Best diet before a test

The best diet is a balanced diet that gives you the vitamins, minerals, fiber, protein, and carbohydrates that your body needs to function properly.  Having said that, you may want to tweak you diet a bit right before the test.  Here's how:

• On the day of your test, you may want to eat a protein-rich diet. Your body breaks down protein into amino acids.   Tyrosine is one of these amino acids used by the brain to produce neurotransmitters dopamine and norepinephrine, which are associated with alertness and mental agility.  Good options for your breakfast before the test would be eggs, low-fat yogurt, cottage cheese, nuts.  Add some fruit or berries (many seem to like eating bananas before the test).   
• When you eat only carbohydrates, your brain uses another amino acid – tryptophan – to produce serotonin, which helps you relax.  Carbs can be a good thing the day before your test to help you fight the jitters and get some rest.
• Because our body breaks down protein and carbs differently, you may want to avoid certain combinations of food to keep your energy level up.  Don’t eat proteins and starch together.  A white bread cheese sandwich is not good either. 
• Consider taking a multivitamin every day.  Omega-3s and B vitamins help brain functioning.  You need iron and calcium in your body to be able to cope with the effects of stress.  Antioxidants keep your brain and body clean.  Selenium may help you feel clearheaded, confident and energetic.
• Make sure you stay hydrated as you prepare for your test.  Water and tea are good options, sugary sodas and caffeine are not. 
• Don’t eat a heavy lunch on the day of the test, it will make you sleepy.  Consider a salad with chicken, shrimp or salmon.   
• As a final precaution, stick to what you know as your test day approaches.  Don’t experiment with new foods and supplements because you don’t know how they may affect you.  Eat safe.   
• Here’s your shopping list:
  Almonds
  Avocados
  Bananas
  Beef (lean)
  Blueberries
  Broccoli
  Brown rice
  Brussels sprouts
  Cantaloupe
  Chicken
  Cottage cheese
  Eggs
  Garlic
  Kale
  Legumes
  Oatmeal
  Oranges
  Peanut butter
  Peas
  Salmon
  Soybeans
  Spinach
  Strawberries
  Sweet potatoes
  Tuna
  Whole grains
  Yogurt
• And things to leave at the store:
  Alcohol
  Corn syrup
  Refined sugar
  Sodas
  White flour

What do you like to eat before the test?

Comments

[Andrew Flusche]

Very nice post. I was just thinking about foods to eat during the bar exam marathon. Lunch will be especially hard, due to the overall rushed time and surge of examinees hitting nearby restaurants. And I definitely can't do without a caffeine fix those days. As an enlightened Bar/Bri lecturer said, "If you're on drugs now, don't quit before the bar exam."

Best,
Andrew

[Anastasia]

I have to admit that I didn't give up on my morning coffee either. For lunch, I managed to grab a salad in the restaurant of the hotel where the bar exam took place. Maybe, you can have somebody pre-order food at a nearby restaurant for you to pick up during the break.
Best,
Anastasia

[Frank Felberbaum]

If you are eating an entree with a protein(meat,chicken,etc.),starch and vegetable, eat about 25% of the protein first before touching the starch or vegetable. This is an another way to get the tyrozine started before the tryptophan.

Mr Memory

[Anastasia]

Mr Memory, thank you for a great tip!

[chanelle]

ok i live in london and i have my sats coming up in year 9 and i have a short cosentration span and was wondering if there was a food that can help with that and keep me relaxed and energized?

[Frank Felberbaum]

Chanelle,

As a memory expert, I need to be on my mental toes. I find eggs(boiled or poached)to provide me with enormous mental & physical energy. Since I don't eat eggs every day, I feel it's impact directly. Salmon & blueberries are two other valuable foods that will help you prior to an exam. In addition to eating, you should train yourself to expand your concentration level through specific exercises on a daily basis. My book, The Business of Memory(2005-Rodale), is a good one to start with as it has specific easy exercises to follow each day. The one to focus on is the Great Mandala process. Concentration is the key to your memory and it can be trained to a very high level which will enable you to take in more information in less time and keep it. The key to greater concentration is to get your eyes & your mind working together as a team. Hope this helps.

Frank Felberbaum

[heath]

Our brain runs on glucose, I keep lifesavers with me, something simpl e...not cake or cookies! Also, don't have anything too high in processed sugar or caffiene, you don't want to have so much energy you become scattered brained.

[*Reeses Penut Butter Cups* AkA Reesey!!!]

idk i wake up at aroung 7:00 (school starts at 8 but i have to go early so i can go to my locker so i have to be at school by 7:50 wich never happens anyway) and usually i skip breakfast and eat when i get home, skip lunch and do it all over again. i am not on a special diet and i eat anything i want really but i am not hungary in the morning

[Lindora]

my personal choice is gallons of hot green tea the night before a test, while studying, and a chocolate and/or energy drink in the morning. not so healthy, but it works!)