Tips to fill your diet with more brain food
The reason for your plummeting grades may not be your fault…entirely. Food and thought, the two go hand in hand. Getting your daily dose of fruit and veggies does give you a boost of brainpower. You’ll still have to study to get good grades (vegetables don’t work miracles). A healthy diet improves sleep and concentration, leading to more effective studying and better grades. Veggies and fruit are also easier on the budget too, just not in your school food court. In a way, they do work miracles.
You start your day off with a double latte and a bagel at noon and end it with a double cheeseburger and Coke in the wee hours of the morning. No wonder you’re dragging yourself around all afternoon.
Student life is hard. leaving mom’s homemade cooking and fending for yourself can leave anyone turning to fast food for every meal. so how do you eat right without mom?
College food service departments have a major influence over students’ eating habits and, ultimately, their their overall health. At a large amount of colleges and universities, the food service department is contracting meals out to fast food chains like McDonald’s, Wendy’s and Taco Bell. So the options are simple: a burger, fries and a drink for under $5, or a salad with no side for over $6. The choice is obvious, luring students in who keep coming back.
Why? Your body gets used to the high fat, high salt foods and starts to crave them, making the once in a while treat a daily ritual.
Fast food from your local food court may be easy on the wallet and taste buds, but they offer very little nutrition. Vegetables and fruit from your local grocery store are inexpensive and provide your body with all the nutrition you need to feel energized. Whole grains, like bread and pasta, are also healthy and inexpensive.
Avoiding the fast food trap
It’s nearly impossible not to give in tot the tempting taste of a double cheeseburger or quesadilla on an empty stomach, but try to avoid the food court when your tummy grumbles.
The first step to avoiding temptation is eating a well-balanced diet regularly.
Helpful tips
Before you hit the grocery store, study the food pyramid. Once you know what to eat and how much of it to consume, you can hit the aisles.
Try to stick to the outside aisles of the store, which contain the fresh stuff. Buy 60-70 percent of groceries from here.
Cut back on junk food.
