I’m in the midst of taking of a hellish three-day long test. The test is given in three-hour long increments, and my mind starts to fade at about the end of hour two. I need advice on what to eat to help sustain my mental faculties…
For breakfast this AM I had a Myoplex protein shake made with 16 oz of skim milk. At lunch I had a peanut butter and honey sandwich on potato bread, a diet coke, and some almonds. I ate three or four gummy-worms during each phase of the test, but I was still fried at the end of the day.
What should I eat? Any advice would be appreciated! Thanks.
First off, I’d personally lay off the Diet Coke. There is some evidence, thought the jury is still out, that the aspartame in it is horrible for the brain. I think one of the best things you can do to keep the brain healthy is eat more Omega 3 fats. Preferably from fish and/or fish oil. Carlson’s Cod Liver Oil is my preference. Doesn’t taste fishy at all. Here’s some information on how it relates to brain health: http://www.westonaprice.org/vitamins/codliveroil.html
While the brain runs totally on glucose, that’s not the fuel you want to ingest to keep mental focus (can we say insulin crash). For some people, caffiene will help mental focus, and for others it just gives them nervous jitters. Biotest has a product named “Power Drive” that a lot of people use to keep mentally sharp, though I have no first-hand experience with it.
Omega-3s are a good choice for good mental faculties, and gingko biloba will help keep blood flow to the brain in good order.
As someone has already stated, its glucose that your brain uses exclusively. I think your problem may be low blood glucose levels by the end of the test because of the type of carbs your eating. From the diet you reported, most of your carbs are simple. Simple carbs means a large insulin response which basically sucks the glucose out of your blood and into your tissues, leaving little for the brain. More complex carbs means a smaller insulin response and your body will maintain blood glucose levels better. I would suggest eating more complex carbs for your lunch and especially for your snacks. NO GUMMY WORMS!
sorry, that sounded a bit snarky… but the point is that the protein shake for breakfast isn’t food, it’s a supplement. Actual food has all kinds of trace elements and nutrients in it that the protein shake can’t hope to emulate. Also, there’s no fat in there, and fat is actually a necessary part of the diet. Try a throughgoing breakfast of OJ, cereal, toast, eggs, bacon… The PB&H for lunch is good, add in some fruit &/or fruit juice and skip the caramelized (carcinogenic) soda. Try Powerbars or the like for a snack, they’re convenient and not just simple sugar.
As someone has already stated, its glucose that your brain uses exclusively.
That’s not completely true. If there is an adequate amount of glucose in the body (as is the case most of the time) the brain will use glucose exclusively. However, if there is no glucose available, the body will feed the brain with ketones–the fuel left as a result of oxidizing fat. It is possible to survive with an intake of virtually no carbs at all. The Eskimos do it for varying periods of time. Also, if it were true that the brain will only use glucose for fuel, that horrible experience most of us know as “hitting the wall” would result in your brain completely shutting down. Sometimes we may wish it did, but it doesn’t. More reading: http://listserv.lehigh.edu/lists/diabetic/html/ketones.html