Brain food - nutrition and food for the brain

When you’re studying for an exam, you have to store a lot of information in your brain. It’s not uncommon for your energy and concentration levels to drop during exam periods. This can negatively impact your memory so it’s important to stay healthy to promote learning. There are various foods that can help keep your body and brain in tip top shape!

Antioxidants

Studies have shown that antioxidants improve memory. One way of increasing your antioxidant intake is to eat fruits such as blackberries, cranberries, strawberries and raspberries. During periods of revision, you could even make berry smoothies to start your day off right and help your memory out!

Vitamins

Do you have memory problems? If you do then you need to increase your acetylcholine intake. You can do this by simply increasing your B1 vitamin intake. This is easily done by eating more nuts, eggs and salmon. To have enough energy to sustain you during long periods of revision and exams, you should eat vitamin-rich foods. So, you should eat plenty of foods like apples, avocados, broccoli, almonds, bananas and many more. Citrus fruits also guarantee a boost of energy thanks to the vitamin C, potassium and folic acid that are found in these fruits. So, why not add some orange juice to your berry smoothie?

Iron

Iron plays an important role in your body as it transports oxygen to all of your organs. Iron helps to maintain cognitive functions such as memory, concentration and learning. In order to properly absorb iron, it is advised that you combine it with vitamin C as this increases the absorption of iron by up to 6 times. Foods containing iron are: liver, black pudding, anchovies, trout, oatmeal, wholemeal bread and more.

Omega 3

Omega 3s are beneficial for transmitting signals along your nerve cells. In fact, they make up more than 30% of the structural fats of the nervous system. In order to improve cognitive performance, you can increase your omega 3 intake by consuming cod liver oil, flax seeds, rapeseed oil, salmon and nuts.

Magnesium

Foods containing magnesium are essential for good health. A lack of magnesium can lead to severe fatigue, stress, tension, bad mood and much more, none of which is beneficial to you when you’re trying to learn and study! Magnesium helps in the proper functioning of the nervous and muscular systems, and it is an excellent natural muscle relaxant! Magnesium is commonly found in cocoa, nuts, whole grains, seafood and legumes.

Carbohydrates

Carbs are fuel for the brain! When the brain does not have enough carbohydrates, there can be a decline in cognitive functions such as attention, memory, and learning. So it’s important to consume it through foods such as whole grains and legumes as well as (wholewheat) pasta and rice.

Hydration

The body is composed of around 60% water so hydration is essential for your body! Proper hydration will allow you to gain more energy and increase your performance when carrying out tasks. You should try to drink at least one glass of water in the morning, one at noon and one in the evening while still hydrating throughout the day. To help, you can fill bottles of water that you take out and about with you. This will ensure you always have access to water and you don’t forget about it.

As the saying goes: “a healthy body leads to a healthy mind”. The quality of the food you eat helps your body and your mind. This is especially important during times like exam periods which require a lot of effort from your brain and your body! So, eat a balanced diet in order to increase your chances of acing your exams!