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Food for Brain Power
IQBARs claim that they can improve brain function. Can they actually do this? This IQBAR review will answer those questions by examining the power all foods have on our minds first.
When you’re eating your morning breakfast, you’re probably not thinking about how that food is affecting your brain. Sure, we all think about how our food choices affect our physical appearance but did you ever stop to think about how they also affect your memory, mood, or concentration?
Like the other organs in your body, the brain functions off of calories. In fact, it uses up about 20 percent of the calories you ingest! If your calories are coming from healthy foods, your brain will function better. It’s the equivalent of filling your car up with premium fuel versus filling it up with something cheap.
Just how does food affect your brain? The ingredients in the food you eat are precursors to neurotransmitters. Neurotransmitters are chemicals that communicate information between neurons, or between neurons and muscles. They are responsible for controlling several nervous system functions and body movements. Certain foods have more nutrients than others and therefore have more precursors.
To understand this concept better, let’s look at serotonin, a well-known neurotransmitter that manages your sleep, appetite, and moods. Your body naturally produces most of the serotonin in your gastrointestinal tract. If the good bacteria in your intestines have been compromised, your production of serotonin is also compromised. A poor diet can impair your gut biome, leaving it vulnerable to harmful bacteria, inflammation, and toxins. This will affect serotonin production, which can, in turn, lead to poor sleep, cravings, weight gain, anxiety, and/or depression.
- Brain Healthy Foods
- Brain-Boosting Snacks
- Nootropics Influence Body Processes
- Bottom Line of IQBAR Review
Brain Healthy Foods
After examining how much influence our nutrition has on our brain health, it’s safe to say that IQBARs, like all foods, affect our brains. If you’re trying to improve your mental cognition, though, it’s probably best to start with some lifestyle changes—exercise and healthy food—to remedy any underlying conditions you might have. These provide a basis for health and should always come first, then be supplemented by snacks like IQBARs.
To keep our brains healthy, we need a diet that’s balanced with very specific nutrients. The main ones for optimal brain health are omega-3s, choline, flavonoids, antioxidants, and glucose.
Omega-3s are fatty acids the body needs to lower inflammation, create new brain cells, and improve memory and learning. They are found in fatty fish, such as salmon.
Choline is an essential nutrient that regulates mood, helps with focus, and regulates the production of dopamine. Choline is found in nuts, eggs, and meat.
Flavonoids help your brain recall things quickly, learn faster, and have greater mental endurance. They also act as an antioxidant to reduce inflammation and toxins. Flavonoids are found in brightly colored veggies and fruits.
Antioxidants reduce inflammation and clear away toxins. They’re found in several different foods, but some of the most common examples are tea, turmeric, and dark chocolate.
Glucose is also necessary for brain health. It’s the brain’s favorite source of energy. You should get your glucose from whole grains. Since whole grains are made up of complex carbohydrates, they will digest slowly and release glucose into your bloodstream for a longer period of time. This will give you energy and keep it from crashing abruptly.
If you’re trying to stick to a healthy diet high in all of these nutrients, it might be helpful to grab healthy snacks on the go or homemade protein bars before you run out the door. It’s most common to slip up on your diet when you’re starving and grab the first thing in sight.
Brain-Boosting Snacks
Is there anything else besides diet that improves brain function? Wouldn’t it be so much easier if you could take a supplement instead of spending hours studying before an exam? Well, this is where IQBARs come in.
IQBARs contain certain compounds called nootropics that researchers believe may enhance cognition. There are several nootropics; some are natural, and some are man-made. IQBARs contain six nootropics: omega-3s, MCTs, Lion’s Mane, flavonoids, vitamin E, and choline. If nootropics are proven to work without a shadow of a doubt, brain functions like focus, problem-solving, social skills, memory, and learning could all be improved.
Specialists already believe in the power of prescription nootropics for those suffering from mental and neurological ailments. However, they don’t know if nootropics work for healthy people. IQBARs might be the first bar to combine brain and body health into one bar, but they most certainly will not be the last. Several companies have made drinks and supplements that claim to boost your smarts, but the jury is still out on whether or not they are effective.
The main reason specialists don’t want to openly support nootropics is that research has led to conflicting results. Some studies have shown no effects, while some have shown positive effects on brain function. Researchers are also concerned because many nootropics affect neurotransmission. They’re not certain if these effects could harm the nervous system over an extended period.
Still, there is plenty of research in support of nootropics and maximizing brain potential. Most specialists even seem to condone the use of nootropics as long as it’s done in conjunction with a healthy lifestyle. Let’s take the mushroom Lion’s Mane, for example. Lion’s Mane was shown to contain two compounds, hericenones and erinacines, that encourage the production of new brain cells. Lion’s Mane also appears to improve overall mental functioning in older adults. One study found that taking 3 grams of the mushroom daily reduced mild cognitive impairment in a group of elderly subjects after just four months. Interestingly, however, the subjects regressed when the supplements stopped. Yet another study showed Lion’s Mane helped with anxiety and depression.
Nootropics Influence Body Processes
Nootropics present the idea that you can use herbal supplements or natural foods to increase your focus, energy, and positivity without caffeine or prescription drugs. This is why they are so attractive in today’s society. I’ve experienced some of these effects firsthand with IQBARs. I was feeling the afternoon slump that you’ll occasionally hit on a workday. I grabbed an IQBAR to satisfy my hunger and shortly after felt energized again. The energy isn’t an abrupt rise and crash, but a feeling of focus and alertness.
How do nootropics improve our brains and help them work more efficiently? As of yet, scientists do not understand exactly how nootropics do what they do. However, it’s believed they can change levels of neurotransmitters, hormones, and enzymes by increasing blood circulation toward the brain. This blood brings with it oxygen and nutrients, thereby reducing inflammation, boosting brain health, and helping with memory and learning. Certain nootropics also seem to regulate the number of neurotransmitters in your brain at one time. For example, natural nootropics were reported to release more dopamine neurotransmitters and remove choline neurotransmitters.
Since nootropics seem to regulate the two things that monitor most body processes—hormones and neurotransmitters—the mental and physical benefits could be endless!
Bottom Line of IQBAR Review
IQBARs are made to help optimize your mental performance by balancing your brain chemicals. They fuel your brain so it can be healthier, stronger, and freer to focus its energy on performance. Instead of pumping your body full of caffeine, IQBARs help you focus in a much more holistic way by returning to homeostasis. These bars make a great supplement to a healthy diet and exercise regimen. Doctors always say that you can maximize your brain health the most by eating well and exercising regularly. And they are right! However, adding supplements or IQBARs can maximize your potential even more.
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