Many forget. You and I forget things everyday big and small. Sometimes, I worry about serious thoughts about diseases. Improving memory function is a common goal for many people because memory is essential for daily life and overall well-being. So many studies have been done, and now we know the ingredients that are needed for brain functions, including learning and recalling. Let’s find out what we need to improve memory function.

What is inside of the brain for memory function?
Acetylcholine. Acetylcholine is a neurotransmitter, which is chemicals transporting cell signals between nerve cells. So, acetylcholine plays a crucial role in memory and cognitive function. Unfortunately, acetylcholine cannot be obtained from foods, and we need to find precursors, nutrients, and compounds that can support the production of acetylcholine. Choline, as a precursor to it, can help to produce. Choline-rich foods are many, like eggs, liver, fish, poultry, and dairy. Especially in egg yolks and soy lecithin, cholines are formed in rich phosphatidylcholine. Research published in 2023 has shown that choline in yolk intakes improves memory function (1).
Phosphatidylserine. Phosphatidylserine (PS) is a natural endogenous phospholipid found in high concentrations in brain cells. PS is crucial for recall, learning, and mental sharpness. Research on PS suggested highly reliable scientific evidence of the interaction between PS and cognitive activity (2). Through clinical trials, taking PS (300-800 mg/d) is good for crossing the brain barrier and support the brain, such as cognitive functions, and long-term and short-term memories. Like NAC, PS needs to be absorbed through common foods because only a small portion of PS is included. Those dietary sources are egg yolks, fatty fish, soybeans, beef, and chicken.
N-acetylcysteine (NAC). N-acetylcysteine (NAC) is a partially essential amino acid for brain functions, including replenishing antioxidants, and glutathione and nourishing the brain cells (3). Glutathione is a good shepherd to protect brain cells from oxidative damage with aging. NAC also replenishes glutamate, which regulates cognitive function as a neurotransmitter. Thus, glutamate is involved in memory functions.
Since NAC is used for the synthesis of other amino acids, the brain often shorts NAC for its uses. While it is not typically found in enough quantities in everyday foods, so specific dietary intake is necessary. Foods rich in cysteine contribute to NAC production. Cysteine is found in most high-protein foods, such as chicken, turkey, yogurt, cheese, eggs, fatty fish, and legumes.

Eggs
Did you find the food with all these nutrients? Yes, it’s egg. Easy to intake, better than any other foods like liver for dinner. Egg’s yolk contains a rich amount of choline, over 100 mg, in the form of phosphatidylcholine (4). As I mentioned, choline is a neurotransmitter acetylcholine precursor and is reportedly associated with cognitive function. 
And eggs have rich phosphatidylserine, which is the building block of many important organs in the brain cells. The brain cells need PS to pack neurotransmitters to prepare releases into the synapses. These information transfer connections must be supported by phosphatidylserine for good memory.
The white protein part of eggs is also important. Egg whites are relatively high in cysteine, which is used to synthesize NAC. NAC helps to recover glutamate as new and supports this neurotransmitter to remember things. In a rat study published in Nature, 2019, egg white supplementations actually prevent cognitive dysfunctions (5).

But, the ingredients we need for the brain is too little in these food intakes. Blood brain barrier (BBB) also inhibits full absorption of all the consumption into the brain cells. If you don’t satisfy with just intake of such foods, there are nutritional supplements for memory function.
Still, foods that contain good stuff for the brain and its regular functions are easy to get. We should try it more often in daily life, even you are taking certain supplement products. Why don’t you try some eggs today?

References
1) David R. Skvarc a c, Olivia M. Dean c d g, Linda K. Byrne a, Laura Gray d, Stephen Lane d e, Matthew Lewis a h, Brisa S. Fernandes c f, Michael Berk c d g, Andrew Marriott b c d. The effect of N-acetylcysteine (NAC) on human cognition – A systematic review. Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews. Volume 78, July 2017, Pages 44-56
2) Michael J Glade 1, Kyl Smith 2. Phosphatidylserine and the human brain. Nutrition. 2015 Jun;31(6):781-6.
3) Soyogu Yamashita, Naoki Kawada, Wei Wang, Kenta Susaki, Yumi Takeda, Mamoru Kimura, Yoshitaka Iwama, Yutaka Miura, Michihiro Sugano & Ryosuke Matsuoka. Effects of egg yolk choline intake on cognitive functions and plasma choline levels in healthy middle-aged and older Japanese: a randomized double-blinded placebo-controlled parallel-group study. Lipids in Health and Disease volume 22, Article number: 75 (2023)
4) Lotte Smolders,1,* Nicole J.W. de Wit,2 Michiel G.J. Balvers,3 Rima Obeid,4 Marc M.M. Vissers,1 and Diederik Esser2. Natural Choline from Egg Yolk Phospholipids Is More Efficiently Absorbed Compared with Choline Bitartrate; Outcomes of A Randomized Trial in Healthy Adults. Nutrients. 2019 Nov; 11(11): 2758.
5) Caroline Silveira Martinez, Caroline D. C. Alterman, Gema Vera, Antonio Márquez, José-A Uranga, Franck Maciel Peçanha, Dalton Valentim Vassallo, Christopher Exley, Pâmela B. Mello-Carpes, Marta Miguel & Giulia Alessandra Wiggers. Egg White Hydrolysate as a functional food ingredient to prevent cognitive dysfunction in rats following long-term exposure to aluminum. Scientific Reports volume 9, Article number: 1868 (2019)