You know the feeling…
You’re clutching for words. You can’t dig through the archives quickly enough to locate that pesky word. The perfect word for the current thought train. Your conversation partner looks away for a split second. Their eyes glaze over ever so slightly. Now your attention has turned to wondering what they are thinking about.
Sound familiar? We’ve all been here.
Did you ever think (pun intended) the food you eat can effect your ability to think? We’re currently being flooded with the benefits of low carb diets for your waistline, but you’re less likely to hear about food in relation to how it effects our brain.
So that begs the questions, what foods should we eat for a brighter brain?
5 tips to help lift brain fog
1. Hydration
Although this is yesterdays news, hydration maintains it status at the top of the list. A recent study demonstrated slight dehydration to the level of 1% loss of body mass over the 4 hour period impacted memory recall. (1) Perhaps more noteworthy was an increase in the feeling of thirst contributing to a subjective decline in energy levels. It’s feasible that the decline in memory performance and energy levels is due to the perception of being dehydrated. Ether way, I’m sure you’ll agree that your brain just works better when the fluid levels are up.
2. Blueberries
According to Jim Kwik, a brian performance expert, blueberries should hence forth be known as ‘brainberries’ and I agree. Blueberries are super nutrient dense. They are high in antioxidants such as vitamin C. Which are super important to keep your cells healthy by defending against the effects of harmful byproducts often found in our food. As an added bonus, they are also extremely low in calories and a whole cup of blueberries provides only 15 grams of carbohydrates, so you can still consume them if you are on a low carb diet. Blueberries are a great snackfast option (post breakfast snack but still too early for morning tea).
3. Dark Chocolate
While on the subject of antioxidants, cocoa beans are packed full of these superhero scavengers. By eating dark chocolate with minimal added sugar you can ensure that you are getting the most cocoa possible from your chocolate intake. If you normally opt for the milk variety when it comes to chocolate, the damaging (oxidative stress) from the high sugar content is much greater than the antioxidant benefit of the cocoa. I recommend immediately beginning a transition from sweet milk chocolate and turning to the dark side – as dark as you can go. Before long your taste buds will adjust and you’ll no longer taste the bitterness… I promise.
4. Eggs
Over the years eggs have been good for you, then bad for you and now good for you again! Which is good news because I love them! The reason eggs are on this list of brain foods is mostly due to the choline and omega-3 content. Choline assists with neurotransmitter function – the communication link between neurons (nerve cells). This is pretty crucial if you want your brain to work effectively seeing we have around 100 billion neurons residing in our brains! As for Omega-3’s, these essential fatty acids are super important for cell maintenance. Our brains are made up mostly of fatty acids, a large percentage being omega-3 fatty acids. While you might get more omega-3’s from foods such as fish, eggs are still a great source of these healthy fats.
5. Coffee
Cue collective sigh of relief. Yes, provided your coffee intake is for enjoyment rather than addiction, coffee has a firm place on this list. The liquid gold most of us reach for every morning is a great brain booster! Coffee contains caffeine, the most widely used performance enhancing drug today. Yes caffeine increase alertness and yes caffeine increases focus. BUT only if you don’t consume too much of it. Too much caffeine will over stimulate most peoples nervous system to the point of irritability, tremors and even anxiety. It’s also detrimental if used to counteract the effects of poor sleep, impacting inhibitory control. (2) Not to mention its negative impact on sleep quality when consumed later in the day.
Which brings me to my last point.
Get the basics right first
Sleep is perhaps the biggest hack when it comes to brain performance. While life can easily get in the way of a decent sleep for a few days or even weeks, I can’t stress enough how important it is for your health to get adequate sleep. “Adequate” will differ amongst individuals depending on life stage, level of activity and even your genotype. However, there’s no denying the healing benefits of deep restorative sleep.
References:
- Benton D, Jenkins KT, Watkins HT, Young HA. Minor degree of hypohydration influences cognition: a mediator analysis. Am J Clin Nutr. 2016 Sep;104(3):603-12.
- Anderson JR, Hagerdorn PL, Gunstad J, Spitznagel MB. Using coffee to compensate for poor sleep: impact on vigilance and implications for work performance. Appl Ergon. 2018 Jul;70:142-147.