I grew up in a health-food family-religious culture and didn't find that it helped me much.

In fact later on I found that sweet things really seem to help my productivity sometimes. I went all Warren Buffett on my diet and lost 36% of my body weight by eating meals that were just a handful of chocolate bars, things like that. At a certain level of cutting for extreme weight loss, it's important that food can be reverse-psychology, pouty food if it needs to be.

Overall the best thing I do for productivity is prepare my meals (completed projects) in advance. It's a metaphor but that's the most direct path I can draw from food to creativity.

I feed on completed-project energy, so I prepare my stages, communications, and techniques in advance and keep them ready in an organizational system.

This prevents me from overeating (workaholism) and emotional eating (procrastination).

OK my metaphor is breaking now. :-)

Chemicals & hydration, ergonomics and own-software though...those seem like another matter and really do seem to help with productivity.

I also like veggies while on a cut. I love how much cabbage I can eat. Pickles, cabbage, cauliflower...OK the latter makes me want to hurl these days but I used to eat a LOT of that...

How about you? What is really helping your brain these days and what's that feel like?