Brain Power Foods for Success!
Success in anything starts with what you eat.

Success in anything starts with what you eat. You need Energy and Drive for Success!You need clarity of mind, focus and creative inspiration and confidence. The foods you eat will nourish your body, mind and spirit and, help you achieve all these things!

Do you suffer from?

Bloating/Pain/Discomfort/Flatulence

Diarrhea or constipation

Reflux/burping

Itching

Skin Problems

Do you have the following habits?

Eating irregularly

Eating when you’re upset

Drinking excess water, tea or other drinks with meals

Eating sugary foods and drinks to gain more energy

Eating even though you are full

Eating too fast

Eating the wrong foods

Are you actually listening to your Body and how it feels?

Do you feel rundown – and take frequent time off work?

No energy

Poor concentration

Anxiety

Feel stressed

Feel depressed

Sleep problems

Irritable & argumentative

Herbal/homeopathic remedies can alleviate and resolve many of these disorders safely and effectively. Some foods you are eating could be causing allergy-based reactions or hindering your digestive/bowel process. Simple changes to your present diet and supporting supplements/remedies will re-establish equilibrium, balance and energy.

You need a wide variety of foods in your diet examples are:

Grains – brown rice, rolled oats, oat bran, cous cous, quinoa, barley, millet, amaranth, eat a variety of each everyday.

Variety of fresh fruit and vegetables daily.

Nature is clever; the colour in our foods represents different minerals and vitamins that are contained in that food, variety is important. Eating the same food can increase risk of developing food sensitivities and limits nutritional intake, specifically your mineral profile.

Good Sources of Protein
Deep sea and cold water Fish, poultry, tofu/soy beans/tempeh, legumes – lentils, beans

Eggs, sheep/goat cheese/yogurt, milk etc, it is easier to digest – less likely to cause allergies and lean red meat.

Poor Sources of Protein

Bacon, beef, pork, salami, pepperoni, sausages, liver, hard cheeses – from the Cow.

Excess cow products i.e. yogurt, milk, potentially cause digestive problems and allergies.

Red meats take a longer transit time through the colon, eating it too often or at lunchtime can make you feel sleepy and lethargic. Red meats can contribute towards constipation. Not everyone tolerates digesting red meats. Usually one serving every 7-10 days is sufficient for majority of people, unless you are a prime athlete, or trade’s person performing a lot of physical hard work. Your blood type can assist in ascertaining your tolerance to red meat. Blood type O is more able to digest red meats since there is a higher acidic environment in the Gut. Blood type A’s are the least tolerant since they have less acidity, where B’s and A/B can tolerate small amounts.

Alternatives choices
Introduce brown rice, rye flour instead of white rice, white flour, white sugar. Vegetable pasta instead of wheat. These alternatives are all a good source of fiber for healthy digestion and vitamin B – known as the anti-stress vitamin.

Brainy breakfasts improve work performance
Breakfast: - Oats, muesli, millet, quinoa, amaranth, seeds: sesame seeds, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds. Almonds, walnuts, pecan, cashews.

Eggs, soft boil, scrambled, poached, omelet, – not fried. Whole grain bread, black rye and sour dough breads, yogurt with live bacteria, (goat/sheep), fruit of choice, melon, paw paw, berries, pineapple (fruits should be eaten first on their own not mixed with cereals or yogurt, otherwise they ferment and slow down the digestive process (exception of banana and apple on grains). Try a hot lemon drink prior to eating; this kick starts the Bowel, Gallbladder and Liver into action!"Breakfast" means just that: break the overnight fast. Eating breakfast allows you to restock the energy stores that have been depleted overnight & begin the day with a tank full of the right fuel. Starting the day without breakfast is like trying to use a cordless power tool without ever recharging the battery. If you don’t refuel your body in the morning after an overnight fast, you then draw fuel from your body’s own energy stores until lunchtime. The stress hormones necessary to mobilize these energy reserves may leave you feeling irritable, tired, and unable to concentrate and perform well.

How breakfast can improve work performance
Throughout the brain, biochemical messengers called neurotransmitters help the brain make the right connections. Food influences how these neurotransmitters operate. The more balanced the breakfast, the more balanced the brain function. There are two types of proteins that affect neurotransmitters:

• Neuro stimulants, such as proteins containing tyrosine, affecting the alertness transmitters dopamine and norepinephrine, and;

• Calming proteins that contain tryptophan, which relaxes the brain.

A breakfast with the right balance of both stimulating and calming foods starts you off with a brain that is primed to concentrate, learn, and perform well and emotions that are balanced.

Eating complex carbohydrates along with proteins helps to usher the amino acids from these proteins into the brain, so that the neurotransmitters can work better. Complex carbohydrates and proteins act like biochemical partners for enhancing concentration, learning, performance and behaviour. This biochemical principle is called "synergy," meaning that the combination of two nutrients works better than each one singly.

Breakfast skippers are more likely to show erratic eating patterns throughout the day, eat less nutritious foods, and give into junk-food cravings. Cravings for a mid- morning sugar fix because they can’t make it all the way to lunchtime on an empty fuel tank.

Brain Power Lunch
Cold water fish, salmon, tuna, trout. Deep sea fish, Perch, Snapper, Mackerel, bream, Barramundi etc Salads of choice – including avocado, olive oil for dressing.

Sandwiches, using whole grain/rye /sour dough breads are preferable, unsalted butter, tahini, houmos, lentil burgers, stir fries, fresh prepared soups. Eggs, poultry are also good choices. Avoid Red Meats they make you sleepy, they take much longer to digest. You need to be alert in the afternoon!

What you eat for dinner affects the function of your Brain and good quality sleep that nourishes your body at a deep cellular level.

Brain Power Dinner
Fish: Cold water fish, salmon, tuna, and trout. Deep sea fish, Perch, Snapper, Mackerel, bream, Barramundi. Salads of choice – including avocado, Olive oil for dressing. Poultry: free range chicken, turkey, pasture fed lean beef, lamb and 5-6 vegetables with your meal! Yellow, Orange, Red, White, Green – give yourself plenty of colour and variety! Steam and grill rather than bake, (unless dry baking – then drain off any residue fat at half time). Home made soups, containing several vegetables, lentils, beans, herbs.

Snacks
Fruits, rice crackers with tahini/nut spread, nuts, houmos, tuna/salmon crackers, and vegetable juice. If you have eaten a nourishing dinner you should not require late snack, which slows down your digestion prior to sleep.

Good Fats
Olive oil/ flaxseed oil/ fish oils/ evening primrose oil

Good fish – tuna, salmon, sardines, trout, bream, mackerel, halibut etc

Avocado, tahini, nut pastes, unsalted butter

Bad Fats
Bacon bits/rind, cream, margarine, sour cream, fat off all meats, salami, lard, cooking oils such as, hydrogenated oils

Not enough Water can cause
Lack of concentration, headaches, dizziness, fatigue, dry skin, tired and aching muscles constipation – creating irritability and short temper. You need to consume around 1.5 – 2 litres per day. Add a slice of lemon for flavour. Filtered/spring water, not direct tap water!The Vitamin B family is vital for concentration, energy and ability to manage deadlines and stress. Found in wholegrain cereals, dark green leafy, vegetables, tuna, salmon, nuts, eggs, yeast. It is important to include Omega 3 Oil in your diet for brain function.

Foods containing Omega 3 Oils
Cold water oily fish: tuna, salmon, trout, sardines, some deep sea oily fish: bream, mackerel, herring.

You don’t like fish? Then, include Cod Liver Oil and Omega 3 Oil supplements for optimum health. Avocado contains Omega 3 oil! Tofu, soybeans, walnut and flaxseed, and their oils contain alpha-linolenic acid (LNA), which can become omega-3 fatty acid in the body.

Omega-3 in fish is high in two fatty acids crucial to human health, DHA and EPA.

These two fatty acids are pivotal in preventing heart disease, cancer, and many other diseases.

The human brain is also highly dependent on DHA low DHA levels have been linked to depression, schizophrenia, memory loss, and a higher risk of developing Alzheimer’s.

Researchers are now also linking inadequate intake of omega-3 fats in pregnant women to premature birth, low birth weight, and to hyperactivity in children.

Plant sources of Omega 3

Leafy Green Vegetables Which you could combine with walnut, spinach and other dark greens in a salad.

Nuts Walnuts, Brazil Nuts, Hazelnuts, Pecans.

Seeds Especially sesame seeds. Sesame seeds complement any slightly sweet or spicy chilli dressing. They contain calcium.

Tahini Tahini is a sesame seed paste used as a dip, and as a base for some Middle Eastern sauces i.e. curries, excellent spread on bread.

Hommus A great tasting chickpea dip – made with tahini base!

Oils Soya Bean Oil, Sunflower Oil, Linseed/Flaxseed Oil.

Eggs Egg yolks, chicken and duck, all good sources of omega 3 fatty acids.

If you include all of these foods in your diet you will become more focused, mentally active, confident and experience more drive and ambition to create your success!

Lyn Craven is a Practitioner of Naturopathy, Bowen Therapy and Energy/Reiki Therapist. Lyn is a Corporate Health Facilitator and Presenter for Health Expos. She has written articles on a variety of topics over the years and runs a private practice located in Bondi, Sydney. For further information, Lyn can be contacted on 0403 231 804 or lynraven@zeta.org.au. Website www.zeta.org.au/~lynraven