Personalized Diets Do a Body Good
- For students. Sorry, but you really can't live on just pizza and soda. Long nights and busy schedules mean that you need to eat for optimum academic performance. Salmon, tuna fish, flax seeds and walnuts all contain Omega-3 fatty acids. In studies, Omega-3 fatty acids have been linked with healthier brain function. The night before a test, eat grilled salmon or sushi with miso soup. You will feel alert enough to pass your test the next morning -; provided that you also remembered to study.
- For athletes. Unless you're training for the Olympics, you probably don't need to eat an extra pizza every night to recover lost calories. That being said, well-fed muscles recover more quickly after workouts. Athletes should aim to eat a small snack containing both protein and complex carbohydrates within a few hours after their workout. Good choices include peanut butter with whole-grain crackers and fruit with yogurt.
- For busy professionals. Extra stress on the job contributes to fatigue, irritability and poorer
immune function. Foods like
arugula and almonds have immune-system-boosting properties, but busy schedules don't always leave enough time to toss together a healthy salad.
If you skip meals or tend to eat on the run, try looking for healthy, 100 percent fruit juices for quick and lasting energy. One company, NBI Juiceworks (www.nbijuiceworks.com), recently released a line of all-natural, custom-fortified fruit juices. Called "Drenchers Super Juices," the drinks come in flavors like "Immunity," an antioxidant-rich berry blend, and "Restore," an apple-kiwi-mango juice with stress-reducing taurine and ginseng. Each Drenchers Super Juice contains two servings of fruits or vegetables.
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