Healthy eating is often associated with looking and feeling good. But healthy eating serves other important purposes such as, mental health. There are many foods that nourish our mental health and keep us balanced, as well as, foods that deter mental illness, and that remedy mental health symptoms. Eating healthy will allow us to think clearly and feel more alert. It will also help with concentration and attention span.
Conversely, eating poorly can lead to fatigue, impaired decision-making, and can slow reaction time and cognitive function. It can also aggravate, or bring on, stress and depression. One of the biggest downfalls we share is our reliance on processed foods. These foods are high in flowers, and sugar, and train the brain to crave more of them, rather than nutrient rich foods such as fruits and vegetables.
A lot of the processed foods we eat are highly addictive, and stimulate the dopamine centers in our brain, which are associated with pleasure and reward. In order to stop craving unhealthy foods, you’ve got to stop eating those foods. You actually start to change the Physiology in the brain when you pull added sugars, and refined carbohydrates, from your diet.
Healthy eating VS Stress and depression.
Sugar and processed foods can lead to inflammation throughout the body and brain, which may contribute to mood disorders, including anxiety and depression. When we’re feeling stressed or depressed, it’s often processed foods that we reach for in search of a quick pick me up. During busy, or chaotic moments in your day, a cup of coffee can often stand in for a healthy breakfast, and fresh fruits and vegetables are replaced with high-fat, high-calorie, fast food. When feeling down, a pint of ice cream, or bag of chips, becomes dinner. According to the American Dietetic Association, people tend to either eat too much, or too little, when depressed or under stress. Eat too much, and you find yourself dealing with sluggishness and weight gain. Eat too little, and the resulting exhaustion makes unhealthy eating a hard habit to break. In either case, eating poorly during periods of stress and depression only makes matters worse. This cycle is a vicious one, but it can be overcome.
To boost your mental health, focus on eating plenty of fruits and vegetables along with foods rich in omega-3 fatty acids, such as salmon. Dark green leafy vegetables in particular are brain protective. Nuts, seeds, and legumes, such as beans and lentils, are also excellent brain foods.
A Healthy Gut.
Researchers continue to prove the old adage that you are what you eat, most recently by exploring the strong connection between our intestines and brain. Our guts and brain are physically linked via the Vagas nerve, and the two can send messages to one another. While the gut can influence emotional behavior in the brain, the brain can also alter the type of bacteria living in the gut. According to the American Psychological Association, gut bacteria produce an array of neurochemicals that the brain uses for the regulation of physiological and mental processes, including mood. It’s believed 95% of the body’s supply of serotonin, a mood stabilizer, is produced by gut bacteria. Stress has shown to suppress beneficial gut bacteria.
Eat Healthy!
Paying attention to how you feel when you eat, and what you eat, is one of the first steps in making sure you’re getting well balanced meals and snacks. Since many of us don’t pay close attention to our eating habits, nutritionists recommend keeping a food journal. Documenting what, where and when you eat is a great way to gain insight into your patterns. If you find you overheat when stressed, it may be helpful to stop what you’re doing when the urge to eat arises, and to write down your feelings. By doing this, you may discover what’s really bothering you. If you under eat, it may help to schedule five or six smaller meals instead of three large ones.
Brain Food.
Your brain and nervous system depend on nutrition to build new proteins, cells and tissues. In order to function effectively, your body requires a variety of carbohydrates, proteins and minerals. To get all the nutrients that improve mental functioning, nutritionist suggests eating meals and snacks that include a variety of foods, instead of eating the same meals each day.
Here are the top three foods to incorporate into a healthy mental diet:
- Complex Carbohydrates. Brown rice and starchy vegetables can give you energy. Whereas Quinoa, Millet, beets and sweet potatoes have more nutritional value and will keep you satisfied longer than the simple carbohydrates found in sugar and candy.
- Lean Proteins. Lean proteins will also lend energy that allows your body to think and react quickly. Good sources of protein include chicken, beef, fish, eggs, soybeans, nuts, and seeds.
- Fatty Acids. Fatty acids are crucial for the proper function of your brain and nervous system. You can find them in fish, meat, eggs, nuts and flax seeds.
Here are some healthy eating tips, as well as a list of foods that promote good mental health:
- Steer clear of processed snack foods. Avoid foods, like potato chips, that can impair your ability to concentrate. Pass up sugar filled snacks, such as candy and soft drinks, which lead to ups and downs in energy levels.
- Consume plenty of healthy fats. Foods such as olive oil, coconut oil and avocado will support your brain function.
- Eat a healthy snack when hunger strikes. Healthy snacks such as fruit, nuts, hard boiled eggs, baked sweet potatoes, or edamame will give you more energy than packaged products.
- Develop a healthy shopping list and stick to it. Consistency is the key here. Get a whiteboard, post a list on your fridge, set a reminder on your phone. Whatever the case may be, make a list and stick to it.
- Don’t shop while you’re hungry. Put yourself in positions to succeed. Don’t put yourself in positions to fall into old habits.
Foods That Promote Good Mental Health:
Leafy greens, yogurt, dark chocolate, oily fish, whole grains, salmon, walnuts, eggs, green tea, blueberries, wild berries, nuts, spinach, beans, fresh vegetables, pumpkin seed, bananas, tomatoes, basil, oranges, sweet potato, sunflower seeds and broccoli are some, but not all, foods that will help prevent mental illness and mental illness symptoms as well as promote good mental health.
Scientific studies continue to show, and educate us, that the connection between our mind, body, and healthy eating, is an important and meaningful pursuit, and is vital for healthy living.
Can-Am Interventions promotes natural, clinically proven, healthy treatment methods that sustain results, and gives their clients the best opportunity for success. For any additional information, on mental health wellness, please contact Can-Am Interventions.
For More Information: E: patti.pike@canaminterventions.com W: www.canaminterventions.com
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