A healthy mind is a productive mind. And to nourish the mind, one has to nourish the body. If you think what you put into your body has no effect on your creativity, you’re dead wrong. The brain is an amazing organ. It is able to perceive things that none of our other organs have even encountered. Where the basic senses have a constraint to certain extents, the brain has full access. For as long as you keep eating what is good for your brain, you won’t have to worry about having to wait for some creative stimuli.
You don’t have to be extra careful about choosing what to eat. You also need not worry about having to avoid certain food because it might affect your way of thinking. Just remember that the reason why you are altering your diet is because you want to think clearer. You are not trying to prevent anything, you are only trying to boost something. Feeding your creativity is not limited to finding inspiration. It can, and advisably, be taken literally.
Starving individuals, that’s what most artists are commonly stereotyped as. But that couldn’t be at all true, at least not completely. For how can one be in the best condition for creating when the mind is incapable of producing sensible art? You want a concrete example? There’s Pablo Picasso. He’s one of my favorite painters (the Guernica painting used as the featured image of my previous post may have given that away). He, for one, understands the importance of eating healthy to maintain his creative drive. Well, it was actually his physician who advised him to make sure fish and spinach are always included in his diet in order to enhance his abstract-thinking powers. Although one might argue that he is intrinsically talented and did not rely solely on the food he ate for his creativity, you can’t discredit the fact that the reason for his reaching of the maximum potential may be caused by proper care of the brain.
So what exactly are these creativity enhancers? These are foods that may or may not contain tyrosine, but are good sources of energy . Now, why did I especially mention tyrosine if you may choose to do without it anyway? It is a biochemical precursor of dopamine(the happy hormone) that promotes deep thinking. So you see, its presence is not necessary, but its benefits are noteworthy.
Below are some of the foods that are good creativity boosters:
- Anything that is unprocessed – Fuel your brain, first and foremost, by going natural. Studies show that foods which undergo chemical processing lessens the nutrients you are supposed to get from their unprocessed counterparts.
- Coldwater fish – Why does it have to be fish from cold regions? It’s because they are highly rich in Omega 3 which is the best brain food. Ever.
- Green leafy vegetables – Not only do they help you maintain focus, they are excellent memory enhancers. They slow down the rate of cognitive decline which is an inevitable part of ageing. You’ll never have to worry about losing a bright idea. Plus, they are good antioxidants.
- Whole grains – They keep the traffic of glucose energy moderate, so your mental energy remains steady. They are best taken during breakfast because they control the release of energy throughout the day, ensuring consistency in your drive to complete your creation.
- Fresh fruits – It’s not only apples that keep doctors away. Any fruit can give you that perk, as long as it’s fresh. Because your brain can’t store glucose, it relies on the bloodstream to provide it with a steady flow. Luckily, fresh fruits are there to the rescue.
- Nuts and seeds – Nuts have always been a reputable source food-induced intelligence. The truth is, they are just as beneficial for convergent thinking as they are for divergent thinking. In fact, regular consumers of nuts and seeds get twice, even thrice, the flow of creative juices.
- A harmless amount of junk – Feel the need to refresh the page? Go ahead. I did say junk. A little indulgence never hurt, so have some of your favorites. It’s absolutely fine to eat YOLO-style every once in a while. And most junk foods do help release endorphins to your brain, making you feel positive. Just make sure you know when enough is enough, or you may put your creativity limit at risk. After all, a true artist knows when to break the rules from time to time.
Of course, you have the option to not stick to a certain diet, or only eat those mentioned above from now on. Your skills or talents are pretty much safe without following these suggestions. Again, they’re only meant to help boost what you already have. Personally though, I encourage you to think of Picasso when you consider it; painter, sculptor, printmaker, ceramicist, stage designer, poet and playwright. He isn’t even just mediocre at being any of those. How about that?
“One cannot think well, love well, sleep well, if one has not dined well.” – Virginia Woolf
P.S. I know I quoted Virginia Woolf instead of Pablo Picasso, but I feel this is more suited to close the article better. Too much Picasso for one day is art gluttony.
