If you’re like most writers, nutrition and improved writing performance are two topics that don’t get mentioned in the same sentence very often, if at all. When you’re busy trying to come up with a hypnotic headline, and persuasive sales letter or engaging website copy, the last thing on your mind is nutrition. When you get into the flow, the last thing you want to do is leave your computer.
Of course, just because it’s the last thing on your mind doesn’t mean it’s not important. Gulping down copious amounts of coffee and grabbing whatever food is convenient to keep your writing flow going is only going to lead to big problems down the road.
Writers Need Nutrition, Too
We writers may feel that we’re a special breed (ahem, thank you very much) but we will still gain weight, our blood sugar will still go through unnecessary peaks and valleys and our muscles will still atrophy if we don’t feed our bodies.
And by feed, I mean provide the right kinds of nutrition to keep our brains functioning for optimum performance so we are thinking clearly and writing to the best of our ability.
The Value of Fresh Juices
And that’s where fresh juices come in. As a writer, time is usually of the essence and as a regular human being, eating huge amounts of raw produce probably isn’t very appealing. With fresh juices, you can take in a ton of nutrients while sitting at your desk and you won’t have to break that incredibly important writing flow.
Just so we’re clear, I’m talking about purchasing an automatic juice extractor and making your own fruit and vegetable juices in your own kitchen. A juicer is relatively inexpensive and it’s easy to use, and you get concentrated nutrients in your body quickly.
Why not buy it at the store? Because everything you buy at the store must be heated (pasteurized) by law to kill the enzymes. There’s no way freshly made juice would last very long being shipped and then sitting on a store shelf for who knows how long. And it is those enzymes that make the juice alive.
What Should I Drink?
When you make juices yourself, the enzymes are still there and they are actually 100% juice. As for what to drink, most juicing advocates say to drink more vegetable juices than straight fruit juice. Adding greens such as spinach, kale or parsley add a lot of nutrients, but they should only take up around ¼ to ½ of the juice.
And you can always sweeten up a vegetable juice with an apple or two. So, juices like carrot, apple, celery and spinach are great. You can add a small piece of ginger for added flavor or ½ a beet for some rich coloring.
Know Thyself
The options of what to drink go on and on, the point is to give it a try so you can keep writing and still get all the nutrition you need, and then some. There aren’t many professions where you can be exceptionally productive and successful without moving your body at all.
Writing is one of them, so if you want to remain healthy you have to accept that and plan around it. Before you get started, consider your writing routine and personality.
If you’re the type who sits at your desk all day and doesn’t like to leave, make several glasses of juice in the morning and keep it in the fridge in an airtight container. It will stay fresh in there throughout the day. If you like to get up and take short breaks, make one glass at a time.
Either way, the point is to get the nutrition you need while you’re engrossed in your writing. Juicing seems like one of the easiest ways to get the job done, so give it a try.
P.S. It’s also important to move around during your day, but we’ll touch on that in another post.
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