The Importance of Brainfood
Brainfood contains important nutrients, minerals, and vitamins. In this way, they promote blood flow to your brain and stimulate its functions. This is how you beat the tiredness, escape one or the other low performance and can prevent poor concentration. Brainfood has a positive effect on your mood due to the composition of healthy ingredients. Oh, happy food!
Nobody can eat wisdom with spoons, but the right nutrition is essential for your brain to function properly. The most important and well-known basic rule is: drink a lot. The liquid energy ensures that the body and mind are adequately supplied with oxygen. Two to three liters of water, unsweetened juice spritzers, or tea are ideal - they also help you against the body's signals for a lack of fluids: problems with concentration, headache, or fatigue.
Energy Required
With only two percent of the body weight, the brain uses about 20 percent of the total energy - this is obtained exclusively from carbohydrates in the form of glucose. Because the brain is not an organ that can stock up and depends entirely on the supply of nutrients from the blood, regular and long-lasting energy replenishment is important. Keyword: brain food instead of sweets! Gummy bears and other sweets don't help much. The sugar gets into the blood quickly and gives a brief boost of energy, but the cycle then falls back into the cellar just as quickly.
The snacks, however, must not be too large, otherwise, they strain the stomach and the blood is no longer available in the brain.
DHA
Omega-3 fatty acids support the ability to learn, remember, and solve problems. DHA is involved in the transmission of signals and acts as a lubricant for the cells in the brain. DHA can be found in fatty fish (salmon, sardines, or herring) and eg walnuts. For example, walnuts are also found in a good old trail mix. The sugar contained in the raisins also provides fresh energy, the B vitamins from the nuts are easy on the nerves and bring the gray cells into full swing.
Importance of Iron
With iron made from red meat, you can also promote your thinking. Iron is particularly important for concentration - if it is missing, it can lead to reduced memory and poor concentration. Vegetarian? You will also find plenty of iron in legumes such as white beans, cashew nuts, parsley or spinach. As a basis for hormones and messenger substances, protein is also necessary to promote alertness, activity, and ability to concentrate. You can find it in fish, eggs, and dairy products, for example.
Why take a rest?
In order for your brain to function optimally, you need a good, varied diet as well as exercise and sleep breaks. In addition, you should try not to eat hectically, but to take enough time for meals. If you eat while watching or watch TV on the side, you may get hungry or stomach aches much faster. After all, superfood doesn't help when your stomach is squeezing.
When it gets serious
The day before the exam, you shouldn't put too much strain on your digestion and eat light dishes. Fish or poultry with vegetables is a good source of nutrients for this.
Treat your body to a lot of sleep that night so that it can recover well and process what it has learned well.
You should definitely have breakfast on the day of the exam. You feel sick and don't feel like eating? A cup of warm herbal tea helps, for example. A breakfast made from whole grain products provides the body with energy continuously for several hours - so you stay fit throughout the entire exam. A little fruit and vegetables also improve concentration. Nothing solid possible? A yogurt drink with fruit and oatmeal does it too!
You should drink enough during the exam. This means that your body is well supplied with blood and the brain is sufficiently supplied with oxygen. Berries, nuts, bananas, etc. are suitable for snacks during the exam. Student food is also suitable for this. This brain food can also reduce nervousness or test anxiety and provides the body with valuable energy.
A conscious diet that contains enough brain food can thus have a positive influence on your physical and mental performance and thus have an impact on exam success.
Advantages of brain food at a glance
- Your brain enjoys better blood circulation and has energy for improved memory and faster reactions
- Brainfood is used to supply important building blocks for metabolism and cell structure
- Eating well is half the battle: performance and concentration are increased
- Stress, tiredness, and irritability are reduced and your mood improves
Top Known Brainfood
Strawberries
They really taste fresh. Best grown regionally, of course. Strawberries are perfect sources of energy for your brain and stimulate the transmission of information with their flavonoids. All sorts of things can be conjured up from the performance-enhancing berries, e.g. smoothie or yogurt - the perfect superfood!
Broccoli
The green vegetables stimulate the oxygen supply and blood flow to your brain and protect it from free radicals with vitamins C, E, and beta-carotene. Broccoli can also help you sleep better.
Bananas
In addition to multiple sugars, yellow fruits also contain starch and fiber. They ensure long-lasting energy supply and raise your mood with the hormone serotonin - perfect for a bad mood during the exam phase.
Pears
Pear fruits of all kinds contain trace elements such as copper and phosphorus, which prevent concentration lows and are a pleasure due to their high water content, especially on hot days.
Fish
In addition to the memory enhancer omega-3 fatty acid, fish contains high-quality proteins for a better flow of information. So increase your productivity with a good memory.
References:
https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/howto/guide/10-foods-boost-your-brainpower
https://www.healthyfood.com/advice/brain-food
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2805706