we have
all have had days at work when we wished we could just take a nice
nap after a heavy lunch.
The subsequent drowsiness after a
heavy meal often interferes with our productivity for the rest of the day.
While you need the nutrition to
keep up the productivity, you also need to ensure that you are getting it from
the right places.
If not, at least make sure that you
are not getting it from the wrong places.
Here is a list of foods to avoid at
work:
1. Pasta
Everyone loves a plate of delicious
pasta.
As tempting as it sounds, to indulge
in its cheesy deliciousness, eating pasta during work isn't recommended.
Pasta contains carbohydrates, which
can make your blood sugar levels raise.
As a result, a large amount of
insulin is released by the pancreas.
This causes the movement of
tryptophan, a kind of amino acid, from the bloodstream to the brain resulting
in the formation of serotonin, a chemical messenger that induces sleep.
Like pasta, processed food
items like pastries, white bread, muffins and cakes also induce sleep due
to their high flour and sugar content.
2. High-fat meat
Meat with high fat content causes
drowsiness because fat digestion is one of the most difficult processes carried
out by our digestive system.
Our body utilities more energy for
digesting fats, thus leaving us exhausted.
So food items containing high-fat
meats like steaks and hamburgers should be avoided for lunch.
3. Bananas
Bananas are rich in potassium and
magnesium.
But these nutrients relax the
muscles and nerves in our body and induce sleep.
Bananas also contain Vitamin B6,
which causes serotonin formation in the brain. This will cause you to feel
full, content and also sleepy.
4. Dark chocolate
Dark chocolate also contains the sleep-inducing
hormone, serotonin.
While otherwise delightful to
eat, chocolate when eaten at work can make you lethargic and unproductive.
5. Salmon
Salmon is rich in Vitamin B6. This
vitamin helps in the formation of melatonin and serotonin, and the sedative
effects of these hormones may cause you to doze off at work.
6. White rice
White rice has a high glycemic
index, which is the measure of the effect of a food item on the body's blood
sugar level.
As white rice has high carbohydrate
contents as well, consuming it leads to a higher rise in blood glucose levels,
thereby leading to higher insulin levels.
This leads to the formation of the
sleep-inducing hormone, serotonin.
7. Desserts
Consumption of desserts or sweets
shoots up your blood sugar level leading to an increased secretion of insulin
by the pancreas.
This gives you a sudden boost of
energy, but when the initial effect starts wearing out and the insulin rapidly
starts lowering your blood sugar level, you will start feeling tired and
exhausted.
This also speeds up the release of
sleep-inducing enzymes like tryptophan and serotonin.
So having desserts along with lunch
could also well be the reason for your lack of productivity.
In short, try to avoid sugary, fatty
and processed food items for lunch as they can make you feel sluggish for the
rest of the day.
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