We know that there is a strong connection between your physical health and work performance.

我们都知道，食物在很大程度上关系到你的身体健康和你的工作表现。

I consider myself a pretty healthy person: I try to run one half marathon a year, and exercise four or five times a week.

我觉得我自己是个挺健康的人：我每年跑半个马拉松，每周锻炼4到5次。

But like most people, I have my unhealthy habits.

但像很多人一样，我也有一些不健康的习惯。

While I try to eat a healthy diet of lean meat and vegetables about 70% of the time, I resort to junk food when I’m stressed and drink way too much coffee when I don’t get enough sleep.

虽然我70%的时间都会吃瘦肉和蔬菜构成的健康饮食，但当我有压力的时候就会狂吃垃圾食品，而当我睡眠不足的时候就会喝过多的咖啡。

Somewhere in the process, my brain slows down and it becomes excruciating to think properly for what seems like a long stretch in the afternoon.

在这个过程中，我的大脑变慢了，而下午有很长一段时间都会觉得用脑是一件痛苦的事。

I’ve tried adopting “diets” for the sake of my brain and energy levels–but have largely failed due to its all-or-nothing approach.

我以前试过为了我的大脑以及精力来采取一些”饮食法“，但由于它们那些”不成功便成仁“的特性，大多都半途而废了。

Diets like the Slow- Carb diet, the Ketogenic diet, Whole 30, Paleo, and the Bulletproof Diet all tout¹ amazing brain function as a result, but I hated their restrictive nature.

这些饮食方式包括：低碳饮食、生酮饮食、全30、古法饮食、防弹饮食，它们都声称能够带来惊人的大脑性能，但我受不了它们的严苛。

The fact that a slip-up can undo² a week of discipline discouraged me from continuing with any of those eating plans for longer than two weeks.

只要一餐吃错，一周的罪就白受了，这让我没法坚持2周以上。

But since I notice a difference in my sleep and clearheadedness when I’m more conscious of what I eat, I was determined³ to find a plan that works.

但是，由于我发现我的睡眠质量在我合理饮食的时候变得更好了，我决心要找到一个真的好用的饮食方式。

A lot of Googling led me to the MIND diet, which was designed purely⁴ for greater cognitive⁵ function, as opposed to weight loss like most of the diets above.

于是，在谷歌上搜了一通之后，我发现了MIND饮食法，它是单纯为了让你获得更好的认知能力而设计的，而不是像上面那些一样是为了让你减重。

The best part of all? it’s not all or nothing, adopting parts of diet supposedly still gives you mental benefits. I was IN.

而最好的一点是什么呢？那就是它并不是”不成功便成仁“，据称，即使你只是部分遵守这个饮食方式，它也会为你的大脑带来好处。于是我就入坑了。

A Diet for the Brain

为大脑设计的饮食方式

The MIND diet is a hybrid⁶ of the popular Mediterranean⁷ and the DASH (Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension) diets.

MIND饮食法是时下流行的地中海饮食法和DASH饮食法的结合，DASH饮食法指的是“防高血压饮食法”。

The MIND diet encourages high consumption of 10 “brain-healthy” food groups such as green leafy vegetables, other vegetables, nuts, berries, and fish.

MIND饮食法推荐多食用10种“健脑的”食材，包括：绿叶蔬菜、其他蔬菜、坚果、莓果还有鱼。

It limited (note: not banned) consumption of unhealthy food groups like red meats, butter and stick margarine, cheese, sweets, and processed foods.

并且限制（注意，不是“禁止”）食用红肉、黄油、浓稠的人造奶油、乳酪、甜食以及精加工食品这类不健康的食材。

Embracing Higher Grocery Bills and Eating the Same Meals

恭喜你会在食材上花更多的钱，而且每天吃的东西差不多

The first thing I had to swallow on this diet was higher grocery bills.

我必须忍受的第一件事就是更高的食材支出。

Salmon⁸, extra-virgin olive oil, blueberries, and nuts are not cheap items, and these are staples⁹ on the MIND diet.

三文鱼、特级初榨橄榄油、蓝莓还有坚果都不是便宜的东西，而这些都是MIND饮食法里的主要食材。

I also bought three times as many leafy greens (kale and spinach¹⁰) than I usually do because I wanted to incorporate more of them in my meals.

我还比平时买了3倍多的绿叶蔬菜（甘蓝和菠菜），因为我希望我在三餐里能多吃点它们。

That week, I was shopping for one because my husband was out of town, and I still ended up with a bill that was $20 more than what I’d usually pay when I shopped for two.

那一周，我只用给自己一个人买菜，因为我老公不在城里，而我还是比平时给两个人买菜的时候多花了20美元。

I also found myself eating almost the same meals every day.

我还发现我每天吃的东西都差不多。

Breakfast would be two eggs, spinach, and salmon–with black coffee and a teaspoon¹¹ of coconut¹² oil.

早餐会是2个鸡蛋、菠菜、三文鱼还有加了一勺椰子油的黑咖啡。

Lunch would be chicken breast salad with kale, spinach, edamame, and sautéed broccoli¹³, with a handful of almonds.

午餐是鸡胸肉沙拉，里面加了甘蓝、菠菜、炒西兰花，还有一把杏仁。

Dinner was lentil curry¹⁴ with vegetables and brown rice.

晚餐是扁豆咖喱加蔬菜和糙米。

The biggest change for me was cutting out dairy and refined sugar, so I substituted my usual afternoon snack of flavored greek yogurt and granola with unsweetened coconut cream “yogurt,” blueberries, and chia seeds.

对我来说最大的变化是：去掉了乳制品和精致糖。所以我把下午的零食换成了调味希腊酸奶加无糖的椰子优酪乳、蓝莓和奇亚籽。

I replaced my milky¹⁵ iced coffee with peppermint¹⁶ green tea.

我把冰拿铁换成了薄荷绿茶。

The only time I deviated¹⁷ from this was when I ate out, which happened twice that week, where I devoured¹⁸ greasy¹⁹ carb-laden foods.

我只在外出吃饭的时候不遵从这个饮食法，那一周总共是2次，我当时大吃特吃又油又高碳的食物。

I Was Less Hungry Throughout the Day

我在一天当中更不容易饿了

I was surprised at how quickly the effects kicked in.

我很吃惊地发现，这个饮食法见效真的超快。

It only took me about two days to get past the sugar and dairy cravings, and on day one of the diet I fell asleep much quicker and naturally woke up earlier.

我只花了大概2天就克服了对于糖和乳制品的渴望，而且采取这个饮食法的第一天我就能更快地入睡了，并且第二天更早地自然醒了。

I also noticed that I snacked less, even though my food portions weren’t that much bigger.

我还发现自己吃零食的次数也少了，虽然我总共吃的东西并没有更多。

As a result, food occupied less space in my brain, and I was able to focus for longer stretches of time.

其结果就是，食物在我脑子里的比重更小了，于是我能够将精力投放到更长远的事情上。

I Feel More Motivated to Eat for My Brain than to My Body

我更愿意为了大脑而吃，而不是为了体型而吃

Unlike other diets, I wasn’t tempted²⁰ to binge on terrible foods. I suspected that there are two reasons for this.

与采取其他饮食法的时候不同，我并没有想要狂吃垃圾食品。我觉得这可能有2个原因。

One is that although they discouraged consumption of certain foods, the diet didn’t dictate²¹ that I had to cut out certain things.

第一个是，虽然它建议少吃某些类型的东西，但它并没有禁止你吃它们。

Second, I found eating for my brain much more motivating than eating for my body.

第二，我发现自己更愿意为自己的大脑而不是体型来吃东西。

That said, I definitely felt a positive change in my body. I suspected that the elimination²² of refined sugar probably played a big part.

不过虽然如此，我还是感觉到我身体上有些积极的变化。我觉得这应该是剔除了精制糖的功劳。

Fruit began to taste like candy.

水果现在吃起来就像糖果一样。

Moderation Is My Happy Medium

节制让我快乐

It’s been two weeks since I started the diet, and for once, I’m actually thinking of sticking to this beyond the experiment.

我采取这种饮食法已经两周了，现在，我实际上打算在实验结束后继续这么吃。

One of the things I really appreciated about this diet was the lack of restrictions²³.

这种饮食法有一点特别让我喜欢，那就是它并没有那么严苛。

Staying away from dairy and refined sugar will continue to be a challenge, but knowing that I can indulge every once in a while makes this diet bearable.

虽然不吃奶制品和精制糖依旧是个挑战，但只要想到我偶尔还能吃一吃就觉得可以忍受。

I’ll have to swallow the additional money in my grocery bills, but compared to other diets, the increase isn’t too steep.

另外，虽然我还得承受这多出来的饮食开销，但和其他的饮食法比起来，这个涨价额度也不是太离谱。