Eagle Ridge Community Centre

What you eat helps boost your mood and sharpen your memory and concentration - just what you need to get back in gear for school or work after a long, hot summer of laziness. Fitness Institute nutrition expert, Eagleridge Community centre offers these tips for maintaining the healthy mind you need to get through your days this September:

1. Breakfast, breakfast, breakfast.
 “We've all heard that breakfast is the most important meal of the day, and that's not an old wives tale,” . A mix of protein, such as eggs or lean breakfast meats, carbs and a little bit of fat provides a solid blood-sugar level, giving you the ability to think clearly and be sharp in school or on the job first thing in the morning.  No appetite in the early hours?  mixing a protein shake and taking it to go.

2. Pack the right foods for a long day at the office or on campus. 
Pack healthy, portable snacks like string cheese, low-fat crackers or pretzels, fruit and nuts, yogurt, and low-sugar protein bars. These quick fixes between classes or meetings will keep your brain going all day. 

3. Eliminate afternoon fatigue.
Post-lunch fatigue is due to a low blood-sugar level which results in headaches, lost concentration and irritability. Avoid fatigue by eating breakfast, limiting carbs and fats at lunch, and never going longer then four hours between meals.

4. Skip the soda!
Regular soda is packed with sugar - “a big NO,”  When you're parched and in need of caffeine during the day, grab diet sodas, coffee and tea instead. When you get your nutrition squared away, the cravings for caffeine and sugar will subside.