What you should eat to work better under pressure

As we near the end of the year, work-based pressure is certainly starting to build. Whether you’re a student studying for final exams or a worker slogging it out to finish all the tasks that need to be completed right before the festive season, high-pressured environments can prove incredibly stressful. “No matter what sort of work you do, everyone needs to fuel their bodies so they can maximise their ability to focus, concentrate and stay calm,” says Jane Freeman, Accredited Practising Dietitian and spokesperson for the Dietitians Association of Australia. The big question is how do you do that? Here are Freeman’s dietary tips on how to eat your way to work at your best level. Eat to sustain mental clarity “Glucose is our body’s petrol and certainly our brain’s petrol, ” Freeman explains. “So our ability to focus and concentrate depends on our ability to maintain a good supply of glucose energy that is consistent and even throughout the day.” To provide our brain with a constant flow of glucose energy, Freeman says we need to eat low GI sources of carbohydrate foods like wholegrains, vegetables, fruits, lentils and pulses. “That includes foods like hummus, baked beans, lentil soup, lean meats and low-fat dairy foods. These are the sort of foods that move glucose more slowly into our blood and produce a nice, even flow of glucose throughout the body and brain.” Freeman adds that people with diabetes or with a genetic predisposition for type 2 diabetes – individuals aged over 35 from an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander, Pacific Island, Indian subcontinent or Chinese cultural background –should also be aware of the need to eat regular, small meals that are low-fat and low-GI to maintain blood glucose levels. “Maintaining a basic wholefood diet that is plant-based, high […]

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