Whether it’s a fad diet or the newest secret food to perfect health, it’s getting harder and harder to discern what’s actually healthy from what’s not. As midterm season falls upon us and finals come racing up, taking those extra 10 or 20 minutes to learn the real nutrition facts will keep your mind sharp and your energy going through these stressful times.
Amy Bondar is a certified nutritional therapist and eating psychology coach. She said there are essential brain foods students should be consuming to keep their mental motor running, and memory at its peak.
“The most important brain foods are essential fats,” Bondar explained.
“This will come from fish, seafood, fish oil, and also good omega-3s like ground flaxseed, hemp seed, salba seed, and chia seeds.”
“Fats feed the brain, so the oil in itself crosses the blood-brain barrier, and just helps to nourish the brain cells,” she said.
Bondar noted, however, that though many people are afraid of the idea of fats in that they will make them fat, these ones are essential to mental and overall health and will not lead to weight gain. She explained that a deficiency of essential fats can actually lead to a few of the following symptoms: higher levels of PMS for women, frequent sugar cravings, dry and scaly looking skin particularly on your legs, and foggy memory and brain function.
“Other important foods as well are proteins,” Bondar said.
“Proteins have amino acids, which help to produce neurotransmitters or ‘feel good’ hormones. So sometimes what can happen if you’re deficient in protein is some people can experience mild depression, anxiety, and insomnia, also low energy, muscle wasting, and hair loss,” she said.
As time and money is usually crunched for students, however, finding time to make a good meal is often not added into the typical student’s schedule or budget. Looking at smart and effective food choices is the next key step to finding proper nutrition.
“Going to places like Loblaws is a good choice,” Bondar suggested. “They often have very similar things to what you can get in a health food store at a much lesser price.”
She also explained that buying meat proteins in bulk and freezing them is a good way to stay cost and time effective, as well as cooking one large batch of soup or chili a week.
So what should your day look like nutrition wise to keep your mind sharp for that busy week ahead? Bondar suggested eggs as a good source of protein and essential omega-3 fats to start off your day.
“If you have something like yogurt, sprinkling in some of those omega-3 seeds is a really good idea . . . adding fish whether it’s canned salmon or canned tuna or wild salmon for dinner would also be really good to add.”
She said if any of these types of food are unavailable, a good replacement would be fish oil of some form once a day.
It’s obvious that maintaining an overall balanced diet is not always attainable as a student.
Life tends to get in the way, and it’s important that you don’t criticize yourself for what you choose to eat from time to time.
“If you’re a chip person, you can buy better quality chips that are baked and made with avocado oil instead of the processed oils . . . If you’re a chocolate person you can choose dark chocolate over a sugary milk chocolate,” Bondar explained.
“If you value your health, if you value your food, then you should put your time, money, and appreciation there.”
