No matter what industry you’re in, the fact remains: business is a battlefield that takes a drastic toll on our physical and mental health. How many people in your office are always grouchy, moody, or simply look dead inside? Chances are the foods they choose to eat play a significant role in that. They’re simply being beaten down by the burden of work (with or without working 40-60 hours a week).
Having a snazzy work outfit is pointless if you—or anyone you know—look burnt out and ready to crash for a long sleep.
A poor diet extends beyond looking vibrant, young and ready to work. You probably know all about the dangers of a bad diet: your immune system stops working, heart disease risks spike, you feel miserable and unwilling to live, and in many cases, invite heart attacks.
Coupled with the war of work, a bad diet simply makes physically and mentally weak. By implementing these foods, minerals and nutrients into your life, you’re effectively arming yourself for war.
1. Iron
Without a sufficient amount of iron in our bodies, we lose our hair. Plain and simple. Our nails become brittle, our skin complexion becomes paler, and we’re often more tired. People who feel tired, look tired, and that doesn’t bode well for inspiring confidence or looking healthy. Think about how sickly pale some people look – do they seem healthy to you? Chances are, they aren’t getting enough iron.
This is because iron is vital for red blood cell production. Red blood cells deliver oxygen throughout our entire system. Iron supports the transportation of that delivery system. You’ll have more natural energy. Because your body is receiving the oxygen it needs. Without that, your employees (or co-workers) will notice your body shriveling. Which is never good for anybody’s image, but is especially harmful when you’re a leader or manager.
Fortunately, one cup of boiled lentils contains 6.6mg of iron. They’re also packed with protein and essential amino acids. These acids keep us energized throughout the day, making them a good addition to lunch soups, pastas and salads.
2. Selenium
Selenium is responsible for keeping our hormone levels balanced, amplifying our immune system to function properly, and keeps our hair growing. Remember: in business, appearance is everything. Without enough selenium in your system, your joints will be weakened. So, you will appear fragile and weak – like a wounded deer in hyena town.
Funnily enough, too much selenium causes hair loss. Therefore, it’s important not to head to the races and ingest all the high-selenium foods you can find.
Since our bodies don’t produce selenium naturally, we have to get this essential nutrient from foods. Like spinach. Luckily, spinach is also considered a super-food that boosts your brain power. Spinach is extremely versatile: it can be added to soups, sandwiches, salads, mashed potatoes, etc.
And the best thing of all? There is no shortage of spinach recipes.
3. Omega-3 Fatty Acids
To keep your brain’s gears running optimally, your body needs Omega-3 fatty acids. (Walnuts and flax seeds are tremendous resources of Omega-3.) Without enough of this fatty acid, you increase your risk of heart disease. Omega-3s are directly responsible for lowering that risk.
If you develop a heart disease, your business could be in danger because there’d be no one around to run it. In “Warren Buffet’s Management Secrets”, the author talks about how Warren Buffet has his managers write a letter detailing who would serve as their replacement, should the managers die.
Omega-3 deficiency includes shoddy memory and fatigue. Both of which are detrimental for a successfully-run business. Encourage your office (as well as friends and family members) to intake more Omega-3 fatty acids in their lives.
4. Biotin
People with Type 2 Diabetes often have low trace amounts of biotin in their blood. However, almost all healthy foods contain some amount of biotin. So, the disease may be a result of bad dietary choices. Regardless, biotin is a natural B-vitamin. You probably know there is a large amount of B vitamins out there that help us perform our healthy best. (B1, B2, B3, B5, B6, B7, B9, B12.) Here is a small example of the benefits these B vitamins:
- B1 helps new blood cell production. It’s also crucial for attacking stress. A chaotic or disorganised workplace can be exceptionally stressful. B1 is found in whole grains and spinach.
- B6 regulates our moods and emotions, keeping us clear-headed and stable. Since it helps us produce serotonin and melatonin (which is responsible for our happiness and level of tranquility), B6 is also essential for sufficient sleep. You already know that a lack of quality sleep makes you more irritable. It makes you tired, slow and sluggish. Your energy levels suffer and you don’t feel like doing anything. A lack of self-control combined with little-to-no sleep is severely bad for business. You can find B6 in lentils, brown rice and carrots.
- B9 plays its part in preventing depression. People who don’t take care of their mental health are at risk for depression in the workplace. Once this happens, they’re at risk for shooting their anxiety levels through the roof. Coupled with struggling to keep work and life healthily balanced, meeting deadlines and trying to make ends meet… is nothing but bad news. Anxiety and depression play powerful parts in reducing productivity, and make the will to work nigh impossible. Put simply: quality suffers. Look for root vegetables (anything grown underground) such as beets, leafy greens and asparagus.
What This All Means For You
Aside from drastically spiking depression and depression, bad food not only makes you feel worse… but makes you look worse, as well. Any deficiency of the aforementioned vitamins and nutrients causes hair loss (which doesn’t look good on anyone, particularly if you’re head the company).
There are ways to improve your hair’s health, but an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of the cure.
Last Thoughts
A good diet extends beyond feeling healthier – a healthy diet simply makes you look more alive. Eating these minerals and nutrients keeps us looking fresh, rejuvenated and downright handsome. As well as keeping our happiness from plummeting, reducing high blood pressure in stressful situations, and “oiling up” our minds to endure the hard labour of working everyday.
To recap, here are foods you need to pick up when you are out grocery shopping. Encourage your office to share and copy this shopping list. As you can see, the list is short and these foods are inexpensive:
- Leafy greens
- Beets
- Spinach
- Whole grains (brown rice, whole wheat bread, etc.)
- Walnuts
- Lentils