Like our guest blogger Brenna Oliver pointed out, a simple way to boost productivity is to “feed the beast.”  That means eating healthy!  A healthy diet can improve your concentration and ability to learn and process new information.  We’ve put together a list of student-friendly ways to add these foods to your diet, and we also went out for a team lunch and picked out a few examples from a fellow Boston local company, Boloco, for those of you who are studying in Boston.

1.  Nuts

Nuts like walnuts, pistachios, and almonds are rich infatty acids, which helpus think clearly and support ourbrain health.  Did you know that our brains are mostly made up offatty tissues?  This means that consuming fattyacids will help foster a healthy brain.  Research shows that one of these fatty acids – Omega 3 – can actually help reduce symptoms of some learningdisorders like ADHD.  Because Omega 3 is rarely found in plant foods,eating nuts is a great way to get of getting fattyacids into your diet if you’re vegetarian.  

Food products with nuts:

Trail Mix or Nature Valley Trail Mix Bars

Trader Joe’s peanut butter

Raw almonds or mixed nuts

Boloco feature:  Their Jimmy Cater and Nutella Yogurt Milkshake are to die for.

2.  Fruits and Vegetables

You should be thanking Mom for making you finish all your greens before dessert, because eating fruitsand veggies actually boost your intelligence!  Vegetables like broccoli, cauliflower, beans, and spinach are rich with folic acid, which help with studying and memoryretention.  Also, berries and apples help with blood flow circulation and toxin reduction in theblood stream, which help you think clearer.

Delicious ways to add fruits and veggies to your diet:

Add carrots and mixed fruits in your smoothie

Salad can be mixed with nuts, light olive oil or a dressing of your choice

Quiches or omelets help you start your day with a hearty breakfast

Boloco feature:  Veggie Burrito with tofu or a Berry Blast Smoothie

3.   Whole Wheat

Whole wheat is a kind of grain, and likenuts it canboost your energy, improve memory and keepyou full.  Not only is ithealthier then than otheralternatives (like white bread), it has become recentlymore accessible in manysupermarkets and convenience stores. Almost everything nowadays comein whole wheat option, be it pasta, pretzels, cookies or tortillas. 

Whole wheat pretzels from Rold Gold

Whole wheat cookies – try Fig Newtons!

Boloco feature:  Whole wheat tortillas and burrito wraps for your choice of meal.

Bonus Food Item:  Fish

If there’s one thing you should know about fish, it’s that they’re rich with Omega3 Fatty acids.  As we mention above, fatty acids are pretty good for brain health.

Affordable ways to get fish in your diet:

Gordon’s Frozen fish sticks

Nature’s Bounty Fish oil pills

Bumble Bee light canned tuna

Sushi