With the fall semester approaching, you may be thinking about your tuition payments, schedule, and supplies you’ll need, but it’s also a great time to think about ways to support your efforts and boost your performance. You’ve probably heard a million and one times, for example, that our diet can impact our brain function and productivity.
A few years ago, researchers at Rush University Medical Center and the Harvard School Of Public Health created the MIND diet, which is a combination of the Mediterranean and the DASH (Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension) diets and was based on studies on eating patterns that reduce the risk Alzheimer’s disease.
This diet encourages high consumption of 10 “brain-healthy” food groups, including green leafy vegetables and other veggies, berries, olive oil, nuts, and fish. While it doesn’t outright ban anything, it limits unhealthy foods like red meat, sweets, and processed foods. A daily glass of red wine is encouraged.
Not that you have to follow it to the letter, but taking even a few days to observe how dietary changes can impact your brain function can give you insight into which habits might be a good fit for your day-to-day diet this fall.
In this article for Fast Company, writer Anisa Purbasari Horton shares her experience of following this diet for a week.