Your Brain on Food: The Science of Eating for Better Memory

11 May 2025

8 Min Read

Ms Chew Lye Yee (Academic Contributor)

IN THIS ARTICLE

Contributed by Ms Chew Lye Yee, whose research explores nutritional composition and bioactive compounds in food, with a focus on nutraceuticals and functional foods. She can be reached at lyeyee.chew@taylors.edu.my.

Every day, your brain sorts through loads of information—from what your teacher said in class to what you scrolled past on your phone. But while you're trying to remember homework or cram for exams, have you ever stopped to think about what your brain actually needs to function optimally?

What’s Really Going on in Your Brain

Even though your brain is small compared to your other organs, it uses up around 20% of the energy your body takes in every day. That energy doesn’t just help you stay awake in class—it’s essential for staying focused, solving problems, and remembering important things, like what you revised for your exam or where you left your student ID. To work properly, your brain needs a steady flow of other nutrients too, especially from healthy foods.

_{When you’re deeply focused—like during revision—your brain channels energy to help you concentrate, leaving less for everything else. That’s why you might miss someone talking to you or forget something obvious. This is known as inattentional blindness.}

Brain-Boosting Foods: What to Eat to Stay Sharp

You don’t need expensive imported superfoods to help your brain stay sharp. In fact, many of the foods you currently eat—or buy every day at the supermarket or pasar malam—are packed with nutrients that support memory, focus, and learning. Here are some brain foods, especially during exam season:

Fatty Fish and Omega-3-Rich Foods

Try: Salmon, sardines, mackerel, walnuts, and chia seeds

These foods are rich in healthy fats that support the growth and repair of brain cells, help strengthen communication between them, and reduce inflammation. Including these in your meals regularly can promote long-term brain health and memory retention.

Opt for fish prepared with healthier cooking methods like steaming, grilling, or poaching. Add a creative twist to your meals by incorporating nutrient-rich walnuts and chia seeds—blend them into smoothies, stir them into oatmeal, or sprinkle over yoghurt for a wholesome boost.

_{Fatty fish such as salmon is especially important during your teen years, when your brain is still developing and shaping how you learn, think, and make decisions.}

Fruits with a Memory Boost

Try: Guava, papaya, dragon fruit, mangosteen

These colourful local fruits are packed with antioxidants that help protect your brain cells from damage and inflammation caused by oxidative stress. Take guava, for example—it’s loaded with vitamin C, offering even more than an orange!

Antioxidants such as carotenoids (natural pigments that give fruits their vibrant yellow, orange, and red colours), betalains (the red pigments found in red-fleshed dragon fruit), and vitamins C and E may help slow memory decline over time.

Fruits are also rich in essential vitamins and minerals that support brain health. So, the next time you’re craving something sweet, reach for a piece of fruit—and try to enjoy a variety each day, if possible.

_{In fact, just one medium papaya can give you more than 200% of your daily vitamin C needs. However, you are encouraged to vary your fruit selection and avoid over-consuming any single type.}

Local Greens for Mental Clarity

Try: Bayam (local spinach), kangkung (water spinach), sawi (mustard greens)

Just like fruits, leafy greens are rich in vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants important for brain health. Folate or vitamin B9 tends to be more concentrated in certain vegetables, and formation of new cells. Eat leafy greens and their edible stems every day. Stir-fried bayam with garlic? That’s brain food.

_{Carotenoids are also found in spinach and other dark green leafy vegetables but their colours are masked by chlorophyll, the green pigment. If you're feeling a bit blur or moody during revision week, a plate of stir-fried bayam might be just what your brain needs to bounce back. Image Source: GardeningSG}

Steady Energy from Complex Carbs

Try: Brown rice, red rice, wholemeal bread, barley

Your brain runs on glucose—but it needs a steady supply, not the sugar highs and crashes from sweet drinks or kuih. Whole grains like brown rice and red rice are sources of complex carbohydrates that provide a more stable, sustained release of glucose, helping you stay focused longer during study sessions or exams.

_{Brown rice is a whole grain, it takes longer to digest due to the presence of fiber, keeping your blood sugar levels stable and helping you stay alert for longer.}

Memory-Fading Foods: The Hidden Culprits

Not all foods are friends with your brain. Some may actually make it harder to focus, think clearly, or remember what you studied. Let’s take a look at the common culprits that could be slowing you down without you even realising it.

Sugar Rush, Memory Crash

Refined sugars and processed foods—like sweets, sodas, cakes, pastries, and fast food—can cause your blood sugar to spike and crash.

Over time, eating too much of these foods has been linked to faster memory decline and weaker brain function. That sugary bubble tea might feel like a quick pick-me-up, but your brain could be paying the price later.

Fried Foods and Hidden Fats

Trans-fats, found in fried foods using vegetable shortening, processed snacks, and margarine, are another silent brain-drainer. Diet high in trans-fat and low in antioxidant increases the buildup of plaques in the blood vessels supplying blood to the brain and damage brain cells.

Deep fryers with hot bubbling boiling oil on restaurant kitchen

_{Regularly eating foods high in trans fats can raise your risk of memory problems and even conditions like dementia later in life. Think twice before reaching for that packet of keropok or deep-fried snack.}

Too Much Caffeine, Too Little Sleep

Energy drinks and extra-strong kopi may seem like your secret weapon during late-night revision marathons—but too much caffeine can overstimulate your brain and mess with your sleep.

And here’s the catch: your brain needs deep sleep to store and organise memories. So if you’re not sleeping well, all that studying might not stick as well as you think.

Food scientists can create functional foods and smart supplements to boost brain health in ageing adults, tackle nutrient deficiencies, and develop easy-to-eat, nutrient-rich meals to support digestion, cognition, and overall wellbeing.

— Ms Chew Lye Yee

Adopting a Memory-Friendly Diet

Improving your memory doesn’t have to mean following strict diets or cutting out all your favourite foods. The key is learning to eat in a way that supports your brain—consistently and sustainably.

Start with Small Changes

Big changes often start with simple swaps. Instead of reaching for sweets or crisps during revision, try snacking on walnuts, yogurts with chia seeds, or fresh fruits—they’re packed with nutrients and compounds that support brain function and won’t leave you crashing afterwards.

Stay Hydrated

Your brain relies on water to function properly. When you're even slightly dehydrated, you may feel tired, irritable, or struggle to concentrate—especially in class or during long study sessions. Drink six to eight glasses (or 1.5-2.0 liter) of plain water daily. At the same time, maintain fluid intake from other food sources such as soups, beverages, and juices, preferably low in sugar, salt, and fat.

_{Drink six to eight glasses of plain water a day, more if you're active or sweating a lot. Keep a water bottle with you and take small sips throughout the day.}

Practise BMV: Balance, Moderation, and Variety

Instead of focusing on just one ‘superfood,’ aim to build a plate that supports your brain every day. Follow the BMV rule:

Balance every meal with fruit, vegetable, cereal, fish/meat/legume, and milk.
Moderation means eating the right amount of food and not overdoing it—especially when it comes to sugary or fried options.
Variety refers to eating many different type of foods each day, which helps your brain get all the nutrients it needs.

An easy way to follow this is the Quarter-Quarter-Half plate method—commonly promoted by Malaysia’s Ministry of Health:

¼ plate of rice or other cereals (e.g. meehoon), wholegrain cereal-based products (e.g. wholegrain bread), or tubers (e.g. sweet potato)
¼ plate of fish, poultry, meat, egg, or legumes (e.g. dhall, tempeh, soy beancurd)
½ plate of vegetables and fruits

Conclusion

Every food choice you make—what you eat, when you snack, what you skip—quietly shapes how your brain functions. Over time, these habits affect how clearly you think, how well you remember, and how confidently you perform.

So ask yourself: If your brain is what you feed it, what kind of mind are you building? One that’s sharp and future-ready, or one running on deficiency? You don’t need a perfect diet—just a bit of awareness, balance, and a few small steps in the right direction.

The food we eat doesn’t just feed the body—it fuels the mind, drives innovation, and impacts global health. If you're curious about the science behind it all, start your journey with the Foundation in Science, and progress into the Bachelor of Food Science—becoming part of the next generation transforming how the world eats, thinks, and thrives.

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