Nutrition And Mental Health Connections
What does the food you put in your mouth have to do with your brain and mood? It seems there are nutrition and mental health connections that scientists are now starting to investigate. These studies are deemed nutritional psychiatry. It only makes sense that if a chemical can alter behavior, via a pill, then why wouldn’t the chemicals in some foods do the same? Just like any other organ of the body, the brain needs fuel and it’s now more apparent that the right fuel can help improve your overall health.
High octane food, produces the best results.
What you eat affects all parts of your body, but particularly the brain. Healthy food provides antioxidants that can eliminate damage from free radicals that cause oxidative stress and damages cells. There are studies around the world to investigate how certain foods and herbs, like turmeric, can help prevent dementia and Alzheimer’s. A quick example of how food affects your mood is how sugar affects the body. It causes inflammation and fluctuations in insulin. Studies show a high sugar diet increases the negative effects of depression and mood disorders.
The neurotransmitters play a primary role in how you feel emotionally.
If you’re having trouble sleeping, feel a lot of pain, have unusual appetite patterns or lots of mood shifts, you may be low on serotonin. It’s produced in the gastrointestinal tract. That has millions of nerve cells. These neurons and the neurotransmitters produced, like serotonin, are in full gear or lacking based on the microbiome of your gut. That’s all the bacteria, fungus and other microscopic entities that live there. There are good bacteria and ones that cause problems. What they all have in common, is that collectively they can dictate your physical and mental health. Consuming food that helps produce more “good” bacteria.
Studies comparing diets show a difference.
When the average American or Western diet was compared to more traditional ones, like the traditional Japanese diet or the Mediterranean diet, the Western diet showed more incidence of depression. In fact, it increased the risk by as much as 25 to 35 per cent. The difference is primarily the processed food and sugar in the Western or American diet. In traditional diets of other cultures, the food is not only unprocessed, but also has fermented food that adds healthy probiotics to the body.
- Fiber is also another part of the diet that encourages the development of healthy bacteria.
- It’s not all about diet, exercise also boosts your mood. It burns off the hormones of stress, increases circulation of nutrient and oxygen rich blood to the brain and creates happy hormones that make you feel good. New studies show exercise also increases healthy bacteria in your gut.
- Food that contains nutrients such as omega-3 fatty acids, Vitamins D and B, folic acid and tryptophan improve your mood and make it better.
- Foods you should consider to boost your mood include low-fat dairy, lean protein and whole grains. You should also limit saturated fat, sodium and added sugar. Fiber is your friend.
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When you hear about people eating beans, do you envision a lone cowpoke, sitting by the campfire, a destitute person, scraping the bottom of the can for just a little more to eat or a grand dinner with beans as its main entry. Most people don’t envision the last one. That’s because beans are so inexpensive and also a good reason to add them to your diet, particularly if you’re suffering from diabetes. Not only are they packed with protein, they also contain many other nutrients necessary for good health.
I get confessions from a lot of clients in Irvine, CA, about their addiction to chocolate. Some hide it in secret places in their home, like the freezer or the sock drawer. If you’re a secret chocolate chomper, there’s good news. Dark chocolate is actually healthy. There are limitations. Don’t get a share size dark chocolate candy bar and eat it all yourself…or any large candy bar, for that matter. There are also only certain types of chocolate that are healthy. The serving size should be between 30 and 60 grams a day. Since each dark chocolate Hershey’s mini bar weighs about 8.6 grams, that’s about 5 a day.
If you want to lose weight, start adding herbs to your diet. You don’t have to spend a fortune at the health food store, just go to the market and get fresh or dried herbs to add both flavor and nutrients—without a lot of calories—to your next meal. Some herbs do more than just add nutrition and flavor, although that still makes using them a good idea. Some speed up weight loss. They help you lose weight in a number of different ways.
If you’re trying to live a healthier lifestyle, you might consider dropping all sugary drinks in favor of fruit juice. However, there are some reasons and situations where fruit juice is bad for you. Fruit juice does have natural sugars, just like their fruit counterparts. Drinking too much will provide an overload of sugar without any of the benefits you get from the whole fruit.
You may have read on the internet or heard about it at your favorite coffee shop in Irvine, CA. There’s a lot of talk about all the benefits of rosemary water. Just what is rosemary and why is it praised? Rosemary is an evergreen herb that lives two years. It’s extremely fragrant and often used to season Mediterranean dishes. While it looks like a small shrub, it’s actually a member of the mint family and shares family ties to basil, thyme, oregano and lavender, other herbs often used for health and flavor benefits.
There’s an old adage that you can get too much of a good thing. That holds true for many things, including important nutrients, such as potassium. You can get too much potassium and the results can be dangerous. Potassium is a necessary mineral that functions as an electrolyte, too. It helps maintain the body by making muscles work, which includes the heart and breathing muscles. Normally, if you have excess potassium, it’s removed from the blood via the kidneys.
If you come to the gym in Irvine, CA, you know we create individualized programs to meet your needs and goals. While many people just want to be healthier, lose weight or boost their energy level, some want muscle mass gain. Working out to build bigger mass is different from working out to lose weight or getting toned and fit. You have to take in more calories than you burn to do this. While it is possible to lose weight and build muscle mass at the same time, it’s a far slower and more difficult process. Most of the time when losing weight, the goal is to maintain muscle mass.
There is a lot of talk about the benefits and risks of using artificial sweeteners. There’s also a lot of different types of artificial sweeteners to use. While I’m all for people finding things that help them lose weight, I tend to lean with the group that focuses more on getting sweetness naturally, from fresh fruits, and cutting out any unnecessary added sugar. Whether using a higher calorie sugar that’s natural or one made in the lab, changing eating habits and reducing the amount of sweeteners, natural or artificial, is important.
Getting fit is important, that’s why many people use the services of a personal trainer. It’s not always easy to find the right one. That’s why you should consider many different things when hiring a personal trainer. One of the most important things to consider is how comfortable you feel with the trainer. Not every trainer has a personality that will mesh with yours and since you’ll be working closely with that trainer, you want to feel free to ask questions and feel like the trainer’s focus is on your goals and needs. That’s why the first question any trainer should ask is about your goals.