Brain Health

Don’t have time to create a healthy meal? You can make these easy diet changes in a jiffy

Nissa Simon

Updated January 28, 2026

Healthy foods can help support brain function. You know the drill: Plenty of green leafy vegetables, fruit, whole grains and healthy fats. But what if you’re on the run and don’t have the time to sit down to three square meals a day? You’re in luck. You can make small additions to your diet that may have a big impact on your brain health.

Boston University nutrition professor Joan Salge Blake always carries a small tin of almonds in her bag.

“They’re my go-to snack, no matter where I am,” she says. “When I’m hungry, I just reach for a few almonds and don’t have to think about searching out something healthy at a nearby convenience store.”

Healthy choices benefit more than your brain. “If you make these kinds of small changes in what you eat and make them a habit, you’ll benefit not only your brain but the rest of your body, as well,” says Penny Kris-Etherton, Evan Pugh University Professor of Nutritional Sciences, Emeritus at Pennsylvania State University.

But she notes that there’s more to good brain health than just food. “It’s not about nutrition alone; it’s the whole package of healthy living — eat well, exercise, don’t smoke, and control blood sugar, cholesterol and blood pressure.”

Here are five small tweaks that you can make in a fraction of the time you’d need to order takeout.

1. Stockpile packages of berries in your freezer

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“They’re washed, they’re clean, they’re ready to go, and there’s no work involved,” Salge Blake says. Add some to your morning smoothie and put a handful into your water bottle before you head out the door.

What’s in it for you? Strawberries, blueberries, blackberries and cranberries contain high levels of antioxidants, compounds that may support brain health. Studies suggest that the fruits may protect against some of the changes linked to neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s, according to a review published in 2024 in Frontiers in Pharmacology that examined multiple studies on berries and health.

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2. Slather avocado on your toast

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This pale green silky treat is perfect any time of day, from breakfast to bedtime. Peel a ripe avocado, remove the pit, and add a pinch of sea salt, a bit of lemon or lime juice and a few drops of olive oil. Mash with a fork until it’s chunky or smooth (you decide!) and spread on a piece of toast.

What’s in it for you? Besides being tasty, avocados are rich in dietary fiber, potassium and magnesium and are a good source of monounsaturated fatty acids. Among more than 110,400 adults followed over three decades, those who ate more avocado had lower risk of cardiovascular disease and coronary heart disease. The researchers adjusted for other lifestyle and dietary habits in the study, which was published in 2022 in the Journal of the American Heart Association. What’s good for the heart is good for the brain, says AARP’s Global Council on Brain Health.

3. Add onions to your stew

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No matter how you slice or dice them, onions are a cooking basic that most kitchens have on hand. Onions bring out the depth and flavor in stews and add oomph to an otherwise bland mix of ingredients, from scrambled eggs to baked chicken. To smooth out the sharp flavor of raw onions, sauté them gently before using.

What’s in it for you? Onions are rich in B vitamins, particularly B6 and folate. People whose diets were highest in six types of B vitamins (B1, B2, niacin, B6, folate and B12) had a lower risk of cognitive impairment compared with those who got the least in a study published in Nutrition in 2025 that analyzed data from 2,716 adults age 60 and older.

4. Prepare more salmon than you need for one meal

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After you’ve heated the broiler or fired up the grill, cook an extra portion of salmon for each person.

“The recommended two servings of fish a week doesn’t mean you have to make two dinners,” Salge Blake says. “Sometimes that’s just too much to fit into your schedule. If you use the leftovers in a lunch salad the next day, you’ll have your weekly two servings with no extra work.”

What’s in it for you? Fatty fish, such as wild salmon, albacore tuna, mackerel, herring and sardines, play a starring role when it comes to good-for-your-brain food. Indeed, scientists have linked the consumption of these fish — rich in omega-3 fatty acids — to several brain health benefits. People with the highest blood levels of omega-3 fatty acids, such as DHA, were significantly less likely to have depression or anxiety than people with the lowest levels in a study of 102,252 adults between the ages of 37 and 73 published in Nutrients in 2024.

5. Add chopped walnuts to your breakfast oatmeal

A bowl of oatmeal with walnuts and other nuts in it on a gray blue table

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By now, you know the dietary wisdom of regularly eating a nourishing bowl of oatmeal. But how do you keep it interesting? Simple, says Penn State’s Kris-Etherton. “Spike the flavor with a bit of brown sugar or maple syrup, mix in some frozen berries and toss on a handful of toasted chopped walnuts for a pleasantly surprising crunch.”

What’s in it for you? Walnuts may enhance memory and other cognitive functions, according to a 2020 review in Nutrients of multiple studies on how walnuts may affect cognition and brain health. Like berries, walnuts contain plenty of antioxidants as well as anti-inflammatory properties, which may help protect the brain from dementia and other disorders.