Nutrition Recommendations Before the Exam

Exam periods are one of the most difficult and stressful periods of a student's life. For those who will take the exam, pre-test and test day nutrition make a significant contribution when it includes the right preferences. Since the stress factor is effective in this process, situations such as nausea and vomiting are frequently encountered by students. People should not be forced to eat in order not to trigger these unwanted situations.

Don't Eat Out Before the Exam

Since everyone's eating habits and taste buds are different, do not consume foods that you do not like because they are beneficial and may cause problems in your digestive system. Select the balanced foods that you like. Do not try to consume food you have not eaten until the day before the exam for the first time. Prefer protein, carbohydrates, and fat-balanced light foods instead of very fatty and heavy foods. If possible, prefer cooking at home instead of eating out before the exam. Avoid perishable open foods and risky foods with mayonnaise, sauce, and chicken if forced to eat outdoors.

Sugary Products May Bring Sleepiness in the Exam

In order to increase success, high consumption of sweet and sugary foods such as chocolate is inaccurate. Contrary to popular belief, table sugar, that is, simple carbohydrates, does not meet the brain's need for sugar because it rapidly raises and lowers blood sugar and causes hypoglycemia (low blood sugar) in the blood. This situation brings along distraction, concentration disorder, and sleepiness. Consumption of foods such as fruits, bran bread, brown rice, whole-wheat pasta, bulgur, and oats that do not increase blood sugar rapidly is required.

Get Full Sleep Before the Exam Day

The moment of stress, boredom, and reluctance increase, the tendency to sleep decreases. Therefore, it is also very important to sleep regularly before the exam and to take the exam with sleep. It has been observed that a vitamin C-rich diet increases adrenaline levels and reduces stress in reducing stress. For this reason, fruits and vegetables rich in vitamin C should be consumed frequently. For example, vegetables and fruits such as oranges, kiwis, potatoes, peppers, carrots, and broccoli are rich in vitamin C. Especially fish, walnut, olive oil, green leafy vegetables, red meat, molasses, parsley, green pepper, kiwi, orange, rosehip should definitely be included in your weekly and daily diet.

Your Nutrition Affects Exam Performance

The choices in this meal are of great importance as the nutrition on the morning of the exam will directly affect the performance on the exam. Breakfast should not be skipped; a balanced meal should be consumed with the right preferences. When you wake up in the morning, you should have a balanced breakfast that will not increase or decrease your blood sugar rapidly, such as milk, eggs, cheese, bran bread, and oatmeal. Prefer herbal teas instead of tea, coffee, and coke, which have a stimulating effect on breakfast.

Sample breakfast menu:

• Cup of juice (freshly squeezed is preferred) or herbal tea
• 1-2 slices of cheese
• 1 egg (Boiled or omelet in the fat-free pan)
• Tomato, cucumber
• 4-5 olives
• 1 tbsp. molasses
• 2-3 slices of whole-grain bread
• 3 whole walnuts or 5-6 almonds and 1 tablespoon of raisins

Avoid eating sugary foods during the exam. You can consume foods such as small whole wheat sandwiches, whole wheat biscuits, packaged milk, and water to prevent your blood sugar from dropping.