You have nothing to do right now so you check your grades in the gradebook, big mistake. It’s all Cs and Ds, you wonder if there’s anything besides studying that can help. While working hard and studying in advance is crucial, eating healthy can also help boost your grades.

Did you know that everything you eat affects your brain’s performance? When you consume food, it’s broken down into energy that’s distributed throughout the body, and the brain receives a large portion of it. Despite just clocking in at 2 percent of a human’s body weight, the brain requires about 20 percent of energy taken in to keep running.

There are certain foods that help increase your brain’s performance. First,Omega-3 Fatty Acids, the brain is the only organ that draws nearly all of its energy from glucose. It’s also the body’s second-highest deposit of fat, after fatty tissue itself. However,according to UCLA,Trans fats and Saturated fats such as those found in fast food and junk food can decrease cognitive ability. Studies found that rodents who were given the equivalent of rat junk food couldn’t navigate mazes or remember the solutions to problems they’d solved previously, because these kinds of fats harden brain cells.

Glucose is essential for keeping the neurotransmitters in the brain at peak levels. However, avoid a cheap source of glucose, like candy bars. Candy will give you a quick high and a plummeting low in terms of glucose levels. Foods such as candy and white bread just give you a sugar rush. Instead, eat food that slowly releases carbohydrates into the bloodstream. Which includes most fruits and vegetables, milk and breads with lots of grains. The glucose supply should also be steady for the brain to perform optimally, so that means refrain from skipping meals.

Head school nurse Mrs.Stanard encourage students to eat healthy, “Research has shown too much sugar is damaging to the body, causing many illnesses – diabetes for one. Packing or preparing healthy foods, cut up fruit and vegetables,nuts, lean meats, legumes, lentils, beans are really good for teens. Breakfast sandwiches made the night before with baked egg type dishes are good. There are a lot of choices when it comes to eating healthy, and they are very worth the while to make. Also,no sugary drinks. Diet sodas are also harmful.”

A team led by Arthur Agatston, a cardiologist and creator of the popular South Beach diet, presented findings at an Obesity Society meeting showing that improving the nutritional quality of school meals bolstered the academic performance of students over a two-year period.The researchers saw significant increases in math scores among the 1,197 elementary students who participated in the Healthier Options for Public Schoolchildren obesity prevention program, an intervention currently used in 79 schools in seven states.

So try to follow a healthy diet and eat more of the above brain foods. Not only can you boost your grades, but you can also boost your immune system and have a healthy body as well. Afterall, eating healthy is never a bad option. If you are what you eat, then why not eat something good?