吃进什么食物影响你的产出力

Think back to your most productive workday in the past week. Now ask yourself: On that afternoon, what did you have for lunch?
回想一下你在过去一周里最有效率的那个工作日，再问问自己：那天的午饭你吃了些什么呢？

When we think about the factors that contribute to workplace performance, we rarely give much consideration to food. For those of us battling to stay on top of emails, meetings, and deadlines, food is simply fuel.
当我们考虑影响工作场所表现的因素时，我们很少想到食物。自然，我们考虑得最多的是邮件、会议和截止日期什么的，食物嘛，只是简单的燃料罢了。

But as it turns out, this analogy is misleading. The foods we eat affect us more than we realize. With fuel, you can reliably expect the same performance from your car no matter what brand of unleaded you put in your tank. Food is different. Imagine a world where filling up at Mobil meant avoiding all traffic and using BP meant driving no faster than 20 miles an hour. Would you then be so cavalier about where you purchased your gas?
但事实是，这个类比是有误导性的。我们吃进的食物所产生的影响比我们意识到的要多。有了燃料，无论你往油箱里加的是什么牌子的无铅燃料，你大可期待你的车有相同的表现。食物就不太一样了，想象一下这样一个世界：在那里，用美孚润滑油就意味着能避免一切交通事故，用英国石油就意味着汽车会以每小时不超过20英里的速度行驶。这样你还会对你在哪里购买汽油这么漫不经心吗？

Food has a direct impact on our cognitive performance, which is why a poor decision at lunch can derail an entire afternoon.
食物对我们认知的表现有着直接的影响，这也就是为什么在午餐时作出一个糟糕的决定会让我们整个下午脱线。

Here’s a brief rundown of why this happens. Just about everything we eat is converted by our body into glucose, which provides the energy our brains need to stay alert. When we’re running low on glucose, we have a tough time staying focused and our attention drifts. This explains why it’s hard to concentrate on an empty stomach.
这里对这一现象有一个简要的解释。我们的身体会把我们吃的几乎所有东西转化成葡萄糖，而正是后者给我们大脑能量以保持活跃。当我们体内的葡萄糖含量过低的时候，我们就很难集中注意力。这也就是是为什么要把思想集中在一个空空如也的胃上面是如此的困难。

So far, so obvious. Now here’s the part we rarely consider: Not all foods are processed by our bodies at the same rate. Some foods, like pasta, bread, cereal and soda, release their glucose quickly, leading to a burst of energy followed by a slump. Others, like high fat meals (think cheeseburgers and BLTs) provide more sustained energy, but require our digestive system to work harder, reducing oxygen levels in the brain and making us groggy.
说到这儿，一切都很明白了。现在要说的是我们很少考虑到的部分：不是经过我们体内所有的食物都是以同样的比率被转化成葡萄糖。有些食物，比如说意大利面，面包，谷类食物和苏打点心等，会很快释放它们的葡萄糖，让你能量迅速增长但很快又回到低水平状态。而其他的呢，比如说高脂肪食物（肉饼啊，三明治之类）提供更加持续的能量，但是要求我们的消化系统更加努力运转，同时降低大脑中氧含量，让我们觉得昏昏沉沉。

Most of us know much of this intuitively, yet we don’t always make smart decisions about our diet. In part, it’s because we’re at our lowest point in both energy and self-control when deciding what to eat. French fries and mozzarella sticks are a lot more appetizing when you’re mentally drained.
我们中的大部分人直觉上了解大部分道理，但并没有做到在我们的饮食上作出聪明的决定。有部分原因是因为我们在决定吃什么的时候，我们正处于能量和自我控制的最低点。而当你没什么精神的时候，薯条和马苏里拉乳酪条当然看起来更加有吸引力。

Unhealthy lunch options also tend to be cheaper and faster than healthy alternatives, making them all the more alluring in the middle of a busy workday. They feel efficient. Which is where our lunchtime decisions lead us astray. We save 10 minutes now and pay for it with weaker performance the rest of the day.
不健康的午餐选择也会比健康的选择要便宜和快捷的多，这让它们在一个忙碌的工作日中间显得更加的诱人。它们看似更方便。这也是为什么我们的午餐选择会把我们带上歧途。我们这一刻节约了十分钟但用余下这一天的更加无力的表现来付出代价。