What to Eat Before You Play
Before you start gambling, you are looking to eat foods that will feed your brain and give you enough energy to see you through your gambling session.
It is well known that oily fish is excellent for the brain. Fish such as mackerels, sardines, and pilchards are not only tasty, but can give your brainpower a serious boost. They are all absolutely packed with eicosapentaenoic acid and docosahexaenoic acid, better known as EPA and DHA respectively, and both of them are vital for the brain. If you know that you are going to spend your afternoon or evening playing casino games, then try to incorporate these fish into your main meal immediately beforehand.
To go with the fish, you should consider a side of spinach. It is not only Popeye who can benefit from its excellent properties. While spinach is unlikely to turn your into a muscle-bound sailor, it has been known to greatly aid memory, which is essential when utilising casino game strategies. Spinach is packed full of vitamin E and folate, and in addition to helping your memory, it will also improve fertility. While this may not be relevant to gambling, it can’t hurt to be aware of the other health benefits.
If you know that you are going to be in for a long gaming session, then you will need something substantial in your stomach that will keep you going. An excellent option is a baked potato. Not only is it simple to prepare, but it offers many benefits. A study that compared 38 types of food in appetite saturation found that the potato was the best option. Participants in the study said that they felt fuller and ate less two hours after eating the potato. Imagine finding yourself in the middle of a winning streak and suddenly feeling hungry. Not only is it extremely annoying, but it is also likely to negatively affect your concentration, which could lead to greater losses. A full stomach will help you avoid this, and mixing some fish into your baked potato will never be a bad thing.
What to Eat While You Play
There is nothing wrong with eating or drinking while you play your favourite casino games. However, you need to make sure that what you consume will not have a negative effect on you play.
If you find yourself thirsty then consider a cup of green tea or coffee. There has been a great deal of research that found both can help boost brain function. The benefits of a caffeine boost before a mental exercise are numerous and include increased alertness, memory and focus, all of which can help you while gambling. Furthermore, caffeine has also been found to reduce the feeling of pain, which may come in handy if you hit a losing streak.
If you want to give yourself a further boost, then consider adding some coconut oil to your coffee or green tea. It is another substance that research has found boosts mental energy and focus. Coconut oil contains a fatty acid called mid-chain-triglyceride, MGT, which the body metabolises quickly and also unusually. The brain has a special ability to burn these fats, which have been linked to enhanced focus and mental agility. As a side benefit, MGT has also found to help those who suffer from epilepsy.
If you are looking for a snack then consider some blueberries. While small, they are considered a superfood, in particular in regards to brain benefits. Studies have found that blueberries improve blood flow to the brain, which in turn has led to improved scores in cognitive tests, especially when they are consumed regularly. Therefore, snacking on blueberries while playing your favourite games can only help you.
If you love chocolate then you are in luck, dark chocolate is excellent at providing an energy boost, and the darker the better. This is because the higher the percentage of cacao, the more of a boost you receive. Cacao is full of nutrients that will help both energy and focus. Furthermore, it also contains caffeine. Therefore, if you are feeling a bit tired and hungry, a bar of dark chocolate could turn things around completely. It will help to energise you and improve your focus, which is never a bad thing when worrying about gaming strategies.
If chocolate is not your thing, then you may want to consider some walnuts. Not only do they look like miniature brains, but also they are rich in omega-3 essential fatty acids (the EPA and DHA explained above). The body can’t manufacture these acids itself, so regular consumption of foods rich in omega-3, such as walnuts, may help with mental health and focus, including concentration, memory and mood. Therefore, eating walnuts a few times a week, or other omega-3 rich foods such as oily fish, can give your gambling a real boost.
We have already discussed how steady energy levels are essential when gambling; you need to feel positive and alert at all times as a slip in concentration may prove to be very costly. Therefore, complex carbohydrates are important while processed sugary foods should be avoid. Oats are an excellent example of a complex carbohydrate that release energy slowly and contain a small amount of fat and protein. If you are looking for a quick fix when playing, then something like a protein flapjack is an excellent option.
If you are feeling creative then you can easily combine many of the above foods and take it with you to the computer when you start to play. You can make a bowl of porridge and add walnuts and blueberries to it. Next to that, you can have a cup of coffee with some coconut oil in it. The two of them should ensure that you remain in tiptop shape throughout your gaming session.
Other Foods to Consider
A number of other foods may be beneficial to gamblers. For example, avocados. Avocados are high in fat; roughly 77% of their calories are from fat. However, they are monounsaturated fats that can improve memory and brain function. Furthermore, they have a high level of protein and fibre, which will help you feel full for longer. Avocados also contain the antioxidants lutein and zeaxanthin, which may help to keep your eyes sharp so you can focus on the games.
You may also want to eat some broccoli, which can help cognition and memory function. Broccoli contains choline, a nutrient used to make acetylcholine, which is an important neurotransmitter that helps the systems that moderate muscle control, memory and attention, all of which can help when gambling.
In short, while food won’t make you into an instant winner, planning your diet carefully can only help when you next start to play.