We all probably know the benefits of omega-3 fatty acids, but do most of us know which are the best omega-3 foods for ADHD? Most of us when we think of omega 3s, we automatically think of fish. We have this immediate connection because fish do provide one of the best sources of omega-3s.
Fish options like salmon and mackerel provide some of the highest contents of omega-3s that you can find. While these fish might provide the best content, they nevertheless aren’t your only option. Other foods also can provide a good source of omega-3s as well.
This news might be good for those of us who might not be the biggest fans of fish to begin with. Even if you do happen to be a big fan of fish, if you don’t live on the coast or near a fresh fish market, you might not really eat fish all that often. This means that you probably want to try to get more omega-3s into your diet through other means.
One great way to get omega-3s includes through taking supplements. With supplements, you have many great options including ones offered by FastBraiin. Still, if you run low on supplements, or if you simply want to expand your diet more, what other options do you have for including omega-3s?
In this post, we want to briefly go over some of those other options. We want to provide you with a list of some of the best omega-3 foods for ADHD. You might already know about some of these while others of them might be new. They all, though, might be good options for additional things to consider including in your healthy ADHD diet plan.
Firm Tofu
As first on our list of the best omega-3 foods for ADHD we have tofu. If you haven’t been introduced to tofu, then you need to get out more. Tofu is probably the food most everyone loves to hate. That is unless you grew up eating it or come from a background tradition that consumes a lot of it.
Tofu originally comes from China. It is made from soybeans turned into soymilk. Someone producing tofu would take the soymilk and coagulate it into curds, which are then pressed together to form cakes or bars. With these bars, you then have created tofu.
While the texture of those soybean bars might turn some people off, tofu is actually quite versatile. You can use tofu in a lot of different dishes. Typically, it takes on the flavor of whatever you decide to cook with it. Many people even often use it as a meat replacement.
When looking for a tofu to use, though, keep in mind that you can find several varieties. The range of options varies on its firmness from soft tofu to very firm tofu. The best tofu especially for omega-3 content is firm tofu, as the more firm the tofu is the more soy content it has and the less water.
While not everyone loves the texture or consistency of tofu, for those who want to try it out more, you can find a variety of recipes online. For ideas on how to build tofu into your regular diet, try out some of the ideas at this link or in this post. Using a little bit of imagination and some spices and other flavors, you might find an appreciation for tofu after all.
Spinach
We all know that in general spinach is a very healthy food option. Did you happen to know though that spinach also happens to be one of the best omega-3 foods for ADHD? It’s true. Spinach provides a great source of omega-3s along with a host of other great health benefits.
An additional benefit of spinach includes that you can use it in a variety of ways. Spinach tastes great both raw and cooked. You can use it in your salad, on a sandwich, or in a number of dishes for any time of day.
We all recognize spinach on some level. We might not like it in particular or it might not be our favorite vegetable, but it’s a more familiar food that we would typically see almost every day. This familiarity makes spinach a natural choice when looking for options for foods with omega-3s.
If you happen to not be particularly fond of spinach by itself, you can even try it in a peanut butter or fruit smoothie. Other ingredients tend to mask the flavor of spinach while you still get its great health benefits. With everything considered, you have almost no reason to not start incorporating spinach into your diet today.
Walnuts
Another one of the best omega-3 foods for ADHD includes walnuts. Again, like spinach, most people tend to have some familiarity with walnuts. Though, you might not encounter walnuts as much in your regular daily diet.
For most people, you might find walnuts as a garnish on desserts or used in a brownie or cookie recipe. You can also find walnut butter options at some grocers along with almond and peanut butter. Rarely do people eat walnuts by themselves, but depending on your tastes, you might enjoy them as a snack without anything else.
Like many nuts, walnuts provide a range of health benefits. Walnuts, in particular, provide a significant source of omega-3s along with other nutrients such as manganese and biotin. Walnuts also have some unique and rare antioxidants, and studies show that they can also provide benefits for those with heart disease.
With so many benefits from walnuts, it just makes sense to try and incorporate them as much as possible in your diet. You can eat them with desserts, but you can also find new and creative uses for them. To find ideas for getting started check out the recipes at this link.
Fontina Cheese
If you really like cheeses, you might already have some familiarity with the next of our best omega-3 foods for ADHD. The next item on our list is fontina cheese. Produced originally in Italy and considered a specialty specific to the Aosta valley in Italy, fontina is possibly not a cheese you might see everyday but one that you should consider eating.
While you might not use or see fontina cheese on a regular basis, it nonetheless could provide a great option for eating or cooking. Many cooks like or prefer fontina cheese because it has a firm texture and melts well. Additionally, it has a flavor that makes it very suitable for use in desserts.
As with the other items on our list, though, fontina cheese also happens to provide a good source of omega-3s. In general, cheese and dairy do have some negative health benefits to be aware of. This shouldn't dissuade you altogether from eating fontina cheese, though. While you shouldn’t eat cheese exclusively or too much on a regular basis, you nonetheless should have it in your diet.
Eaten in moderation, fontina cheese could provide a good addition to your diet as well as provide a great source of omega-3s. For ideas for recipes that include fontina check out the ideas found here.
Grass Fed Beef
While you shouldn’t see grass fed beef as a one-to-one replacement for fish, it nonetheless still ranks as one of the best omega-3 foods for ADHD. This might come as good news to some beef fans. In general, fish and other lean meats provide much more benefits to your overall diet. Beef, in general, tends to provide little nutrition and a much higher fat content than most other meat choices.
Nonetheless, even if you avoided most beef, you might still want to have a good hamburger every once in a while. In those instances, you would benefit yourself more by going for natural grass fed beef over the alternative. While this choice might cost more, it provides a larger amount of omega-3s to your diet while being a leaner meat choice overall.
While we don’t recommend eating beef every day, you can still enjoy it every now and then in the right quantities. Look for grass fed options at your local supermarket. When you go out to eat even, more and more restaurants provide a grass fed option. Do your research beforehand to find out which ones and give them a try. You’ll get a slight boost of omega-3s for your day, while still enjoying your hamburger.
Wild Rice
For the next entry on our list of the best omega-3 foods for ADHD we have wild rice. Wild rice contains a pretty good amount of omega-3 content. One reason it has a high content is because it’s a grass and not actually rice, as it’s name would suggest. As a result, similar to why grass fed beef contains omega-3s, wild rice as a type of grass also has a relatively high content.
While many types of rice can provide health benefits especially brown rice, none of them provide the omega-3 content of wild rice. We would recommend keeping rice in your diet, but simply adding in wild rice to spice up your regular routine. Any recipe you normally cook with rice you can substitute in wild rice. White rice comes high in carbohydrates. Replacing with wild rice can lower your carbohydrate intake.
If you want to try new recipes just for wild rice, you can certainly find options. For good ideas to start with, check out the suggestions at this link. Check out your local specialty grocers or look online to order some to get a start with wild rice today.
Seaweed
Sushi lovers will like the last item on our list of the best omega-3 foods for ADHD: seaweed. While not the only ingredient, seaweed wraps make up a key part of a sushi roll. Similar to many leafy vegetables such as spinach, which we have already covered, seaweed also provides great health benefits in general. Additionally, though, it does provide a good source of omega-3 fatty acids.
While you probably won’t ever eat seaweed by itself or in a salad, you can nevertheless still find ways to incorporate it into your diet. Sushi rolls provide one great option. Other Japanese dishes also provide a different take on seaweed and how to use it.
Seaweed doesn’t contain enough omega-3s to make you want to include it all the time. Still, it can provide an extra lift when you need just a little bump in your omega-3 input. It also can help you get a little more creative with your regular diet choices. For more ideas on incorporating seaweed, you can check out the ideas in this article.
Incorporating the Best Omega-3 Foods for ADHD into your Regular Diet
If you deal with ADHD on a regular basis then you really should do what you can to make sure you get more omega-3s into your diet. As we’ve mentioned, one great way to increase your omega-3 intake is through natural supplements. Here at Fastbraiin, we have several great supplement options we offer and would greatly encourage that you look into them.
Nonetheless, we still believe that a healthy well balanced diet makes a difference in managing ADHD well. This means that you shouldn’t just turn to a pill to “fix” your issues. Rather you need to focus on living a balanced life and eating a healthy balanced diet.
To have a healthy diet for ADHD management, you should incorporate foods with omega-3s among other things. This means that you should eat fish regularly, once a week if you can. This also means that you should work to include some of the best omega-3 foods for ADHD into your regular recipes.
Looking through our list you might think initially that you have no idea of where to start to incorporate these foods. In a way that speaks to our fast food, quick eating culture. To help your diet, though, you really should start trying to cook more. A great way to help with this is to try to find new and adventurous recipes that incorporate some of the best omega-3 foods for ADHD. For ideas for some recipes, check out the list here or at this link.
Use your imagination and have fun with it. Through trying new food and recipes, you might find something you like and help with your ADHD management along the way. Use this list and the tips in this article to start finding new food possibilities today.
