Vitamins and supplements for brain health can serve a lot of purposes. They may help with focus, mental clarity, and also memory. There are a lot of vitamins and supplements that everyone should take to make sure they have a healthy brain, and we’ll lay out the most important ones for you in this page.
Memory and Cognitive Function
- DHA and EPA
Why should you supplement DHA and/or EPA?
DHA by itself or DHA and EPA together help with memory in adults with slight to moderate memory issues. They are not a treatment for Alzheimer’s or dementia, but they will help with memory in most people. In a study published by the National Library of Medicine, researchers found that DHA combined with EPA greatly improves episodic memory, which is long term memory having to do with the details of specific events, and also slightly improves semantic memory, which is kind of like trivia memory and could be the name of a flower or a country’s capital city, for example.
How should you supplement DHA and/or EPA?
DHA and EPA are Omega-3 Fatty Acids that are mainly found in fatty fish such as salmon, mackerel and tuna. It is also found, though less than in fatty fish, in plant oils and fortified foods. Unless you eat a lot of fatty fish, you should take a supplement to get your daily value of DHA and EPA. Vegetarians and vegans should definitely take DHA and EPA in supplement form because it can be very hard to get your daily value from eating vegetarian or vegan foods.
What are the best brands for DHA and EPA supplements?
We recommend Optimum Nutrition Fish Oil Softgels for non-vegetarians, and Nordic Naturals Algae-Derived Omega for vegetarians and vegans. These are both unflavored, high quality softgels. The fish oil gels have a coating on them that prevents you from tasting the fishy flavor, and the algae derived gels don’t have any sort of gross aftertaste, so they don’t need that coating. It is recommended to take one in the morning with water or between meals. The vegan softgels cost more per softgel, but the serving size for both is one softgel per day.
2. Creatine
Why should you supplement Creatine?
Not only can creatine help exercise performance and muscle building, it can help brain function too. In six studies published by the National Library of Medicine, researchers found that creatine supplementation improves short term memory and intelligence/reasoning. That doesn’t mean it will make you smarter, but it can help you with problem solving and puzzles that you might find on an IQ test or something similar. Researchers also found that vegetarians improved more than meat eaters in cognitive function when given creatine, so vegans and vegetarians especially should be taking this. Findings also suggested that creatine can help older or stressed individuals more than other people, but these findings were not as strong as the others listed.
How should you supplement Creatine?
Creatine is found in some foods, such as meat and fish, but the best way to get creatine is through creatine monohydrate in powder or pill form. Creatine is colorless, tasteless, and odorless, but it can leave a bitter taste in some drinks when it is not fully dissolved, so it is recommended that you drink it with hot water, tea, or coffee to dissolve it. If it dissolves in the drink it will not leave a bitter taste, so don’t worry, it won’t ruin your morning coffee or tea.
What are the best creatine powder brands?
The two best types of creatine are both from Optimum Nutrition. The first is their Micronized Creatine Powder that contains 5g of creatine per serving. 5 grams of creatine is the recommended amount for people building muscle, but there is currently no recommended amount for the purpose of cognitive function. 5 grams per day is still a good amount to take, or you can try less or more per day and see for yourself, but don’t go above 15 grams per day for an extended amount of time. This is vegan and it is not very expensive. The second is their Micronized Creatine Capsules for people who don’t like powders. Each capsule contains 2.5g of creatine, so you should take 1-4 per day, and they are not vegan because the coating of the capsule contains gelatin. These are also fairly inexpensive and both are high quality.
3. Vitamin D
Why should you supplement Vitamin D?
Vitamin D is a great supplement for people who are middle aged and older because it keeps your cognitive function at a high level and prevents a decline in cognitive function with age. Many people who have problems with cognitive function have vitamin deficiencies, and Vitamin D is one of the vitamins that you don’t want to get a deficiency in because that can cause cognitive decline. In several studies published by the National Library of Medicine, researchers found that Vitamin D is the most important vitamin for older people for maintaining high cognitive function and preventing the development of Alzheimer’s Disease.
How should you supplement Vitamin D?
One of the best ways to get Vitamin D without adding any supplements or foods to your diet is by going out in the sun. Being in the sunlight gives you a lot of Vitamin D, and being outside also makes you feel good mentally and physically. Especially for older people who aren’t getting as much exercise, going outside is a great way to get Vitamin D and keep yourself healthy. If you want to take a supplement, which we also recommend, you should take it as a tablet, softgel, or gummy.
What brands are good for Vitamin D?
We recommend the Vitamin Shoppe’s Vitamin D3 Tablets and Mary Ruth’s Vegan Vitamin D3 Gummies. Both of these are high quality, and the Mary Ruth’s gummies are tasty and great for people who don’t like pills. For the gummies we recommend taking two per day, and for the tablets we recommend taking one or half of one per day for the optimal dose. They will last twice as long if you only take half a tablet, and you only need half a tablet for the desired effect, so it is highly recommended to take half.
4. Resveratrol
Why should you supplement Resveratrol?
Resveratrol is a compound found in blueberries, raspberries, peanuts, and other foods that can help cognitive function and memory. It is a good supplement for middle aged or elder people to take. In multiple studies published by the National Institute of Health, researchers found that short-term Resveratrol supplementation can help with fatigue, and long-term Resveratrol supplementation can help with memory retention and the connection between the hippocampus and other parts of the brain. The hippocampus is a part of the brain that plays a role in memory and learning, so a strong neuronal connection to it is very important.
How should you supplement Resveratrol?
Though Resveratrol is found in many common foods, you cannot get enough resveratrol from just food to activate the cognitive benefits. We recommend taking capsules or gummies to get your daily value of Resveratrol.
What brands are good for Resveratrol?
We recommend the Vitamin Shoppe’s Reservie Trans-Resveratrol Capsules. It is made from vegetable cellulose instead of gelatin so it is vegan and it is high quality. Though the serving size is 500mg, we recommend taking 1000-2000mg, which is 2-4 capsules per day. This dose will provide the benefits found in studies better than 500mg will.
Depression and Anxiety
*Note that these are not approved treatments for depression or anxiety; if you are experiencing severe depression, anxiety, or suicidal thoughts seek professional treatment.
- L-Theanine
Why should you supplement L-Theanine?
L-Theanine can improve sleep and help with anxiety and depression. Even if you haven’t been diagnosed with depression or anxiety it can still help you feel better generally. Everyone has experienced depression, anxiety, and sleeplessness in their life and this can help day-to-day with those things. In a study published in the National Library of Medicine researchers found that after 4 weeks of L-Theanine supplementation people rated themselves as less depressed and anxious and reported significantly better sleep compared to the placebo group.
How should you supplement L-Theanine?
L-Theanine is found in green tea and black tea as well as in several types of mushroom. It is recommended that you get your daily value either through tea or through a tablet. Drinking tea is a great way to get L-Theanine because tea contains caffeine which also improves cognitive function and can help with depression and anxiety. Caffeine and L-Theanine are a great pair to get your brain ready for your day. It is very unlikely that you will be able to get your daily value just from tea because you would have to drink 8 cups or more, so we recommend taking a supplement by itself or in combination with tea.
What are the best brands of L-Theanine supplements?
We recommend The Vitamin Shoppe L-Theanine Tablets. These tablets are unflavored and vegan, and they contain 100mg of L-Theanine (daily value 100-400mg). They are high quality and fairly inexpensive, and contain 120 servings per bottle at 30 dollars, though if you take 400mg per day it’s only 30 servings. There is also a 200mg per tablet bottle that contains 120 tablets for 40 dollars. If you take 400mg per day, that bottle will last you 60 days, so it is less expensive.
Organic Health Wave 