College students are always on the go. But whether it is a special someone, an Organic Chemistry midterm, or even the looming future that is stressing you out, there are no excuses to let your health take the sidelines. Fortunately, as the old adage “you are what you eat” suggests, a healthy body and a healthy mind begin with what we choose to eat.
In an ideal world, we are always on our A-game, but sitting in a lecture hall with a lack of sleep and a monotone professor can make it difficult to truly pay attention. Luckily for us, there are brain foods that are scientifically proven to sharpen our minds. A good day begins with a good breakfast, and there is a reason that cereal is everyone’s go-to breakfast food: the whole grains in it (choose your cereal wisely!) have fibers that can prevent blood sugar spikes linked to memory decline. What’s the best brain food for our taste buds? Chocolate. Dark chocolate helps improve concentration, milk chocolate improves reaction time, and all chocolate includes natural stimulants such as caffeine. If that isn’t enticing enough, a Swiss Nestlé study found that chocolate reduced stress hormones such as cortisol.
Of course, there is no replacement for a good night’s sleep, but you can certainly try. Benadryl is often a go-to for many students who need some sleep (and need it fast). But, drugs like Benadryl become less effective after time and are also bad for your health in the long run, so turning to natural remedies is your best option. Foods high in the amino acid tryptophan work well because they are used to make serotonin, a neurotransmitter that acts as a sedative. Chicken and soybeans are among the most tryptophan-rich foods out there. A University of Texas study also suggests that cherries increase melatonin production, which controls your sleep-wake schedule.
In college, you are always surrounded by people, making it easy for the common cold to hop from one person to another. To be that healthy college student in the midst of sneezing friends and used tissues, you need to keep your immune system happy by nourishing it with various vitamins. Both Vitamin C and E come to mind and the proper dosage can easily be obtained by eating your six servings of fruits and veggies every day. It’s also important to note that eating the whole spectrum of colors (red, orange, yellow, blue, and purple hues) works best. Also, according to a British study, researchers discovered that those who took a daily garlic supplement were 66% less likely to catch a cold than those who took a placebo. You don’t have to take a supplement – simply adding garlic to your everyday pasta sauce or chili is better than completely neglecting it in your diet.
It’s no secret that hangovers are the plague of many college students’ Saturdays and Sundays. So in addition to staying hydrated, try eating eggs, tomatoes, or ginger. Eggs contain the amino acid cysteine that breaks down the toxins in alcohol, tomatoes are a powerful source of antioxidants which can limit alcohol’s neurotoxic effects, and ginger is the pregnant women’s cure to morning sickness nausea everywhere.
For all of those freshmen out there: to combat the “Freshman 15”, try drinking green tea. Green tea contains a chemical called EGCG that prompts the nervous system to run faster and to burn more calories. Paired with exercise (shouldn’t be a problem at Davis with all the biking), plentiful amounts of water, and maybe a spicy meal (jalapeños and hot peppers increase your heart rate and metabolism to burn calories) once in awhile, and the “Freshman 15” will have nothing on you!
Sources:
http://livetoeat-megha.blogspot.com/2010/09/garlic-rice.html