Feeding Better Brain Health

The link between diet and mental health is clear—our brains cannot operate without adequate foods and nutrients supplied across the life cycle. There is no question that adequate nutrition is required for brain health. But whether we can enhance that relationship with any supplemental nutrients or macronutrient shifts remains unclear. Rather than review the broad topic, we pose a series of questions and answers in this area to stimulate your thinking.

What are consumers’ expected brain benefits from food and supplements? 

Consumers are increasingly interested in the relationship between food and brain health and are willing to modify their diets to enhance cognitive ability. Consumer surveys show a growing interest in dietary patterns, functional foods and beverages, and dietary supplements to improve or maintain brain health. The global brain health supplements market was valued at $8.6 billion in 2022 and is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 13.3% from 2023 to 2030 (Young et al. 2024).

Consumers are interested in improving cognition but also in nutritional and other aids that help with mental health challenges. The 2023 U.S. Food and Health Survey indicated that the top-sought benefits were increased energy (40% of survey respondents); improved sleep (27%); improved brain functioning such as memory, focus, and cognition (25%); and emotional/mental health (24%). Providing scientific substantiation of brain health benefits with reliable evidence from controlled human clinical trials is required by the Federal Trade Commission. There are validated cognitive performance tests of memory, language, visuospatial ability, executive function, and attention, but these measures do not easily translate into the expectations of consumers for brain health benefits (de Jager et al. 2014).

Young et al. (2024) combined focus group transcript review using reflexive thematic analysis and a multidisciplinary expert panel exercise to evaluate the applicability of cognitive performance tools/tasks for substantiating the specific cognitive benefits expected by consumers. The researchers aimed to understand how consumers comprehend the potential benefits of nutrition for brain health, as well as to determine the alignment between consumers’ desired brain benefits and validated tests and tools.

They developed a “Consumer Taxonomy of Cognitive and Affective Health in Nutrition Research,” which describes the cognitive and affective structure from the consumer’s perspective. The experts agreed that validated tests exist for some consumer benefits, including focused attention, sustained attention, episodic memory, energy levels, and anxiety. They found that prospective memory, flow, and presence represented novel benefits that require the development and validation of new tests and tools.

Ultimately, there is a need to close the gap between science and consumers’ expectations for the results of consuming foods and nutrients and brain health outcomes. Scientific substantiation for brain health benefits is challenging and will continue to cause conflicts between marketing claims and risk of overstating brain health benefits of dietary supplements, foods, and nutrients.

Are there shifts in macronutrient composition that show promise in brain health?

Breast milk provides 50% of its calories as lipid and is also rich in dietary cholesterol. This suggests that the developing brain prefers lipids as an energy source over carbohydrates or protein. Dietary reference intakes (DRIs) across the lifecycle recommend higher levels of lipids in children to support growth and development.

We appreciate that lipids are a concentrated source of energy and that lipid-containing compounds are precursors to chemical messengers. Lipids and especially polar lipids are important for cognition due to their abundance in the brain (Luque-Uria et al. 2024). Milk fat globule membrane is a source of polar lipids and is finding increasing interest as bioactive molecules that could have a role in cognitive health, especially for seniors. Phospholipids and sphingolipids are also interesting polar lipids that may have brain health properties.

Whether certain fatty acids are more important for brain health remains under study. Researchers recently reviewed the relationship between omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) and depression (Dyali et al. 2025). They examined randomized controlled trials conducted between May 2022 and May 2024 using omega-3 PUFAs for treatment of depression. Higher doses (> 1 g/day) of eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) improved measures of depression, particularly in major depressive disorder (MDD) with elevated inflammation markers, comorbid cardiovascular disease, late-life onset, and children and adolescent populations.

They found that improvements in depressive symptoms were associated with increases in omega-3 PUFA-derived anti-inflammatory and lipid mediators. As adjuvant treatment, omega-3 PUFAs have potential benefits in mood, cognitive and metabolic function, kynurenine and serotonin pathways, and alterations in corticolimbic functional connectivity. The authors concluded that while evidence suggests promise, particularly for high-dose EPA and in inflammatory MDD subtypes, more research is needed to establish optimal dosing regimens, treatment duration, and patient subgroups most likely to benefit.

It has long been known that high fat diets can treat epilepsy and seizures. A recent review considered the effects of ketogenic diets on neuropsychiatric disorder (Yousufzai et al. 2025). A total of 30 studies were reviewed on a range of neuropsychiatric disorders, including global developmental delay, childhood autism, attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder symptoms, psychotic symptoms, bipolar and related disorders, depressive disorder symptoms, anxiety symptoms, eating disorders, substance-related and additive disorders, major and mild neurocognitive disorders and seizure disorders. They concluded that the ketogenic diet may serve as a promising therapeutic intervention for various neuropsychiatric disorders.

However, the evidence is heterogeneous but promising. Since the ketogenic diet can reduce seizures, interest in the diet for treating conditions such as Alzheimer’s disease (AD), depression, and schizophrenia has emerged, according to a recent study (Ruskin et al. 2025). The authors suggest that the ketogenic diet improves cognition, sociability and perseverative behaviors, and may help with depression.

High-fat, ketogenic diets are outside the scope of usual dietary guidance with the Acceptable Macronutrient Distribution Range for dietary fats ranging from 20% to 35% of total calories. It is likely that interest in brain health will move toward higher-fat diets, which, of course, is inconsistent with current Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommendations for reducing intake of dietary fats, particularly saturated fats.

Are there shifts in micronutrient intake that show promise in brain health?

All essential vitamins and minerals must be provided to support brain development and brain health. Choline is often overlooked in this discussion because it has only been recently included in the DRI recommendations. Choline is an essential nutrient for proper liver, muscle, and brain functions as well as for lipid metabolism and cellular membrane composition and repair (Wallace et al. 2020). Humans can produce small amounts of choline, but most individuals need to consume this nutrient through the diet to prevent deficiency. Both the American Academy of Pediatrics and American Medical Association support the importance of maternal choline intake during pregnancy and lactation and recognize that failure to provide choline during the first 1,000 days post-conception may result in lifelong deficits in brain function despite subsequent nutrient repletion.

Choline is widely distributed in foods, but is particularly high in animal products, especially egg, salmon, milk, and chicken liver. Select plant foods such as cruciferous vegetables and beans provide about 10% of the daily intake of choline. As consumers turn to more plant-based diets, there is concern that choline will continue to be consumed below recommended levels.

There is continuing interest in human milk oligosaccharides (HMOs) and their role in gut-brain axis modulation and neurologic development (Falsaperla et al. 2024). HMOs significantly influence the neonatal gut-brain axis. HMOs alter gut microbiota composition and enhance neurotransmitter production, which is critical for brain development. 2’-fucosyllactose has been shown to support cognitive development by fostering beneficial gut bacteria that produce essential short-chain fatty acids. These findings have increased interest in adding HMOs to infant formula and toddler foods.

Are any dietary changes helpful in the prevention or treatment of Alzheimer’s Disease?

With our aging population, our ability to prevent AD or treat it with dietary interventions is critical for public health. A recent review found a positive association between dietary diversity and cognitive function in older adults (Kheirouri and Alizadeh 2025). Higher dietary diversity was associated with good memory (n=3) and lower risk of cognitive decline (n=19), dementia (n=3), and AD (n=1). The authors concluded that sustaining a diverse diet among older people may help maintain cognitive function and that dietary diversity represents a promising clinical avenue for mitigating cognitive decline associated with diverse brain disorders, potentially preventing or attenuating deterioration.

Researchers also have examined the efficacy and safety of nutritional supplements used as micronutrient supplementation to moderate the progression of AD (Gualitieri et al. 2025). The review paper considered 54 relevant articles, including 53 reviews and one mini-review. The authors concluded that the growing body of evidence suggests that some supplements may help reduce cognitive decline, inflammation, and target mechanisms behind AD. Some studies found positive effects from specific regimens, such as curcumin (800 mg/day), omega-3 fatty acids (2 g/day), and resveratrol (600 mg/day). Other supplements with some data included phosphatidylserine, multi-nutrient formulations, probiotics, vitamin E, and melatonin. The conclusion was that inconsistent findings and gaps in dosage and safety data highlight the need for rigorous, large-scale trials.

Baby Steps, Healthy Brains

Despite the interest in nutrition and brain health, it is challenging to document that any nutrient even at excessive intakes has a significant effect on brain health. We must assume that breast milk composition is ideal for the developing human brain, so the high percentage of dietary fats, especially saturated fats and cholesterol in human milk, needs to be duplicated in infant formulas. Breast milk is also rich in oligosaccharides which are known to alter the gut microbiome and increase production of bifidobacteria and lactobacillus, thought to enhance immunity. Nutrients in breast milk are much more bioavailable than in infant formula, so there is a need to supplement formula with important nutrients. Fatty acids that are linked to brain health continue to be discovered and promoted. Support for DHA and EPA in infant and toddler feeding is high, but difficult to study and support with clinical trials.

Brain health claims are difficult to substantiate with our current scientific literature, but providing the essential nutrients known to improve brain health should be supported across the life cycle.ft