Eat your mind into focus- part 1
Long hours, poor diet and lack of exercise doesn’t make for a very productive worker. So I have asked Kate from Lifespark Nutrition to write me 3 articles over the next 3 weeks that you will hopefully find helpful.
Eat your mind into focus- part 1
Whether you are researching a project, developing websites/ software or just playing a game, we need our minds to be clear and focused. This is where good nutrition comes into play. Many people in the IT industry overlook this crucial factor. Many believe that food is food as long as it fills the hunger gap. Very wrong. Ever wonder why your energy levels are lacking? Feeling cranky or depressed? Feeling unmotivated? Tired? What you put in your mouth has a lot to do with all of these. Ask yourself a few questions simple, commonsense questions :
1. Do you get your 5 plus per day? This means eating minimum 2 pieces of fruit and 3 servings of vegetables PER DAY, not per week. Fruit and vegetables contain huge amounts antioxidants which fight toxins that we breathe in (from car fumes, smoke etc) and ingest (high fat/sugar, low nutrient foods). Fruit and vegetables also contain fibre, phytonutrients and a range of vitamins and minerals which can’t always be reconstructed to the same effect in a multivitamin pill.
How to get 5 Plus per day?
· Have a piece of fruit with your breakfast,
· Have fruit as a morning or afternoon snack or after lunch
· Swap you ham and cheese toastie at lunch for a sandwich, wrap, kebab, pita bread filled with lettuce, tomato, carrot, cucumber and a bit of protein (egg, tuna, chicken, ham, beans etc)
· Have a Bowl of vegetable soup (potato doesn’t count as vegetable)
· At dinner make sure you have two servings of vegetables. 1 serving is 1 cup of mixed vegetables or salad so you need to have two of these. Half your plate should be filled with salad, stirfry veges or steamed vegetables .
If I could recommend one change that you made in your life for the next 2 weeks is get your 5 Plus per day. Your energy levels will increase, you will help sooth any digestion problems, build your immune system and reduce levels of stress or depression. For more tips on how to get your mind ticking faster watch this space for part 2 of the 3 part series.
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Comment by Mattnzl, on 7-Jul-2009 06:57 , user id: 21176)
Thanks Kate/Richard.
Comment by jayaldous, on 7-Jul-2009 07:24 , user id: 32774)
Great post. This stuff is awesome, good on you for getting the simple-but-good word out.
Buuuuut. . .
" Have a bowel of vegetable soup (potato doesn’t count as vegetable)
"
Do we take it orally and just wait, or do we need to take drastic action to make this one happen?
Comment by Lifespark, on 7-Jul-2009 10:08 , user id: )
Yes, I should have been more clear. Potato, kumara, pumpkin, butternut etc are your high starch vegetables. For simplicity, I keep these in the carbohydrate section of your dinner plate along with pasta and rice. For the reason that many people people do get enough of these in their diet however they lack the leafy green and other coloured vegetables such as capsicums, zuccini, cauliflower, beans, carrots etc. What I was meaning was try not to have just potato or kumara soup or mash as 'your sole vegetables' but incorporate a range of low calorie, colourful vegetables into your meal.
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Comment by sleemanj, on 7-Jul-2009 00:59 , user id: 27497)
> "Have a bowel of vegetable soup (potato doesn’t count as vegetable)"
Bowl. Not Bowel. I hope!
Also, to pick a nit, this is geekzone, so saying "potato doesn't count as a vegetable" is simply silly, potato's very much are a vegetable.
Whilst I may agree that potato isn't something you should eat a lot of, the author really should be clear on the reasons she has for this recommendation.