Vivian Giang and Aimee Groth write:

The ingredients you eat enter your blood stream and flow to the brain, so inevitably, the way you think, focus and work is literally the food you eat.

But you can increase this brain power by 20%, according to the World Health Organization.

"Food is like a pharmaceutical compound that affects the brain," Fernando Gómez-Pinilla, a UCLA professor of neurosurgery and physiological science, says in his research about brain foods.

"Diet, exercise and sleep have the potential to alter our brain health and mental function. This raises the exciting possibility that changes in diet are a viable strategy for enhancing cognitive abilities, protecting the brain from damage and counteracting the effects of aging."

To get an understanding of what's going to affect our body's energy system, we compiled a list of brain foods from Psychology Today and other sources that will improve the way you think and work.

Summary: Berries, Bananas, Green Tea, Dark Chocolate, Yogurt, Salmon, Caffeine, Red Wine.

Check, check, check, check, check, check, check, CHECK!    Thanks for the tips.

I don't see insects on the list.  Given all the recent buzz, I would add dark-chocolate-covered cicadas.

I think culturally we're all still getting used to the idea of eating insects.

I'm always looking for more good articles on nutrition and solving the world hunger problem.

One of my favorite stashes: http://pandawhale.com/ifindkarma/nutrition

What a great stash - thanks!

When all the cool kids start eating insects, the rest of us will follow.  Branson, Bono, Brin, Baumgartner, Rezner, Zooey and the Jennifers Lawrence, Lopez and Aniston would make great ambassadors for entomophagy.

Which raises the question: Will vegetarians eat insects?

Dark leafy greens are probably the best thing you could eat. They're loaded with vitamins, minerals and phytonutrients. Iron, for example, helps bring more oxygen to the body (and brain), and improves cognitive control.

Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/foods-you-should-eat-to-increase-productivity-2013-5?op=1

BONUS: Eating this will slow down your productivity...

1. Sugary foods, like soda or candy, can make you feel spaced-out, weak, confused, or nervous once the glucose in your brain drops — this is also known as a sugar crash.

2. Heavy, calorie-ridden foods like hamburgers and fries will make you sleepy and slow you down at work.

3. Eating too little can make you process information more slowly, take longer to react and have more trouble remembering sequences.

Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/foods-you-should-eat-to-increase-productivity-2013-5?op=1