You’ve heard about the positive benefits of eating well and choosing the right food for your body. It is no secret that the food choices you make affect all sorts of aspects in your daily life.
Eating right can make you feel healthier, help you get a more restful night’s sleep and even help you perform better at work by providing you with more focus and energy. By eating certain foods and changing up your diet, you can increase productivity and stay at the top of your game.
As previously mentioned, the food you eat can affect specific types of areas in your life. Super-foods wear capes of goodness, working miracles on your body and your mind when you make the choice to pick one as a snack or meal. But before we specifically mention the types of food, let’s further elaborate on the areas that they affect.
Sleep Better, Feel Better
Though most brain foods have more than one benefit, several have the ability to make you feel happier, put you in better mood, decrease your stress and be more well rested. If you are feeling bogged down by the stress and responsibilities of life, there are multiple brain food that can help improve your overall lifestyle.
Certain brain foods help regulate the amount of melatonin your body contains. Melatonin is known to help control sleep and wake cycles. By picking foods known to help with this, you can enjoy a healthy night’s sleep and improve your overall mental state.
Amp Up Your Memory
Making sure your memory has a boost is always a good idea, especially during the work week. As one of the most basic and important functions of the brain, memory affects the outcome of our level of effectiveness at work.
It will allow you to retain information much quicker and easier. Look out for certain brain foods that are known to help with this area.
Stay Focused
For those that have a hard time staying focused, finding foods that help with this is a must. Being able to stay focus during the workweek is essential for getting your work done quickly and efficiently. Luckily, there are some delicious options out there to help increase concentration.
Increase Your Energy
Whether you were up late the night before or dealing with the midday slump, energy levels are bound to start dropping at work.
You may feel it sooner than others do but by snacking on some healthy options that are known to increase energy levels, it can truly help you perform better!
Protect Your Brain
It is a known fact that your brain is an extremely important part of your body – meaning it is truly a priority to keep it safe and working. Luckily for us there are plenty of foods that help increase cognitive functions such as memory skills and learning abilities.
Along with this, some healthy super foods help decrease the risk of the getting Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s. We’ve laid out 10 of the top brain foods that will help with each of these areas and set you on the path to a stronger work week!
1. Nuts
All types of nuts can increase a person’s memory as well as provide a great amount of brain power with their omega-3 fatty acids and vitamins. By snacking on nuts throughout the day, it can provide a steady amount of energy.
Walnuts specifically help to process information quicker – in fact, they’ve even been connected to slowing cognitive aging and decreasing the chance of Alzheimer’s. The benefits don’t stop there.
Nuts can also reduce stress levels, which is perfect for difficult work situations (disagreeable coworkers, frustrating clients, challenging projects…). Walnuts specifically help to increase the production of melatonin levels in the body.
Melatonin is the vitamin that helps your body fall and stay asleep. By simply snacking on a few walnuts, you’ll even be able to you sleep better. A good night’s sleep allows you to feel more refreshed and ready to go in the morning!
2. Dark Chocolate
Snacking on dark chocolate is a win-win all the way! Now you have that perfect excuse to open up a piece of candy and start munching. Dark Chocolate is high in caffeine, which helps with concentration (as our coffee drinkers already know).
Dark chocolate also increases endorphins in your body. Endorphins improve your mood and are also proven to help with overall concentration. Another way eating dark chocolate lends a helping hand is by improving the blood flow to the brain.
Overall, dark chocolate slows down your memory loss or any type of cognitive decline. Just remember, this isn’t permission to binge! It is suggesting that one limits his or her intake to about 2-3 small square pieces a day.
3. Avocados
Avocados are another healthy brain food. They contain a healthy type of fat that helps to stabilize blood sugar levels.
A great benefit to eating avocados is that they are the fruit that contains the highest amount of protein and the lowest amount of sugar. As a bonus, avocados can even curb hunger, perfect for a mid-morning snack.
For increased work performance, they are filled with vitamins that help improve concentration. Avocados naturally stimulate brain cells and increase blood flow to the brain to help with focus.
Avocados can be eaten smashed on a toast or can also be eaten with just some salt and pepper! To start your day off on a healthy note, try an avocado for breakfast or on your salad at lunch.
4. Peanut Butter
It may surprise you to see peanut butter listed as a brain food. Though there are many not-so-healthy peanut butter choices on the shelves, eating natural peanut butter with no added sugars is sure to get your brain (and maybe your boss) thanking you.
This type of peanut butter is filled with healthy fats that help nourish the brain. A spoonful of this gooey goodness can increase overall cognitive functions such and memory and learning.
It is packed with protein and also has high levels of Vitamin E, which protects brain cells. An easy way to add this to your diet is by eating it on a piece of toast (you can even add bananas.) Scooping it with veggies or low-fat pretzels is another way to bring in all the benefits without all the calories.
5. Blueberries for All
Blueberries provide a large amount of nutrients and health benefits. This is one cape wearing super brain food!
Eating blueberries not only helps to improve your memory, it also helps with your reasoning abilities. This is priceless during a big project or an important meeting.
Blueberries are filled with fiber, vitamins and antioxidants. The antioxidants that blueberries contain help to protect the brain, just like those in other brain foods.
Blueberries help maintain the communication between brain cells. This allows the brain to continue to function properly while encouraging the growth of brain cells.
Blueberries can be enjoyed as a snack or even added to a bowl of oatmeal. Keep some in the break room so everyone can enjoy the fresh, delicious snack that continues to give back!
6. Flax Seeds
Although not many people know about the benefits of flax seeds, they sure do pack a punch. Flax seeds contain a healthy fat (Omega 3 and Omega 6) that helps with the brain’s ability to process senses, such as touch and smell.
These fatty acids in flax seeds encourage production of brain cells. You can easily add them to your everyday diet by sprinkling flax seeds in a smoothie, picking up a breakfast bar or adding it to your morning cereal.
7. Eat Your Broccoli
Your mom was right. Let’s face it, she usually is. When she told you to eat your broccoli, she wasn’t kidding. But even Mom may not have known all the hidden benefits this brain food provides.
Eating broccoli helps to improve your overall cognitive abilities because it contains Vitamin K. It contains potassium that helps the brain and has even been linked back to aiding in the healing of the brain.
As if that weren’t enough to get you chomping, this little green veggie also boasts Choline, which improves overall memory. It’s even been shown that those that eat broccoli perform better on memory tests.
Increase your broccoli intake by snacking on it with a delicious side of hummus or even just plain. You’ll be sure to truly reap the benefits of this healthy super food!
8. An Apple a Day
The popularity of the saying “an apple a day keeps the doctor away” isn’t a just a saying…it’s true! Apples fill the body with fiber and energy and are an essential brain food.
Eating an apple a day can increase brain function. These green, red and yellow treats are filled with antioxidants that help keep the mind sharp.
As a bonus, your brain isn’t the only part of your body that will be thanking you. Apples are shown to reduce the risk of stroke by over 50% as well as increasing cardiovascular health for those that regularly eat them.
Luckily for us, apples are also delicious! They can be snacked on by themselves or can even be enjoyed with a spoonful of peanut butter for some extra health benefits and flavor. Bonus points for combining your brain foods!
9. Bananas
As another yummy and easy-to-grab treat, bananas contain 25 grams of glucose. This is the ideal amount of glucose that the brain needs each day.
The glucose from your banana turns into energy that helps increase your energy levels. Eating this brain food at the beginning of the day can help provide enough energy for the entire work day!
To increase their appeal, bananas are known to be natural mood boosters. An increase in mood and energy will be sure to help you out in the workplace and increase your effectiveness.
Bananas are also linked back to being disease fighters, as they’ve been connected with the prevention of Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s.
That’s enough to make anyone pick up this fruit on a daily basis. Bananas can always be enjoyed by themselves as a start to the day or as a quick snack or can even be eaten on a piece of toast with peanut butter.
10. Carrots
Eating carrots can not only help your eyes but also your brain! They carry luteolin which helps reduce memory loss, according to a recent study.
They also have a high amount of glucose which helps fuel the brain. This is good for your daily work life – especially when a big project needs your attention to detail!
Carrots are also filled with much needed antioxidants and can lower oxidative stress in the brain. It is actually recommend to keep the peel on your carrots after carefully washing them because the skin is where most of the nutrients are. You can snack on carrots throughout the day, pairing them with hummus or eating them plain.
It’s clear that eating the right thing, like the brain food mentioned above, will benefit both your personal and professional life. By nourishing your body the right way, you will truly reap all of the benefits.
It’s a good idea to keep healthy snacks in an office break room in order to encourage employees to eat better. Whether you are a leader who has a personal stake in the success of your employees or a coworker who wants their fellow partners to reap the benefits of these helpful, healthful foods, speak to the person in charge of supplying your break room and common areas.
It’s easy to make a case of keeping essential healthy foods in reach of all the employees. As an employer, one will want his or her employees to perform to the best of their abilities.
By simply providing these brain foods at arms reach is a great way to help! It’s a good idea to find a healthy snack provider in your area, that can help make easy snacking possible with some of their healthy food options.
