Are you getting enough of the right nutrients to support healthy cognitive function and improve memory? EatingWells quick guide to food solutions will show you how.

Prenatal
Go fish. Women who eat fatty fish, such as salmon, during their third trimester of pregnancy have babies who tend to perform better on cognitive tasks. Researchers think the omega-3 fatty acid DHA is needed during this time to build neurons and their connections.

Food solutions: Salmon and other fatty fish, DHA-fortified eggs and yogurt.

Infant/Baby
Add iron. By 5 or 6 months, babies have used up the iron stores they’re born with and need to get iron from food or supplements to support brain development.

Food solutions: Iron-fortified cereals.

Child/Teen
Morning fuel. School-aged children should start their day with low-glycemic-index breakfast foods.

Food solutions: Bran cereals, oatmeal or whole-wheat bagels.

Young Adult
Got iron? 10 percent of women are anemic, and new studies show that being even mildly iron-deficient affects learning, memory, and attention. Luckily, restoring iron levels to normal also restores cognitive function.

Food solutions: Dark leafy greens, beans, meat or soy.

Older Adult
Eat your antioxidants. People who eat more brightly colored fruits and leafy vegetables have less cognitive decline than those who don’t; antioxidants in produce may mop up free radicals and protect neurons from damage.

Food solutions: Berries and other fruits, greens and turmeric (which contains curcumin).

From www.eatingwell.com with permission.  © 2008 Eating Well Inc.

It’s good for the environment: Cacao (also called cocoa) is the seed of a rainforest tree, so growing it helps support endangered rainforest areas. And eating chocolate is not only good for the rainforest ecology, it can also be good for the farmers whose incomes depend on that land. “Ninety percent of cacao is grown by small family farms in rainforest areas,” says Frederick Schilling, founder of Dagoba Organic Chocolate. “So by default, it’s a sustainable crop.” Better yet, to ensure that family farmers are benefiting from your dollar, seek out chocolate labeled “fair trade certified.”

It’s good for your mood: Chocolate contains hundreds of different chemicals, some of which are thought to act like antidepressants on the brain. Eating chocolate stimulates the release of mood-affecting chemicals such as endorphins, phenylethylamine and serotonin. These feel-good chemicals may also explain why women often crave chocolate when they are suffering from PMS. Serotonin levels often drop in the days before menstruation begins, so eating chocolate can help boost those levels and improve one’s mood.

It packs more antioxidants than a bowl of blueberries: Cocoa beans — the primary building block of chocolate — are a rich source of antioxidants. Specifically, they contain flavanols, antioxidants found in various plants that work to protect the body from damaging molecules called free radicals. These flavanols (which are also found in various berries, fruits, vegetables, red wine and tea) have also been shown to have beneficial effects on the cardiovascular system — especially reducing blood pressure and helping to promote healthy blood flow.

It’s not bad for your cholesterol: Thanks to those same antioxidant flavanols, chocolate has been shown to actually help raise HDL (the good cholesterol) and lower LDL (the bad one), which, in turn, helps prevent plaque from building up in the arteries. Perfectly pure cocoa is a cholesterol-free food — of course, the addition of milk and cocoa butter will add artery-clogging fat to chocolate.

It actually contains nutrients: The cocoa bean is rich in vitamins B1, B2 and D, as well as the essential minerals magnesium and iron. While no one is suggesting that you substitute a chocolate bar for your daily multivitamin, it’s nice to know that the treat isn’t made up of entirely empty calories.

It won’t give you a caffeine buzz: Cocoa does indeed contain some caffeine, but you’ll have to eat quite a bit to give yourself the jolt of a single-shot latte. An ounce of milk chocolate contains only about 6 milligrams of caffeine, while an ounce of dark chocolate contains about 20 milligrams. By comparison, a cup of brewed coffee can have up to 120 milligrams and even an average can of cola packs about 35 milligrams of caffeine.

It can be light, dark and many shades in between: More and more chocolate bar labels proclaim the percentage of cocoa in the bar. “That percentage is a general indicator of how rich and dark the chocolate will be,” says Schilling. “The higher the percentage, the darker the chocolate.” A higher percentage of cocoa will also mean that the chocolate contains a larger amount of antioxidants, since the cocoa powder is what gives chocolate its antioxidant punch.

Sally Wadyka is a freelance writer based in Boulder, Colorado, who specializes in health, nutrition and fitness. Her work has been featured in such publications as Shape, Real Simple, The New York Times and Runner’s World, as well as MSN. When not writing, she can be found doing activities that feed her body, mind and soul such as hiking, trail running, rock climbing and skiing in the Rockies.

People’s responses to stress differ; some can multitask a lot without any adverse effects, while others become overwhelmed, says Diane Miller, head of the chronic stress and neurotoxicology laboratory at the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health. Among those who respond strongly, two “emergency hormones,” adrenaline and cortisol, are secreted at elevated levels to prepare the body for defensive action. Adrenaline causes the heart and respiration rates to speed up and sharpens the senses, in a “fight or flight” response. Cortisol causes the liver to release extra glucose for energy, Dr. Miller says; it also can “damp down” your immune system, a response that can be helpful in marshalling needed energy short-term, but that can jeopardize your health if it continues too long.

But not all fruits and vegetables are affected equally (or receive the same amount of chemical treatment). Bananas, for example, are perfectly safe in their conventional (less expensive) form, thanks to a protective peel.

So which conventional fruits and vegetables are the most toxic? The Environmental Working Group, a research firm in Washington, D.C., recently tested the pesticide levels of 44 kinds of produce to find out.

10 most toxic conventionally grown fruits and vegetables (in order of pesticide toxicity levels):

Peaches

Apples

Sweet Bell Peppers (11 different pesticides found on a single pepper)

Celery

Nectarines

Strawberries

Cherries

Lettuce

Grapes

Pears (86 percent of samples tested with detectable pesticides)
10 least toxic conventionally grown fruits and vegetables (in descending order of pesticide toxicity levels):

Cabbage

Bananas

Kiwi

Asparagus (7 percent of samples tested with detectable pesticides)

Sweet Peas

Mangoes

Pineapples

Sweet Corn

Avocado

Onions (1 pesticide found on a single onion)

Source: Shopper’s Guide to Pesticides in Produce, Fifth Edition, The Environmental Working Group