This Week’s Top Stories from Harvard Health

Foods linked to better brainpower

Just as there is no magic pill to prevent cognitive decline, no single almighty brain food can ensure a sharp brain as you age. Nutritionists emphasize that the most important strategy is to follow a healthy dietary pattern that includes a lot of fruits, vegetables, legumes, and whole grains. Try to get protein from plant sources and fish and chose healthy fats, such as olive oil or canola, rather than saturated fats.

Get your copy of A Guide to Cognitive Fitness

In this Special Health Report, Harvard Medical School doctors share a six-step program that can yield important and lasting results. Together these “super 6” can strengthen your intellectual prowess, promote your powers of recall, and protect the brain-based skills that are essential for full, rewarding, and independent living. From simple and specific changes in eating to ways to challenge your brain, this is guidance that will pay dividends for you and your future.

Going Mediterranean to prevent heart disease

There is a mountain of high-quality research supporting a Mediterranean-style diet as the best diet for our cardiovascular health. But what does this diet actually look like, why does it work, and how can we adopt it into our real lives? The Mediterranean diet is not a fad. It is a centuries-old approach to meals, traditional to the countries bordering on the Mediterranean Sea. The bulk of the diet consists of colorful fruits and vegetables, plus whole grains, legumes, nuts and seeds, fish and seafood, with olive oil and perhaps a glass of red wine.

Additional News from Harvard Health Publishing

Bad breath: What causes it and what to do about it

5-minute fixes for better health

Low-dose aspirin and ovarian cancer risk

A Guide to Cognitive Fitness

Featured content:

•	Cognitive fitness: Your No. 1 health goal
•	How cognitive function is shaped over a lifetime
•	STEP 1: Eat a plant-based diet
•	STEP 2: Exercise regularly
•	STEP 3: Get enough sleep
•	... and more!