The snacks and foods you eat at work can have a detremental effect on your creativeness, cognitive thought process and your productivity throughout the day. Let's face it, we have all had those feelings at 11 O'clock when the biscuit tin comes around. Should I take one? Should I take two? Or should I follow up my good intentions and eat the apple I brought into work?
We have come up with a list of what we think are the worst things to eat at work. But before we do, let's explain why the foods are so bad.
All the foods on our list, rapidly increase blood sugar levels. Once the body realises there is an increase of blood sugar insulin in excreted from the pancreas in order to deliver this blood sugar to three main places, the brain, the muscles and the liver.
If these three places don't require the sugar (their stores are full), then the extra sugar is stored in a fourth place as extra energy - body fat. Not only that but a rush of sugar and insulin result in a 'sugar high' followed at some point by a sugar crash. This crash manifests as a feeling of tiredness, a loss of motivation and yet more hunger pains. This crash means you reach for the same foods again and again to re-create the high.
So, here goes, the list of foods to avoid at work:
1. Doughnuts
Doughnuts are high in fat and sugar and typically once you eat one you'll eat more. The sugar found in doughnuts will spike your blood sugar levels and mean that you will feel a loss of energy quickly after eating one.
2. White bread sandwiches
White bread is one of the highest scoring foods on the GI (Glycemic Index). Low GI foods are good. They release their sugars slowly into the blood stream so that you don't experience a sugar high or a sugar crash. Conversely, high GI foods, like white bread, do the opposite. So, if you are going to eat a sandwich, then make your breads wholegrain and as packed full of seeds and grains as possible.
3. Cake
The same reason to avoid cakes is the same reason you should avoid doughnuts. Cakes are packed fully of sugar and nothing of real nutritional value. Cakes mean you experience that unwanted sugar high and sugar crash. Sure, have a slice of cake to celebrate someone's birthday, but don't have a slice of cake as your typical food of choice at work.
Be warned: In a large office, it is always someone's birthday!
4. Jacket Potato
Surely a jacket potato can't be bad for you? Is it a healthy food? Well, like white bread a typical jacket potato is high on the GI index and is so heavy that after such a meal you'll simply want to curl up into a ball and sleep for the rest of the afternoon.
5. Red Bull or 'full fat' coke
Okay, these are drinks and not food, but the amount of sugar in these drinks is frightening - 27g of sugar in a typical Red Bull can and 35g of sugar in 330 ml can of Coca-Cola! When you take into consideration, the average male should eat no more than 30g of sugar a day, consuming this amount of sugar (and more) from high sugary drinks isn't the best way to stay healthy and alert after the effects of the sugar rush have warn off.
So, think about the foods you take into work. Think nuts and seeds to snack on and fish-based salads to boost your energy rather than high GI foods and foods and drinks packed full of sugar.
