Feed your grey cells
Eat smart to stay smart.
PADMASHRI SHANMUGARAJ
It’s exam season, a time of mental and physical anguish for teens. While making and sticking to timetables, revising lessons and solving sample papers are important; don’t overlook your diet and rest at this crucial time. Often teens opt to either skip meals (more time to study) or to binge on chocolates and high-fat foods (temporary relief from tension). But such wrong eating habits affects the ability to learn and also makes you lethargic. After all that hard work, you struggle to remember the math formula you memorised. Why? Because you did not feed your brain with the right nutrients. Terrifying, isn’t it? So feed your grey cells what they crave, and enhance your retentive and thinking powers.The writer is with Nutritionvista. www.nutritionvista.com
Dark coloured fruits and vegetables: Black grapes, spinach, carrot, beetroot, onion, red, yellow and green bell peppers (capsicum), orange, melon are loaded with anti-oxidants and vital minerals and vitamins, which help fight against stress-building mechanisms.
Chocolates, especially the darker ones, not only boost serotonin, the “feel-good” hormone, but also supply large amounts of epicatechin, which enhances blood flow to your brain and boosts memory. But eat moderately.
During exams, hydrate your body well. Drink at least 10-12 glasses of water a day. (Dehydration can cause lethargy and inattentiveness). Sound sleep for at least seven hours a day is ideal. On D-day, fuel up with a breakfast of whole grains, a protein and some dry fruits to keep you going.
Green tea: This one is full of polyphenols and anti-oxidants and will help you stay alert especially during late-night studying. Some do believe in the benefits of caffeinated beverages, but science says that these are short-lived and make your brain sluggish in the long run.
Fish, walnuts and Flax seeds: These are excellent sources of Omega-3, a highly effective nutrient to improve your concentration and memory.
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Getting teenage children to eat right is a mothers’ constant dilemma, and battle to balance between being an overbearing and nagging mother, to one who wants to do everything right at a critical juncture in her teens life. A stage where the young body is undergoing such massive physical and emotional changes.
I personally try and prepare my 15 year old son’s favorite foods, and throw in whenever possible extra vegetables that he normally wouldn’t eat separately.
I find eating comforts him during times of stress, and if I am not careful, only junk food will make it up to his mouth.
I personally increase protein levels during his examination times, and prepare fruit milkshakes for late night studying, as well as a banana every morning for potassium.
Ms. Shanmugaraj of NutritionVista.com, has a few suggestions I might try, namely adding nuts and flax seed to his diet. He doesn’t care for fish!!