Wednesday, October 15, 2008

Food For Thought. Seriously.

For the past 3 months I have been preparing for a rather large exam. Fun, right? So it should be no surprise to you that, as an avid cook/baker/foodie, I am wondering what type of food I should be eating prior to this exam. I did some research & have come up with quite the list for you. When reading this post, please keep in mind that I found this information on the Internet...so it's important to take it all with a "grain of salt", if you will, until confirmed by your trusted physician.

If you know of any others that I do not mention, please shoot them my way. I'll take any help I can get!

Fish
Benefits: Essential Omega-3 fatty acids*
Wild Salmon is a really great choice**

Eggs
Benefits: Boost alertness, memory & stress relief. They also minimize fatigue. Eggs contain fat-like B vitamins (choline)*

Sugar
Benefits: Increase sharpness. It is still highly debated how much and at what time this should be consumed, though.*

Carbohydrates
Benefits: Mentally soothing, especially eaten without protein or fat*

Cacao Beans (not chocolate...sorry...you want the unprocessed stuff)
What to look for: 100% organic non-alkalized cocoa powder **

Matcha (aka Super Green Tea)
What to look for: Stone-ground Gyokuru green tea powder. Think of this as amplified green tea.**

Acal Berries & Blueberries
Benefits: antioxidants, vitamins, brain benefits; also contain essential fatty acids like omega 3's & are high in protein**

Coffee Beans (excited, right? me too!)
Aren't there studies condemning coffee drinkers?: Yes, but most issues with coffee comes with what is combined with the bean**
Benefits: Similar to Cacao Beans**

Micronutrients (High Citrus Fruits & Colorful Veggies)
Recommended to consume at least recommended 5 servings per day***


* Info found on PsychologyToday.com
** Info found on BrainReady.com
*** Info found on www.fi.edu

And to finish it off, here are a few others that have been shared with me by friends, coworkers & people who cared to share:

Nuts & Seeds : Avocados : Whole Grains : Bananas : Walnuts : Beans : Dark Chocolate : Water





Digg!

5 Comments:

Bentoist said...

Interesting train of thought there. My study food (what I like to eat while studying) is tuna fish sandwiches!

Jennifer said...

Hm, interesting...I'll have to try that! Thanks for the tip :) I'd assume that tuna acts similarly to Salmon, though I don't really know the difference in make up of the two types of fish...

Alli411 said...

Hmm.. have you thought about what you will eat the night before? When I ran the marathon I ate pasta before based on something I read or heard. I think it had to do with endurance.

Jennifer said...

Hi Alli - my plan the night before will be eggs mixed with a ton of bright veggies. I may do some fish as well with it. Also, banana w/some walnuts may be in my future :)

Breakfast that morning: eggs again maybe & a banana...

...I think I'm going to have to go on an egg strike after this test, haha.

Thanks to bentoist, I'll probably bring a tuna sandwich as a snack since it is a four hour test!

Caitlin said...

good post. ill be sure to pass this along to my classmates as we prepare for the veterinary boards in a month (and thats a 7 hr test). with the tuna, most types of fish have high omega 3's though white fishes tend to be higher i think.

cait