University Success: Healthy Eating

What, you may ask, do your eating habits have to do with University success? Why, a lot, actually. And not just university: this applies to pretty much everything in your life.
What you put into your body determines what you can get out of it. Food and drink affects your ability to concentrate, your energy levels, brain function, how much you can learn, stamina and overall health. So you might find that if you don't take care of yourself in terms of nutrition, your work suffers. Conversely, if you spend some time thinking about how to optimise your nutrition, you might find that your productivity rises.
Even if you think this is silly and believe your university success hinges on your study abilities, don't knock it before you try it. After all, anything that could help you succeed should be considered.

Here are some suggestions you might want to consider with regards to your eating habits:

• drink water constantly. Always have a glass of water next to you. If it's empty, fill it up. If you feel thirsty, you are too late: it means you are already dehydrated, so keep sipping. Why is this important? Apparently, around 40%-60% of the population are constantly dehydrated without even knowing it. Coffee and tea are also dehydrating. The more dehydrated you are, the more your brain and blood flow is affected, and so your productivity suffers. Just think about what happens when humans are extremely dehydrated: we suffer from dizziness, fainting and see black spots: All signs that your brain is affected. You are studying, you want to be as effective as possible and not waste time, and even slight dehydration has a negative impact on how you work. So keep drinking. And by the way, drinking cold water helps burn calories because your body needs to work to get it to body temperature. Just saying... 
• invest in supplements. At the bare minimum take fish (or cod liver) oil and multivitamins. I also take silica complex and biotin, but that's because I like to have nice hair and skin. You can get your supplements for good prices at the drugstore or health food stores. Often they are of offer. Even though you get nutrients through your food, you most likely won't get the adequate amount of everything your body needs through your meals, unless you are on a good nutrition plan and follow it rigorously. And let's be honest here... who does? Ensuring you have an adequate supply of vitamins and nutrients daily increases your energy levels and productivity by a lot. Plus, you will be healthier. Being ill or tired will not help your studies at all. 
• Don't eat sugary cereal for breakfast. I know it is tempting, but you don't want to be on a sugar high (with the following slump) after breakfast. Maybe reserve the Lucky Charms as a special Sunday treat. The rest of the week, try granola with milk or yoghurt. Or greek yoghurt with honey and fruit. Get some proper cereal bars (not the chocolate kind) for on the go. Occasionally I like to have bagels with cream cheese and salmon. Try to avoid bacon during the week at least. 
• Have snacks. It's much healthier to have smaller, lighter meals but more often. Having three big meals makes you more tired, as your body works to digest the large amounts of food. Try nuts, fruits (fresh or dried), rice crackers. Also try peanut butter with celery (add raisins if you like), boiled eggs, dark chocolate, tomatoes with lemon juice, pure juice (not from concentrate), smoothies and greek yoghurt. Possibilities are endless. Avoid sugary snacks. 
• Dress up your ramen. We all know instant ramen are a popular student meal. They are cheap and quick. Nutritious, maybe not so much. Take a look at the awesome looking picture on the packet and recreate. Add prawns, Shiitake mushrooms (you can buy these dried. Just drop them in some water for a few hours to rehydrate.), spring onions, seaweed, whatever seems to be on the picture. It will take a couple of minutes more, but increase nutritional value and overall enjoyment by a lot. 
• Learn to love fish. Fish is full of health benefits. Omega 3 fats being one of them. Try to go for sustainable varieties, which are usually the less popular (but just as tasty) options. Try mackerel for example, but steer clear of cod. Visit The Good Fish Guide for more information. 
• Less, but better quality: Splurge on free range eggs and organic meat varieties. First off, they taste better. Second, the meat doesn't look or smell diseased. Next time you go to the supermarket, take an organic chicken breast and hold it next to the cheap, indoor reared versions. This alone put me off buying cheap chicken for good. Did you know that indoor reared chicken have their beaks cut off and run around miserable, possibly infected and in pain before they or their eggs land on your plate? Caged hens are often featherless, sick and miserable creatures. If you saw a diseased looking animal limping out of a forest and you wouldn't eat that, you really shouldn't want low quality supermarket meat on your plate either. For the sake of your good karma and health, avoid.
• invest in fresh vegetables. While you can get them from the supermarket, for the sake of keeping things affordable, try local stores and asian supermarkets. They often sell fresh produce at a fraction of the cost and you might find some exotic varieties to keep things interesting. 
• avoid your typical cafeteria and/or british fare. Bid farewell to chips, pies, sausages and all those "hearty" meals. Having a typical heavy lunch will leave you feeling sluggish for the rest of the afternoon when you should be bristling with energy. I'm not saying never have it, but try not to. 
• enjoy salads. A salad doesn't have to be some leaves with dressing. You can add anything you want. Noodles, nuts, grapefruit, avocado, (sweet) potatoes, eggs, meat, mushrooms (the legal kind, thank you very much), raw vegetables, quinoa, peas, corn, apples... anything really. Pair with a nice dressing. 
• try to cook your own healthy meals, and freeze portions. That way, you don't have to cook every day, and "no time" isn't an excuse for unhealthy eating anymore. 
• try low GI sweeteners such as Stevia and Agave Nectar. This will help avoid sugar highs and lows.
• try fresh soups. You can get them from the supermarket in the chilled foods section. They are quick, healthy meal options and they are tasty and filling. 

If you have any more healthy habits or suggestions you'd like to share, let me know in the comments below. Hope you enjoyed this and I will see you soon :)