Today we are going to go over the optimal diet for traders.
Diet is something we want to make sure we take care of. What we put in our body affects our level of focus, and as traders we have to be able to maintain a clear cognition while we are at the charts.
Foods that are good for our brain improve the longevity of clear thinking. In todays video we are going to go over the best foods for our brain, why gut health is important, as well as the best times, and the worst times for us to eat, foods that cause us to have a lack of focus, and
the best nutrients for our brain.
let’s get right into it!
The best foods for our brain are fats. Water content in the brain is high, and a lot of the brain and a lot of the integrity of the nerve cells (neurons) and **the other cells come from fat.These are not the same fats that surrounds our body. The other types of foods that are good for the brain are grass fed beef. Good quality beef comes with good quality structural fats, choline, creatine, and phosphatidylserine. Seafood like oysters, sardines, anchovies are a good food source because of the omega 3 fatty acid content. If you do not like fish, you can always supplement for **fish oils or even krill oil.** **Chia seeds** are high in omega 3. **walnuts** contain omega 3 as well as choline. Eggs and egg yolks are a great source of choline and phosphatidylserine. Now even if you are vegan or vegetarian you can still get great foods that are great for brain health. Seaweed and algae are great sources of omega 3 for people on a vegetarian or vegan diet because they are one of the few plant foods containing both DHA and EPA. Edamame are immature soybeans, and they are rich in both omega-3s and protein. All fruits are loaded with vitamins, fiber, and phytonutrients, but berries are in a class of their own. They are bursting with Flavonoids that protect brain cells from oxidative damage. Research suggests that the flavonoids in blueberries can improve numerous cognitive skills, including memory and learning.
Now let’s get into why gut health and watching what we eat is so important. Now just like our brain our entire digestive track has neurons running through it. Neuropod cells that are exquisitely tuned to the chemistry of what is in your gut. They survey the quality of food and send electrical signal to the brain Through a passage called nodose ganglion. Nodose ganglion are neurons that send process to the brain to trigger the release of dopamine. dopamine is a molecule that inspires motivation, reward, and more seeking for whatever it is that led to the activation. Higher levels of dopamine cause you to want, desire, seek out, and search. It increases your general level of arousal and your goal-directed behavior. Eat foods rich in tyrosine including cheese, meats, fish, dairy, soy, seeds, nuts, beans, lentils. Increase magnesium intake with foods such as seeds, nuts, soy, beans, whole grains, organ meat. These are foods that naturally increase dopamine.
What are the times that that are the best for you to eat, as well as the worst times to eat?
It is Best to eat at least 1 hour after you wake up. You may push it longer if you like for fasting. we will get into that topic in the next video. You should have your last meal at least 2 hours before you go to sleep. The first few hours after eating your body is using a lot of energy to break down your food, and sense what type of food is coming into the system. Eating right before bed can cause you to have a lack of quality sleep which is important for traders. Keep your eating window as consistent as possible, to ensure clear cognition, and energy when consuming food.
Let’s get into what the best nutrients are for our brain. The foods we eat will help us maintain structural fats for our brain. Choline is the biosynthesis pathway for acetylcholine. Acetylcholine is a neuromodulator in the brain. A neuromodulator is a chemical that modulates the function of many brain circuits, and circuits in the body. It tends to enhance the activity (electrical & chemical) of certain sets of neurons as well as downplay the activity of other neurons. It enhances the areas responsible for focus and alertness. we have multiple clusters of neurons in our brain that make acetylcholine to be the most prominent, and well known are the nucleus basalis. Which is a cluster of neurons deep in the basil forebrain that highlight particular areas of our brain. That is the basis of focus. Fats such as omega 3 Supports brain function for short and for long term. You want 1.5 grams of omega 3 daily. an example of this is 6 oz of grass-fed beef can contain 160mg of omega 3 fatty acids.
**phosphatidylserine** is a phospholipid, a fatty substance produced in the body that helps transmit messages between nerve cells in the brain. It covers and protects brain cells, aids blood clotting, and may play a key role in retaining memory sharpness. it is directly supportive of brain health. You want about 300 mg per day. ****Vitamin E**** This powerful antioxidant also has studied links to cognitive performance. ****Calcium and Magnesium**** Your brain works so well because of the interconnectedness of your neurons and their ability to communicate. Two minerals calcium and magnesium play a big role keeping communications flowing. **flavonoids** show promising results in maintaining healthy brain function. Quercetin a flavonoid that’s a major component of ginkgo biloba extracts has been shown to maintain memory and learning abilities in some studies.
Now let me ask you this, are you able to maintain a clear cognition, and focus while you are at the charts? Whether it is back testing the markets or in the moment of trading and waiting for your setup. Do you see yourself getting distracted easily, and not able to stay in the zone?
If so, I would like you to try and incorporate healthier foods in your diet and stay away from any processed foods for the next 30 days. Within these 30 days, journal and or record each trading session you have as well as each back test session. Take note and see how your focus changes throughout the month.
Meal plan for a week at a time and see how much clarity you gain!
Now of course if you are vegan, vegetarian, pescatarian you can still reap these benefits as well.
There are plenty of sources of great nutrients for brain health, choose the one that works best for you. In the next video we will go over the benefits of fasting and how we can incorporate that into our lives and become the best traders that we can be while having longevity!