5 Cookbooks to Boost Your Brain Health
Cookbooks hold a special kind of possibility. Pages of stunning food photography and mouth-watering future dishes promise time well spent prepping, cooking, and, of course, eating. Opening one becomes a portal to deep nourishment—especially when the focus is on health and wellbeing.
The selection below offers just that: deeply nutritive meals, all with a specific focus on brain health. They offer scintillating ways to make meals with ingredients shown to reduce inflammation, support long-term cognitive function, and provide vital nutrients to the heart and blood vessels.
Now, one could argue that any cookbook is good for the brain, given that research shows that both reading and cooking are incredibly beneficial for cognitive and overall health. But we’re sticking to our brain-focused favorites for now—the ones we turn to time after time for meals that deliver nutrients and deliciousness in equal measure.
1
This Is Your Brain on Food: An Indispensable Guide to the Surprising Foods That Fight Depression, Anxiety, PTSD, OCD, ADHD, and More
By Uma Naidoo, MD
It’s no secret that all of us at The Sunday Paper turn to Dr. Uma Naidoo for her groundbreaking tips on nutritional cooking, beating seasonal depression, and deeply caring for ourselves. That’s because “Dr. Uma” is the pioneer in the field of nutritional psychiatry (she founded the first and only hospital-based Nutritional and Metabolic Psychiatry Service in the US). Simply put, Dr. Uma has changed our approach to food for the better. Her bestselling first book, This Is Your Brain on Food, offers a fascinating look at the mind-gut connection and the recipes that bolster the mind and reduce anxiety, depression, and more.
2
Feel Good Kitchen: 80 Plant-based Recipes to Boost Your Mood and Nourish Your Brain
By Amy Lanza
Take one look at the UK-based Instagram of vegan recipe developer and food stylist Amy Lanza, and you’ll see a rainbow of colors and textures in dishes that boast fresh vegetables and grains. The same goes for when you open her book Feel Good Kitchen, which features page after page of vegetable-forward, nutritionist-approved meals all focused on whole ingredients that Lanza says will care for your mind, mood, and spirit.
3
The Brain Health Kitchen: Preventing Alzheimer’s Through Food
by Annie Fenn, MD
In 2015, Board-Certified Obstetrician and Gynecologist Dr. Annie Fenn founded the Brain Health Kitchen, a cooking school focused on educating people about brain health and preventing cognitive decline through food and lifestyle. In the decade-plus since, Dr. Fenn’s offerings have grown into an online resource, an informational newsletter, and a stunning book that includes 100 simple recipes, anchored in colorful, bountiful dishes and “science bites” of healthy lifestyle wisdom.
4
The Blue Zones Kitchen: One Pot Meals: 100 Recipes to Live to 100
by Dan Buettner
Dan Buettner, best-selling author of The Blue Zones series, has dedicated much of his career to documenting the global places where people consistently live to or past 100 and sharing the recipes and lifestyle factors from each place. His research highlights areas with lower rates of depression, anxiety, and dementia. In his newest book, One Pot Meals, he gathers quick, nutrient-dense recipes inspired by his Blue Zones travels—most can be made in under 30 minutes and are focused on longevity, mental health, and vibrance.
5
Brain Food: The Surprising Science of Eating for Cognitive Power
by Lisa Mosconi, MD
Leading neuroscientist and brain health expert Dr. Lisa Mosconi delivers scientific insights and accessible wisdom to show how the brain can be easily damaged by a poor diet. Her insights focus on neuro-nutrition to embolden our mental capacities and “to thoroughly explore the power of prevention,” as she writes, by consuming the foods that literally replenish the brain and activate its cellular reactions. While this is more of a science-y, data-focused book, it contains many excellent and nourishing recipes.
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