What foods do you eat before doing math?

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SUMMARY

This discussion focuses on the impact of food on cognitive performance during math and other mentally taxing subjects. Participants emphasize the importance of carbohydrates, with many suggesting that foods like pasta and starchy options help maintain focus. Essential fatty acids from salmon and hydration through water are also highlighted as beneficial for brain function. Additionally, some participants humorously mention coffee as a crucial element for mathematicians, while others note that a consistent healthy diet is more effective than last-minute dietary choices.

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  • Understanding of the relationship between nutrition and cognitive performance
  • Knowledge of essential fatty acids and their role in brain function
  • Familiarity with the effects of hydration on concentration
  • Awareness of common dietary practices among students and professionals in STEM fields
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  • Research the effects of carbohydrates on cognitive performance during study sessions
  • Explore the role of essential fatty acids in neurotransmitter production
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  • Study dietary habits of successful students in mathematics and science
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Students, educators, and professionals in mathematics, physics, and chemistry who are looking to optimize their study habits and cognitive performance through dietary choices.

GirlInDoubt
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What foods do you eat before doing math? I find that I need to eat a lot of starch to remain focused and alert enough to do math. How about you? Or does it not matter for you? What foods increase your effectiveness when studying, particularly subjects that are mentally taxing, like math, physics, and chemistry?
 
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Salmon, because it contains essential fatty acids that are precursors
for neurotransmitters.
 
Thanks for responding! yeah, I try to take fish oil capsules because I've heard that it does help improve brain function.

Do you eat salmon right before studying? And do you notice a significant improvement? Thanks so much
 
It doesn't matter much to me. I don't feel that foods increase my effectiveness at maths, physics. I just try to stay well hydrated, drink plenty of water, my mum also tells me to eat plenty of nuts, their supposed to "help my brain"
 
GirlInDoubt said:
What foods do you eat before doing math? I find that I need to eat a lot of starch to remain focused and alert enough to do math. How about you? Or does it not matter for you? What foods increase your effectiveness when studying, particularly subjects that are mentally taxing, like math, physics, and chemistry?

a lot of Hamburgers and Pizzas
 
It's not what one eats that is import so much as what one drinks. And that's coffee. A mathematician is a machine for turning coffee into theorems.
 
D H said:
A mathematician is a machine for turning coffee into theorems.

And a comathematician is a comachine for turning ffee into cotheorems.

So if you want to be a comathematician, then you need to drink ffee...
 
Just googled what ffee is...

new_ffee_custom_box.jpg


and

ready_for_summer_ffee.jpg


(Note the logo on the shirt.)Yep! :smile:

Everything a comathematician needs.
 
Last edited:
For maths I need watercress. I find that when I do physics, it's best if I eat a few mushrooms first, but for chemistry I always need to be full of jellybeans.
 
  • #10
Lots of carbs (pasta, etc) if I'm doing algebra. Red meat before analysis.
 
  • #11
Number Nine said:
Lots of carbs (pasta, etc) if I'm doing algebra. Red meat before analysis.

Interesting! I find it is the same for me; I have to eat a lot of carbs or else I can't focus. My mind gets fuzzy. Anyone else has this problem?
 
  • #12
Nothing in the morning. I don't eat anything until the afternoon.

It doesn't seem to matter what I eat in the afternoon either.
 
  • #13
I tend to eat healthy. Every day, that is. Having a habit of eating healthy foods each and every day probably works much better than cramming the 'perfect' food in your my right before practicing math. On the other hand, I have found that eating a lot of junk food right before trying to do something intellectually rigurous, I am much less able to concentrate.
 
  • #14
Closed pending moderation.
 

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