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Brain Food or Brain Fog?

Everyone talks about needing their 3rd coffee of the day, or the 3 pm slump, or purple bags stamped under your eyes...

When you are studying in school, working a busy job, or traveling there is no time to take the 3 three hour nap your body is asking you for.

Through personal experience, studying for exams has left me sitting at a desk for hours where the only movement I made throughout the day was from my chair to the fridge, and back.

Those trips to the fridge can actually give you optimum brain fuel or produce the infamous brain fog.

Going Gluten free I noticed a huge difference in my attention span, positivity, and overall brain function; though, sometimes it still doesn't feel like enough.

When I feel like I need a little extra boost there are certain foods I incorporate into my diet to increase my productivity.

1) FATS

For a long time everyone in the health community was afraid of eating fats, the whole fat will make you fat phase did a serious number on our population's brain health. When I am lacking some good quality sources of fat such as: avocado, wild caught salmon, nuts and seeds, and olive oil or coconut oil I truly feel the difference in the clarity of my thoughts.

2) GREENS

I know this is the most obvious one, but having dark* leafy greens in your diet is so important for your over all cell function. In the health and fitness community the whole focus is on macronutrients, but micronutrients are so important!

This can be accomplished without eating a bed of kale by the way i.e. smoothies, soups, even hidden in desserts... its not all that bad.

3) GLUCOSAMINE & COLLAGEN

This is one that not everyone knows about, nor is willing to try.

Glucosamine and collagen are nutrients found in the bone broth of animals or concentrated collagen powder.

This is done by slow boiling the bones of grass-fed*, healthy animals so that the marrow and the precious connective tissue cells of the animal form an oily, nutrient dense, and surprisingly tasty soup.

This does wonders for your brain function because of the concentrated amount of essential nutrients you are consuming at one time; not to mention the amazing things it does to your hair, skin and nails.

Collagen powder is more easily incorporated.

You can buy it in powdered form at most health food stores. I simply stir it into my tea, water, soups, or smoothies.

Bulletproof is my favourite brand, you can purchase it online through the link.

4) ANTIOXIDANTS

It's nothing new but antioxidants are so important for your brain function. I notice that when I have a huge dose of matcha, goji berries, or acai berries my attention is focused and I feel less foggy.

It is so easy to replace your morning or afternoon coffee with a matcha tea, or matcha latte.

My favourite brand is Tao, Teavana, David's Tea.

Here is my favourite matcha smoothie recipe:

. 1 banana

. 1 cup of spinach

.1/2 avocado

. 1 scoops of Lean Fit vegan protein powder

. 1 cup of home made almond milk

(This smoothie is topped with almond butter, Gluten free granola, and chopped apple)

Over all it is so important to focus on giving your body fuel, not just focusing on the physical energy you're exerting but the mental extortion as well.

Beilharz, Jessica E.; Maniam, Jayanthi; Morris, Margaret J. 2015. "Diet-Induced Cognitive Deficits: The Role of Fat and Sugar, Potential Mechanisms and Nutritional Interventions." Nutrients 7, no. 8: 6719-6738.

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