Sometimes your business suffers from myopic strategy, poor planning or lax attention to detail. And sometimes your problems are simpler. Sometimes your business suffers because you’re just plain exhausted, stressed or foggy-headed. What’s to do? Simple (but serious) problems sometimes have simple, elegant solutions. This week, Men’s Health is offering quick dietary fixes to all the moods that trouble busy managers.
You’re facing a grueling meeting or interview and you need to stay alert all the way through?
- Your Meal: Half a grilled-chicken wrap at lunch, hold the mayo
Here’s Why: Eating between 4 and 5 ounces of protein helps your brain create dopamine and norepinephrine, neurochemicals that keep you alert
Pulling out your hair when you think about how much work you need to do before next Tuesday? Don’t stress, just snack.
- Your Meal: A handful of sesame seeds while you’re working
Here’s Why: Stress hormones can deplete your body’s supply of magnesium, reducing your stress-coping abilities
So nervous about tomorrow’s presentation that you can’t sleep? Forget the warm milk.
- Your Meal: Nonfat popcorn half an hour before you go to bed
Here’s Why: The carbs will induce your body to create serotonin, a neurochemical that makes you feel relaxed
You’re forgetting the names of clients or important deadlines? Pack a can opener when you go to the office.
- Your Meal: Pineapple chunks for a snack or a cup of berries in your oatmeal
Here’s Why: Antioxidants from the most-colorful fruits and vegetables help pick off the free radicals that wear away at your memory.
When you think about the important concerns of busy professionals, nutrition might not be first in your mind. But by eating the right food for your mood, you can get your body and brain back on track, so you can start focusing on the larger issues that affect your business.
(Image of pineapple by visualdensity, CC 2.0)
