How to Increase Brain Functions With Vitamins

A healthy and nutritious diet is an important factor in brain development, according to Sean Brotherson, family science specialist at North Dakota State University. Keep the brain healthy by eating a nutrient-rich diet that provides essential brain vitamins and minerals. The website Brain Health & Puzzles states that these brain vitamins cannot be made by the body alone. They have to be found in the food you eat. They aid with brain functions such as improved memory, concentration and mood, so enhance a flagging brain by knowing which vitamins are needed and in what quantity.

Ensure your diet is full of foods that provide the vitamin B complex, especially those that contain vitamin B12 and vitamin B6. According to The Diet Channel website, these vitamins help manufacture and release neurotransmitters, upon which the brain relies to communicate messages of hunger, sleep and mood, while vitamin B itself helps spatial awareness and memory. Ensure your diet is rich in spinach and other dark leafy greens, as well as broccoli, asparagus, potatoes, bananas, strawberries, melons, lentils, chili peppers, liver oil, liver, turkey, tuna, black beans and other legumes, citrus fruits and soybeans. The recommended daily dosage of vitamin B complex is 300 milligrams.

Arm your brain with the appropriate levels of vitamins C and E. Both these vitamins are antioxidants -- nutrients that defuse the harmful effects of free radicals. The Brain & Mind website states that the brain consists mainly of fatty acids, making it susceptible to the oxidation damage caused by free radicals. Free radicals can destroy brain cells, leading to memory loss and, in worst cases, dementia. Brain & Mind goes on to say that vitamin E maximizes brain functioning by aiding good circulation of blood to the brain. Oils such as palm, corn, sunflower and olive are good sources, as are nuts, sunflower seeds, kiwi fruit, fish and peanut butter. The recommended daily dose of vitamin E is 15 milligrams. Most fruit, vegetables and plant contain vitamin C. The recommended daily dose is 90 milligrams.

Expose your skin to the sun for at least 15 to 30 minutes, three times a week to allow your body to synthesize enough vitamin D for healthy brain functioning. According to Robert J. Przybelski, doctor and research scientist at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, "vitamin D activates and deactivates enzymes in the brain and the cerebrospinal fluid that are involved in neurotransmitter synthesis and nerve growth." Neuroscientist David Llewellyn of the University of Cambridge conducted a study which assessed vitamin D levels in more than 1,700 men and women from England, aged 65 or older. He found that the lower the level of vitamin D, the lower the level of mental performance. Foods such as milk, soy milk and cereal grains have been fortified with adequate levels of vitamin D.