It’s no secret that proper nutrition fuels your body and crafting the right diet can impact performance. But how will this impact your presentations? Discipline with diet can come in many forms. Ensuring you eat the right nutrients the day of your big pitch is important, but what about while you are creating your narrative? Brain food is essential for not only your performance, but your memory, focus, and cognitive ability. Understanding how to harness the power of nutrients will give you an edge in the writing room, the boardroom and beyond.
Brain Food for Focus
While crafting your narrative, it’s important to fill your body with foods that will help you hone a compelling message. In order to improve learning be sure to add extra virgin olive oil cold to your recipe. Avocados will improve cognitive function, especially concentration. If you’re putting in a long day, Alaskan wild-caught salmon will keep your brain running smoothly and help decrease brain fog. All three of these brain foods help increase memory, as well. Dark Chocolate improves blood flow to the brain, and walnuts aid in improving mental alertness. A great recipe that would incorporate all of this could be walnut encrusted salmon accompanied by a halved avocado drizzled with extra virgin olive oil and a few cubes of dark chocolate for dessert.
Brain Food for Performance
The day of your presentation, you want to ensure you’re fueling up by focusing on mood, performance, and energy. Turmeric is a great place to start, as it can easily be added to almost any recipe and improves your brain’s oxygen intake, keeping you alert and able to process information for a long day ahead. Beets will boost your energy and aid in performance levels. Blueberries can be proactive in protecting your brain from stress. Bone broth and broccoli keep memory sharp. Finally, egg yolks produce hormones related to happiness to keep your mood positive. Some brain food suggestions for performance day are eggs prepared your way sprinkled with turmeric, roasted beet and broccoli salad, a side of blueberries, and a glass of bone broth.
Brain Food for Cognitive Ability Long-term
It’s important to keep up with your brain health even on days that are not as high stakes. Keep longevity at the forefront of your mind when crafting your meal plan for the week. Coconut oil is an incredibly versatile ingredient and can help with memory loss as you age. Dark, leafy greens are always a good idea, as they can help keep dementia at bay. Walnuts are good for preparation, but they are also great long-term as they can ward off Alzheimer’s. Lastly, rosemary can pack quite the punch by protecting the brain from neurodegeneration and protecting eyesight from deteriorating.
Don’t just take my word for it. Do some research in to brain foods if none of these ingredients fit your fancy and excite your palate. Dr. Joshua Axe, doctor of natural medicine and clinical nutritionist, goes into depth about all the other benefits of these brain foods beyond the boardroom.
At Ethos3, we understand the pressure of putting together a quality presentation and making sure it’s delivered flawlessly. Contact one of our presentation coaches today to get more tips and tricks for making your next pitch land right where you want it.
