9 Foods That Supercharge Your Brain Health – Eat These Daily!

Hey, it's J.J. here. You know, I've been talking about environmental toxins forever and laundry detergent is a sneaky one. A lot of them contain harsh chemicals like dyes, preservatives, and even UV brighteners. Those brighteners don't actually clean anything. They just coat fabric so your eyes think things look whiter or brighter. That's more chemicals I don't want on my family sheets or skin. And if you've got sensitive skin or allergies around the house, this can be a big problem. That's what got my attention about Earth Breeze. It looks like a dryer sheet, but it's actually laundry detergent. You toss one in the washer and that's it. No pouring, no mess, and no heavy plastic jug. Their packaging is lightweight cardboard, which helps reduce plastic waste. And if you choose the fragrance free option, it's gentle, hypoallergenic, non irritating and non sensitizing. I really like how simple it is and how fresh and clean everything comes out without those unnecessary chemicals. Right now you can try Earth Breeze for up to 40% off with free gifts@earthbreeze.com virgin that's earthbreeze.com virgin for up to 40% off plus free gifts on your first order. Hey JJ here. Every year around this time, I get the urge to make my home feel a little extra special. A space that feels just like the holidays.

And Wayfair is my go to for that.

Think cozy textures, twinkly decor, warm lighting.

And all those little touches that make.

You want to curl up with a good book and a blanket. You'll usually find my book stacked on a great little end table I got from Wayfair, proof that function and style can coexist.

Now, whether you're adding last minute hosting.

Essentials, picking out gifts for loved ones, or refreshing your decor for the season, Wayfair makes it easy with beautiful finds, great prices and fast delivery. And when the holidays wind down, Wayfair has everything you need to tuck it all neatly away. Smart storage solutions for every room from the kitchen to the closet. Plus, with free shipping for any order over $35, that's fast delivery and a total peace of mind.

It's the perfect mix of joy and.

Order, bringing the holiday spirit in, then storing it all with EAs ready to make your home feel as good as it looks. Get organized, refreshed and ready for the holidays. For way less, head to Wayfair.com right now to shop all things home. Wayfair Every style, Every home that's W A Y f a I r.com this.

Episode is brought to you by Pacifico Here's a story you've probably never heard. Legend has it, decades ago, a couple surfers went down to Mexico in search of epic swells, but they found something unexpected instead of it was still crisp, lively, and smooth, but it had nothing to do with waves. It was Pacifico, a delicious Mexican lager. It's like it was brewed to be discovered. Pacifico find your own way 21 Discover responsibly Pacifico Clara Beer imported by Crown Import, Chicago, IL.

I'm JJ Virgin, PhD dropout.

Sorry, mom turned four time New York Times bestselling author.

Yes, I'm a certified Nutrition Specialist, Fitness hall of Famer, and I speak at health conferences and trainings around the globe. But I'm driven by my insatiable curiosity and love of science to keep asking questions, digging for answers, and sharing the information I uncover with as many people as I can. And that's why I created the well Beyond 40 podcast to synthesize and simplify the science of health into actionable strategies to help you thrive. In each episode, we'll talk about what's working in the world of wellness, from personalized nutrition and healing your metabolism to healthy aging and prescriptive fitness. Join me on the journey to better health so you can love how you look and feel right now and have the energy to play full out at 100.

Hey, it's J.J. here. Now let's be honest. The holidays are basically a financial ambush. Travel, hosting gifts, surprise holiday school things. Suddenly you're wondering how December turned into a spending spree. If you want to keep your finances under control this holiday season, you need to be using Monarch. It's rated the Wall Street Journal's best budgeting app of 2025. Monarch is the all in one personal finance tool that brings your entire financial life together in one clean interface on your laptop or your phone. What really grabbed my attention is how fast those little holiday expenses pile up with Monarch. Seeing everything in one place makes it a lot harder to accidentally overspend. And honestly, I appreciate anything that keeps me from starting January with a money hangover. You'll love exploring the holiday spending category. Imagine how good it will feel to actually see what's happening before your credit card statement does that whole dramatic reveal thing. Monarch basically shows you exactly where the money is going in real time, and that level of clarity could change everything, right? Don't let financial opportunity slip through the cracks. Use the code virgin@monarch.com in your browser for half off your first year. That's 50% off your first year@monarch.com with code Virgin.

Some people think nature is like this, but actually it's like this. Mother Nature is not all sunshine and rainbows. Nature can be hotter than a sauna and colder than an arctic skinny dip. That's why Colombia engineers everything we make for anything nature can throw at you. Columbia engineered for whatever.

Are you tired of feeling sluggish and mentally foggy throughout the day? Okay, here's the deal. Don't chalk it up to age. It has a lot to do with what's on the end of your fork, which is awesome because you can change this. You can literally supercharge your brain and boost your brain power with the right foods. Starting with one of my most favorites of all time that I eat at least twice a week. And that is wild salmon. Wild salmon is a rock star because of two very specific things. Besides the fact that it's got protein, right? It's got omega 3s and astaxanthin. So omega 3s, especially EPA and DHA, are fundamental for brain health. Omega 3s support good cognitive function, they support memory, they support mood regulation, and they help maintain the structural integrity of the brain cell membranes, which means you're going to have good communication between the brain cells and they also protect against age related cognitive decline. Now, the other one that I mentioned was astaxanthin. So you got the fish, the salmon, they are swimming up top of the water and the sun beats down on them. And the astaxanthin is how they protect themselves. It is what makes them pink. It's an antioxidant. It crosses the blood brain barrier and it helps reduce inflammation and it also reduces the risk of neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer's. Also, little hack for you is you can use this. It can help you protect your skin from the sun. Bonus points. All right, the next one that I eat multiple times a week is grass fed and finished beef. This can do lots of good things for mood and for depression and even for longevity. Although I know we're not talking about that here. So grass fed beef is what you want, especially grass fed and finished. That's super important, okay? Because all beefs grass fed. It's the grass finish that's mission critical. And what you want is one that's raised without added hormones and antibiotics because those can of course impair your gut microbiome. What's great about grass fed beef, it has a different fatty acid profile than grain fed Beef, it's got more Omega 3 to Omega 6. It's those big omega sixes that cows will get when they're eating things like corn that can contribute to inflammation, which of course then could be problematic for your mood and mental health as well. So grass fed beef has higher levels of omega 3s, especially compared to corn fed beef.

Right.

And mega threes, as I just said, are mission critical for your brain health and they can help reduce the risk of mood disorders like depression. The other thing about grass fed beef is it's a great source of nutrients like zinc and B vitamins, especially B12 and iron. And these nutrients are critical for optimal brain function and mood regulation. It also contains the amino acid tryptophan, which is a precursor to serotonin. And you've heard about serotonin, this is that one that's really helpful for having a happy, great mood. Next up are beets. So beets are something that if we could do every single day would be great, is you could incorporate some beets into your daily life, maybe keep some shredded that you can add into your salad, roast some, put them into your dinner. Beets are critical because they're rich in nitrates and nitrates help make nitric oxide. That is what's going to help enhance blood flow to the brain and can also help relax and dilate blood vessels. Improved blood flow is of course, super important. It's going to support cognitive function, including good memory and decision making. And beets also have these antioxidants called betalains and vitamin C. And these are protective to the brain cells from oxidative stress and inflammation, which also reduces the risk of cognitive decline. The other thing that beets have are they have vitamin B9 folate. And folate is essential for brain development and cognitive function. In fact, adequate folate intake is associated with a reduced risk of cognitive decline. Now, I've already talked about a couple of my favorites, wild salmon, grass fed beef. But here's one that if you said, okay, you're going on a desert island, what can you not live without? It'd be coffee. So coffee and tea are also helpful for your brain. Caffeine is a natural stimulate as it doesn't take a rocket scientist to know that that enhances alertness, concentration and mental clarity and can have mood enhancing effects because it increases the release of neurotransmitters like dopamine and serotonin. But independent of the caffeine, coffee also is loaded with antioxidants such as chlorogenic acid. In coffee and tea Also has egcg. And these help protect the brain cells from oxidative stress and inflammation. And speaking of green tea, green tea also has L Theanine. This is the calming amino acid. It promotes relaxation. And this is wild while you're relaxing, a mental alertness. So it gives you relaxation and alertness at the same time. Now, black tea contains compounds that can improve blood vessel function, potentially enhancing blood flow to the brain. Deep green leafies. Now, when I'm talking deep green leafies, I'm not talking romaine lettuce, I'm talking spinach and kale and Swiss chard. These are loaded with antioxidants, vitamin C and vitamin K and phytochemicals. And these are what are helping protect your brain cells from oxidative stress and inflammation. Again, supporting long term cognitive function. Plus, these are all rich in vitamin K. And vitamin K is involved in processes that enhance cognitive function and may reduce the risk of cognitive decline as you age. Plus, there are nitrates in these leafy greens that can help relax blood vessels and promote improved blood flow to the brain. They're also a great source of folate, vitamin B9, again critical for brain development and function. And some leafy greens, like spinach, contain small amounts of omega 3 fatty acids. Plus, all of these are rich in dietary fiber, which we know is super important for your gut health. And we're hearing more and more about that. Connection between gut health and brain health is one that you want to start adding into your diet, ideally a couple cups a day. Throw a cup into your smoothie, you won't even notice it. Get yourself a nice super greens blend. Next up, nuts and seeds. Now, there's a couple different types of omega 3s. There's Ala, EPA and DHA. We think of EPA and DHA from fish, which is fantastic. We get a couple little bit of omega 3s from meat, but we often don't realize we can get them from plants as well. It's a different source ala, but you'll get that from walnuts, from flaxseeds, from chia, so they're great anti inflammatories. Plus you also get antioxidants, especially vitamin E, and you get mono and polyunsaturated fats. And these fats are important for maintaining the structural integrity of brain cell membranes and ensuring efficient communication between the brain cells. Now, one other thing that's in nuts, especially almonds and pumpkin seeds, is magnesium. And magnesium supports brain health by promoting relaxation and reducing stress and anxiety. I've mentioned folate before. You're also going to get folate and B vitamins in your nuts and seeds. And of course, this is important for brain development, cognitive function. And then finally, you're getting some healthy fats in those nuts and seeds. And you're going to get some protein as well. Now, they're high in fat, but they are moderate in protein. They have some protein in there and that's going to be important for getting those amino acids that you need for neurotransmitter synthesis. And they're rich in fiber and really rich in fiber. And that's super important again for that gut brain connection. You're really helping the gut microbiome be optimized. Speaking of fiber, another food that's rich in fiber that I just love and I eat every single day are berries. Now you want to eat a variety of berries of all the different colors. So you get those antioxidants, those anthocyanins and flavonoids. This is important because this helps combat oxidative stress and inflammation, helps protect the brain cells from damage, which of course then reduce your risk of cognitive decline. And that high antioxidant content, these are serious powerhouses for antioxidants, may help slow the aging process and reduce the risk of neurodegenerative diseases, again, like Alzheimer's. Plus, berries have anti inflammatory properties. In fact, regular consumption of berries has been linked to improved memory and cognitive function and may delay age related memory loss and maintain mental sharpness. In fact, some studies suggest that compounds in berries can also enhance the blood flow to the brain, which is of course important because improved blood circulation supports cognitive performance, including attention and mental clarity. Now, berries also have vitamin C, especially ones like strawberries. Strawberries are a vitamin C powerhouse that can boost the mood by promoting the release of neurotransmitters like serotonin. These are one of the staples of my smoothies. And I eat blueberries by the handful every single day. And an easy way to get a lot of these foods, think about it. The seeds, the berries, the beef, you can do bone broth, protein. The deep green lees is by putting miniature loaded smoothies. So I've got a lot of these foods in my smoothie guide. There's over 60 recipes incorporating again, the greens, the berries, the protein, the nuts and the seeds@jjvirgin.com Loadedsmoothie. Grab it there. Now, beyond that, let's look at spices. Spices are like nature's supplements, right? And I think of spices. I always think first of turmeric, now curcumin. Is turmeric's active compound. It is a potent antioxidant and anti inflammatory agent. It may help delay or reduce the risk of neurodegenerative diseases. Again Alzheimer's and Parkinson's. It can also increase levels of bdnf, that's brain derived neurotrophic factor. That's something that we can get raised with exercise too. Hint hint. And this is a growth factor that promotes the growth and maintenance of brain cells. I will tell you my son who's had a traumatic brain injury, this is one of the first things that I put him on and had him on for the last decade. Curcumin can enhance mood by increasing the availability of serotonin and dopamine in the brain. And curcumin can also enhance blood vessel function and improve blood flow, which again supports cognitive performance and mental alertness. Now one more thing that I have been working into my diet are fermented foods. Fermented foods are rich in probiotics which are beneficial bacteria that promote a healthy gut microbiome. And emerging research highlights the strong connection between gut health and brain health. A balanced gut microbiome can possibly influence mood, cognition and brain function. And it can also help reduce systemic inflammation in the body. Now I talk about fermented foods and four other ways to support your gut in my free guide, five gut healing strategies for lasting Energy and weight loss which you can get@jjvirgin.com five ways and that's the number five. Now what happens when you ferment a food? When you ferment a food, you break down nutrients, you make them more bioavailable which can enhance the absorption of brain boosting nutrients like B vitamins and antioxidants, again critical for cognitive function. And then there's some fermented foods like kimchi and kefirs that contain gaba. And gaba is this calming neurotransmitter that helps, can help reduce anti reduce anxiety, can help promote good sleep and overall well being. And here's the thing, I wish I loved kimchi. In fact I even went to Korea this year and it's pretty tough to do. But see what you can get yourself doing on the daily or at least a couple times a week in eating fermented foods. We recently found a yogurt called Siggies that makes a plant based coconut yogurt with added protein that is absolutely delicious. So there are some great options out there, especially if you're dairy free. Now there's all sorts of different yogurts and fermented foods made out of nuts and seeds. So see what you can find that you love and bonus points if you go for the kimchi. Now here's the deal. Now you know what to eat, but you're also going to want to support yourself with a solid morning routine so you stay energized and mentally strong all day long. Watch this next video on the first three things you should do every morning for peak energy all day long.

Be sure to join me next time.

For more tools, tips and techniques you can incorporate into every everyday life to ensure you look and feel great and more importantly, that you're built to last.

And check me out on Instagram, Facebook.

YouTube and my website jjvirgin.com and make sure to follow my podcast so you don't miss a single episode@subscribetojay.com See you next time. Hey JJ here. And just a reminder that the well Beyond 40 podcast offers health, wellness, fitness and nutritional information that's designed for educational and entertainment purposes only. You should not rely on this information as a substitute for, nor does it replace professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. If you have any concerns or questions about your health, you should always consult with a physician or other healthcare professional. Make sure that you do not disregard, avoid or delay obtaining medical or health related advice from your healthcare professional because of something you may have heard on this show or read in our show notes. The use of any information provided on this show is solely at your own risk.

Hello listeners, this is Anne Boeckle, author, blogger and creator of the podcast what Should I Read next? Since 2016, I've been helping readers bring more joy and delight into their reading lives. Every week I tag all things Books and Reading with a guest and guide them in discovering their next reading. They share three books they love, one book they don't, and what they've been reading lately. And I recommend three titles they may enjoy reading next. Guests have said our conversations are like therapy, troubleshooting issues that have plagued their reading lives for years and possibly the rest of their lives as well. And of course, recommending books that meet the moment, whether they are looking for deep introspection to spur or encourage a life change or a frothy page turner to help them escape the stresses of work, school, everything. You'll learn something about yourself as a reader and you'll definitely walk away confident to choose your next read with a whole list of new books and authors to try. So join us each Tuesday for what Should I Read Next? Subscribe now Wherever you're listening to this podcast and visit our website. What should I readnextpodcast.com to find out more?