Today, we feature healthy eating advice published in Nature by nutrition researchers Ajouan Buoyed and Torstein Bohn . I hope this article can bring some help to you readers.
How can we eat healthy?
As nutrition researchers, we are often asked by colleagues and the general public for our advice on diet and exercise to maintain good health. But can we do these suggestions ourselves?
Everyone faces the challenge of eating healthy. Like many of our peers, we routinely work long hours - nearly a third of researchers in a mid-2021 Nature survey reported working more than 50 hours a week.
As a result, we too are often tempted by the chocolate bar from the vending machine, even though we know fruit and vegetables are healthier choices: Eating five servings of fruit and vegetables a day (approximately equivalent to 80-100g) can help prevent, coronary heart disease and stroke and other diseases.
We both work in French-speaking countries and are very familiar with the ever-changing Mediterranean diet. Traditionally, this food culture encouraged people to eat smaller meals and take longer to eat — but thanks to fast-paced lifestyles and the convenience of processed foods and beverages, these customs are disappearing.
Most of us are often out of the kitchen or at home, so how can we encourage ourselves and other busy researchers to eat "brain food"? Experience has shown that the most motivating way to do research is to remind yourself that eating a healthy, balanced diet can help your body and mind to be at their best.
Therefore, whenever possible, we should choose foods that help improve concentration, memory, learning3 and even the immune system4 . Here are nine tips we've co-written for eating that can help us perform our daily tasks and keep our bodies and minds functioning—whether in the lab or in front of a computer screen—and be more productive at work. Lively and motivated.
Tip1: Eat some healthy snacks in time
Eat something every once in a while to keep your blood sugar levels relatively high, but not soaring. For example, eating a piece of fruit every three hours or so can prevent hunger and excess consumption of calories. When you eat, learn to relax and try not to think about research; if you often stand in the laboratory, please sit down; See colleagues downstairs.
Tip 2: Add three meals to your schedule
Build meal times into your schedule, too—because if you don’t, someone else might “step in,” such as inviting you to a meeting.
Choose a time period that aligns with changes in your "biological clock" and hormones (such as insulin) to optimize metabolic health, including the diversity and composition of your microbiome. In other words, trust your instincts and eat when you feel your body needs it during the day, but in general, try to avoid eating lunch too late. Eating earlier can improve your energy balance, weight regulation, blood sugar control and sleep satisfaction.
The brain uses about 20 percent of the body's total energy, so maintaining consistent energy levels is important to keep your body functioning optimally. Focus on what you eat at the scheduled time, take your time, and don’t “fool” yourself by grabbing a sandwich in front of a screen and gobbling it up. Your body deserves rest.
Tip 3: Enjoy food
Can be shared with colleagues to turn dining into an enjoyable event. It is recommended that you take turns preparing dishes from your own country or region so that you can enjoy different cultural cuisines together. Dining with a group and discussing the day's events can help you relax, laugh, and share useful information and experiences.
Tip4: Plan your diet reasonably
If you're feeling extra hungry, your eyes and hypothalamus won't help you make healthy food choices; instead, they'll prompt you to choose sweet, salty, or fatty foods.
Therefore, try to plan your meals well in advance. Increase your intake of low-calorie foods such as soups, salads, vegetables, and minimally processed foods rich in dietary fiber, including whole grains, cereals, fruits, legumes, whole rice, and whole-wheat pasta. These foods are rich in micronutrients and antioxidants such as potassium, magnesium, vitamin C, vitamin E, B vitamins, and healthy lipids, especially unsaturated omega-3s, which help prevent chronic disease.
Neurotransmitters such as serotonin, dopamine, epinephrine, and norepinephrine are important for brain function, mood, and mood regulation, and the body requires food-derived precursors, as well as vitamins and minerals, to synthesize these substances.
Tip5: Enrich your diet
Stimulate your appetite with a variety of food choices, preferably by including more fruits and vegetables in your diet and reducing your intake of red meat and meat products. Every day should be a new dining experience. But that doesn't mean being a food connoisseur: Overthinking what to eat can take up your time and lead you to make compromises -- opting for something more tantalizing.
In the Okinawa Islands of Japan—one of the lowest rates of chronic disease in the world and home to many centenarians—there is a saying: “Eat until you are full". In other words, it means that you should eat slowly and avoid "overeating" yourself.
Tip6: Don't let insulin "ride the roller coaster"
Excessive sugar intake not only leads to chronic disease, but may also impair cognitive. Sugary drinks like soda, smoothies, and even fruit juices are low on satiety.
After a blood sugar spike, glucagon, ghrelin, and other hormones kick in to make you hypoglycemic and hungry again.
Artificially sweetened drinks probably won't work any better, either—there's scientific debate about their putative health benefits, as they may directly stimulate appetite in the central hypothalamus rather than regulating insulin levels. Drink water, coffee, tea (including fruit teas) and low-fat milk, or, if you're really craving sugar, homemade juice.
Tip 7: Drink plenty of water
Indoor air is usually dry (because of heating in winter and air conditioning in summer) and may accelerate water loss through breathing, so watch for signs of dehydration. Many health agencies recommend a daily intake of two liters of fluid. Drinking plenty of water increases your blood volume and brain fluid, which improves circulation and improves concentration levels.
You'll also become more tolerant of heat and cold, which is helpful when working in a warm office versus a cool lab.
Water is the fundamental carrier of all vital functions of the body. It also increases daily energy expenditure and satiety. Drinking water half an hour before meals is a particularly good choice, as it can improve feelings of fullness.
Tip8: Make good use of healthy leftovers
Prepackaged sandwiches and processed foods are often high in fat, sugar, salt, and additives that trigger the brain's dopamine reward system and other nervous systems, inducing compulsive eating behaviors .
If you have the time, prepare a healthy meal at home, consider making more than you need for one dinner, and use the leftovers for lunch the next day.
In homemade food, balanced traditional dishes can improve your physical performance and health: the traditional Mediterranean diet, for example, has long been linked to improved cognitive function and a lower incidence of cognitive impairment and Alzheimer's disease.
Making the most indulgent dinner leftovers for lunch the next day also tends to be healthier than the standard pre-packaged sandwich.
Tip9: Reduce salt intake
Salt overuse is one of the leading killers worldwide, leading to increased blood pressure, stroke and other cardiovascular diseases.
But a pinch of salt is essential to most foods, and life, so don't try to cut it out of your diet entirely. But try adding pepper, turmeric, nutmeg, or other seasonings for extra flavor. Some spices, including turmeric and pepper, can help reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease and even reduce overall mortality.
How can we eat healthy?
As nutrition researchers, we are often asked by colleagues and the general public for our advice on diet and exercise to maintain good health. But can we do these suggestions ourselves?
Everyone faces the challenge of eating healthy. Like many of our peers, we routinely work long hours - nearly a third of researchers in a mid-2021 Nature survey reported working more than 50 hours a week.
As a result, we too are often tempted by the chocolate bar from the vending machine, even though we know fruit and vegetables are healthier choices: Eating five servings of fruit and vegetables a day (approximately equivalent to 80-100g) can help prevent, coronary heart disease and stroke and other diseases.
We both work in French-speaking countries and are very familiar with the ever-changing Mediterranean diet. Traditionally, this food culture encouraged people to eat smaller meals and take longer to eat — but thanks to fast-paced lifestyles and the convenience of processed foods and beverages, these customs are disappearing.
Most of us are often out of the kitchen or at home, so how can we encourage ourselves and other busy researchers to eat "brain food"? Experience has shown that the most motivating way to do research is to remind yourself that eating a healthy, balanced diet can help your body and mind to be at their best.
Therefore, whenever possible, we should choose foods that help improve concentration, memory, learning3 and even the immune system4 . Here are nine tips we've co-written for eating that can help us perform our daily tasks and keep our bodies and minds functioning—whether in the lab or in front of a computer screen—and be more productive at work. Lively and motivated.
Tip1: Eat some healthy snacks in time
Eat something every once in a while to keep your blood sugar levels relatively high, but not soaring. For example, eating a piece of fruit every three hours or so can prevent hunger and excess consumption of calories. When you eat, learn to relax and try not to think about research; if you often stand in the laboratory, please sit down; See colleagues downstairs.
Tip 2: Add three meals to your schedule
Build meal times into your schedule, too—because if you don’t, someone else might “step in,” such as inviting you to a meeting.
Choose a time period that aligns with changes in your "biological clock" and hormones (such as insulin) to optimize metabolic health, including the diversity and composition of your microbiome. In other words, trust your instincts and eat when you feel your body needs it during the day, but in general, try to avoid eating lunch too late. Eating earlier can improve your energy balance, weight regulation, blood sugar control and sleep satisfaction.
The brain uses about 20 percent of the body's total energy, so maintaining consistent energy levels is important to keep your body functioning optimally. Focus on what you eat at the scheduled time, take your time, and don’t “fool” yourself by grabbing a sandwich in front of a screen and gobbling it up. Your body deserves rest.
Tip 3: Enjoy food
Can be shared with colleagues to turn dining into an enjoyable event. It is recommended that you take turns preparing dishes from your own country or region so that you can enjoy different cultural cuisines together. Dining with a group and discussing the day's events can help you relax, laugh, and share useful information and experiences.
Tip4: Plan your diet reasonably
If you're feeling extra hungry, your eyes and hypothalamus won't help you make healthy food choices; instead, they'll prompt you to choose sweet, salty, or fatty foods.
Therefore, try to plan your meals well in advance. Increase your intake of low-calorie foods such as soups, salads, vegetables, and minimally processed foods rich in dietary fiber, including whole grains, cereals, fruits, legumes, whole rice, and whole-wheat pasta. These foods are rich in micronutrients and antioxidants such as potassium, magnesium, vitamin C, vitamin E, B vitamins, and healthy lipids, especially unsaturated omega-3s, which help prevent chronic disease.
Neurotransmitters such as serotonin, dopamine, epinephrine, and norepinephrine are important for brain function, mood, and mood regulation, and the body requires food-derived precursors, as well as vitamins and minerals, to synthesize these substances.
Tip5: Enrich your diet
Stimulate your appetite with a variety of food choices, preferably by including more fruits and vegetables in your diet and reducing your intake of red meat and meat products. Every day should be a new dining experience. But that doesn't mean being a food connoisseur: Overthinking what to eat can take up your time and lead you to make compromises -- opting for something more tantalizing.
In the Okinawa Islands of Japan—one of the lowest rates of chronic disease in the world and home to many centenarians—there is a saying: “Eat until you are full". In other words, it means that you should eat slowly and avoid "overeating" yourself.
Tip6: Don't let insulin "ride the roller coaster"
Excessive sugar intake not only leads to chronic disease, but may also impair cognitive. Sugary drinks like soda, smoothies, and even fruit juices are low on satiety.
After a blood sugar spike, glucagon, ghrelin, and other hormones kick in to make you hypoglycemic and hungry again.
Artificially sweetened drinks probably won't work any better, either—there's scientific debate about their putative health benefits, as they may directly stimulate appetite in the central hypothalamus rather than regulating insulin levels. Drink water, coffee, tea (including fruit teas) and low-fat milk, or, if you're really craving sugar, homemade juice.
Tip 7: Drink plenty of water
Indoor air is usually dry (because of heating in winter and air conditioning in summer) and may accelerate water loss through breathing, so watch for signs of dehydration. Many health agencies recommend a daily intake of two liters of fluid. Drinking plenty of water increases your blood volume and brain fluid, which improves circulation and improves concentration levels.
You'll also become more tolerant of heat and cold, which is helpful when working in a warm office versus a cool lab.
Water is the fundamental carrier of all vital functions of the body. It also increases daily energy expenditure and satiety. Drinking water half an hour before meals is a particularly good choice, as it can improve feelings of fullness.
Tip8: Make good use of healthy leftovers
Prepackaged sandwiches and processed foods are often high in fat, sugar, salt, and additives that trigger the brain's dopamine reward system and other nervous systems, inducing compulsive eating behaviors .
If you have the time, prepare a healthy meal at home, consider making more than you need for one dinner, and use the leftovers for lunch the next day.
In homemade food, balanced traditional dishes can improve your physical performance and health: the traditional Mediterranean diet, for example, has long been linked to improved cognitive function and a lower incidence of cognitive impairment and Alzheimer's disease.
Making the most indulgent dinner leftovers for lunch the next day also tends to be healthier than the standard pre-packaged sandwich.
Tip9: Reduce salt intake
Salt overuse is one of the leading killers worldwide, leading to increased blood pressure, stroke and other cardiovascular diseases.
But a pinch of salt is essential to most foods, and life, so don't try to cut it out of your diet entirely. But try adding pepper, turmeric, nutmeg, or other seasonings for extra flavor. Some spices, including turmeric and pepper, can help reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease and even reduce overall mortality.
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