Need Energy for an Intense Workout: Eat a Lot of Brain Food

Need Energy for an Intense Workout: Eat a Lot of Brain Food

Did you know these foods are considered brain food?


Any individual serious about working out knows that a proper diet is in large part what gives them the strength to power through an intense workout. For example, if you’re someone who works out early in the morning, you’ve likely noticed a significant difference between the workout you do on an empty stomach and the workout you do 15 to 20 minutes after consuming a healthy breakfast. The human body needs a plurality of things to function at the most basic of levels, and food is one of these things. But when it comes to working out, there is a plurality of essential foods that individuals can consume that will allow them to have better workouts; many of these foods are considered brain food, and some of them you may not have known is regarded as such!


Carrots


Although Bugs Bunny’s favorite food is known commonly as one which promotes eye health, carrots are also an incredible brainfood. There are substances in the human body called free radicals which float through the bloodstream and try to break down brain cells, in effect damaging your ability to retain memory as you age. However, when antioxidants merge with these free radicals, they become harmless—needless to say, but carrots are loaded with antioxidants! Studies have also shown that carrot consumption promotes cognitive health in other ways: consuming carrots on a regular basis lowers levels of oxidative stress in the brain that can weaken nerve signaling capacity.


Tomatoes


Tomatoes are a standard in any good salad. But did you know that these shiny, red fruits are also really good for your brain? Tomatoes contain the powerful antioxidant lycopene, which is believed to help protect against the kind of free radical damage to cells that are seen commonly in developing dementia. Tomatoes also contain the vitamin B group nutrient choline, which a 2013 study found improves short-term memory, learning ability, and sleep quality. Studies have also shown that the alpha-lipoic acid found in tomatoes helps protect and preserve brain tissue, which may, in some instances, even delay the onset of Alzheimer’s disease.


Pumpkin Seeds


That’s right, pumpkin seeds are a brain food. There are these things out there called omega-3 fatty acids—they’re usually found in fish—that is incredibly good for maintaining cognitive health and supporting brain development: pumpkin seeds are loaded with them. Pumpkin seeds are also rich in magnesium—which has shown to have calming effects on the brain when consumed—and zinc, something your brain uses to focus and retain memory. In fact, a single handful of pumpkin seeds provides close to 50 percent of the zinc intake that is recommended for all humans. Also, studies from 2011 found that zinc played a “critical” role in maintaining and regulating the interaction between memory and cognition. Pumpkins may be closely associated with Halloween and the month of October, but their seeds are something you should be consuming throughout the year!