We’ve all heard the term ‘superfoods’ and their supposed extraordinary powers that range from boosting your memory, productivity and overall brain power.
It may seem a little too good to be true, but if you’re looking to keep your mind, body and brain in tip-top shape throughout the working day, these are the foods you should be eating.
Simply put, superfoods + humans = superhumans.
Seeds and Nuts
Who would have thought those tiny seeds and nuts could pack such a nutritional punch. Size certainly isn’t always everything, with seeds and nuts providing mono- and polyunsaturated fats and omega-3 fatty acids that can actually improve your cholesterol and prevent cardiovascular disease.
They are also an excellent source of protein, vitamins and antioxidants, which will keep your body quietly humming all day.
Fatty Fish
When it comes to the best food for our brain, fatty fish is high on the list. Salmon, trout, albacore tuna, herring, and sardines are all excellent sources of omega-3 fatty acids, vital ingredients to help the brain build cells and assist with learning and memory.
What’s more, fatty acids have been shown to slow age-related mental decline and may even be able to help ward off Alzheimer's and Dementia.
Green Tea
Green tea has long been considered a semi-miraculous drink when compared with other options, and it’s not hard to see why. Green tea comes with a catalogue of benefits, including increased brain function, reducing the risk of heart disease, protection against cancer and weight loss.
Matcha has become an increasingly popular form of green tea in which the leaves are ground down and consumed along with water. If anything, this appears to supercharge the green tea even more, and matcha is now linked with numerous additional health benefits.
Dark Leafy Greens
There was a very good reason that our parents constantly instructed us to “finish our greens” before leaving the dinner table. Greens such as spinach, broccoli, kale, mustard and bok choy are rich in nutrients, vitamins and minerals – especially folate, a vitamin B that is excellent for heart disease prevention while also helping to Food & drink to keep your brain humming all-day in pregnant women.
They are also great for strengthening bones and preventing cancers. This is one food group that we should all still finish before leaving the dinner table.
Berries
Berries are excellent for us, but the bad news is that that blueberry muffin probably contains shocking amounts of sugar and fat, so if you want to really get the powerful health benefit, you need to go back to basics.
Berries, especially blueberries and strawberries are great at reducing our risk of heart disease, while also including plenty of a chemical compound called anthocyanin that is thought to lower blood pressure and protect blood vessels.
Oranges and bananas
With all the fuss over superfoods and exotic ingredients, we often overlook some of the most obvious that have been staring us in the face all along. A single orange contains all the recommended Vitamin C that grown adults needs in a single day, while a solitary banana contains all of the glucose the body requires.
Maintaining the required levels of vitamin C has been shown to slow mental decline, while the glucose you receive from just one banana is infinitely preferable to carb-heavy foods or sugary snacks to keep the bodily motor ticking over.
Water
And so we come to the final, and perhaps a most important factor to consider. Water is absolutely vital to our physical and mental well being. Without it, we become sluggish, develop headaches, and slowly begin to grind to a halt. Humans can survive without consuming everything else on this list, but not consuming enough water can be deadly.
Most people think they drink enough water, but our collective understanding seems to be warped. According to a survey done recently, only 10% of the UK population are drinking the required amount of water, with almost a third saying they never drink any water. This isn’t quite true as it is in many things we consume, but these statistics are nevertheless fairly shocking.
One of the biggest causes of fatigue is not because you’re hungry, but rather because you are dehydrated. An adult male should be aiming for 3.7 litres per day, while women should consume 2.7 litres.
Choose your food
Going into an office and doing a stressful job day in and day out can begin to take its toll on the brain and the body. While it may not be possible to change how you work or the job that you do, we all have control over what we put into our bodies.
Bad food and drink are now all around us and it can be all too easy to press a few buttons on a vending machine to get a chocolate bar or a coke. After all, they’re much nice than a bowl of dark greens with a little fish, nuts and seeds, but what’s nice isn’t always necessarily what’s best.
If you’re struggling with productivity and concentration at work, spend a week or two focusing on the foods included on this list. You’ll be amazed just how super a human can be with the right food and drink.
