Mind-Body Nutrition: Eating with Mental Health in Mind

Posted by Lesley Haverford on April 26th, 2018

You have most probably heard the expression “you are what you eat” too many times. But what does that actually mean? It means that the kind of food you put in your body and what type of nutrients you are feeding your system with will determine how well both your body and mind will function. One of the most important factors in mental health developing trends is the key role that nutrition plays. When it comes to mental health, it is proven that food has a huge impact and contributes to development and prevention of different mental health issues such as depression, ADHD, Alzheimer’s disease and more.

People who eat in a healthy way and have a diet mainly consisted of fresh fruits and vegetables and that are skipping on unhealthy foods such as chips, chocolate and processed food are more likely to bypass any potential mental problems. In order to stay healthy both physically and mentally, your diet needs to provide you with enough amount of complex carbohydrates, amino acids, vitamins and minerals, essential fats and of course water.

Breakfast time

The healthiest thing you can do for breakfast is not skip it. You need to fuel your body and brain with energy after sleeping the whole night without food. And yes, our body uses energy even while asleep and needs a refill in the first 30 minutes of waking up to start up your metabolism for the day. Skipping meals leads to feelings of “brain fog” and also since your metabolism will slow down that way, anything you eat will stick as fat. That’s why breakfast is the most important meal of the day and you should try to incorporate a healthy breakfast routine. If you don’t have enough time in the morning to prepare yourself a breakfast, just mix a simple protein shake with yogurt and a piece of fruit to get your day started.

Lunch and dinner time

Again, skipping any meals is just not a good idea and especially if you are working out. Your results from the gym will not be as effective if you don’t have at least 3 healthy meals a day.

You should try to stay away from fat dairy products, fried or refined food and sugary food. They have small nutritional value and they will make you gain weight and increase the likelihood of diabetes as well as depression. Healthy diets should rely on fruits and vegetables, nuts and whole grains as well as fish and unsaturated fats. Your body and your brain will be very grateful.

Exercise for mind, body and soul and eating right after a workout

Exercise is very important for your overall health. It will make your body stronger by improved cardiovascular health and well-built muscle and you get a rocking hot body as a result as well. But it also has significant benefits for the above-the-neck section. I have been proven that exercising boost your brain function, reduces stress, releases endorphins that create feelings of happiness and euphoria, improves self-confidence, prevents cognitive decline, alleviates anxiety, sharpens memory and increase relaxation.

But in order to get the maximum results from your workout time, you need to combine it with healthy eating habits.

When working out, your body is damaging and breaking down the proteins in your muscles that are vital for their growth and maintenance. Having a meal full of right nutrients shortly after your workout will help your body recover faster. Eating carbs and most importantly protein after a workout is of huge importance. So prepare yourself a whey protein shake as soon as you get home from the gym to help your body recover faster. Your body and mind need to be in perfect harmony and one of the ways to achieve it to exercise regularly and refill the damaged proteins afterward.

Stress and Eating

When people are mentally stressed or dealing with emotional problems, they tend to eat more and they usually go for unhealthy food that leads to symptoms of digestive distress. But the fact is that while we are under stress, no food or diet is healthy. In a stressful situation, you need to approach food slowly and with calm and that will trigger the brain to rest and relax as well to optimize your digestive power. Slow and deep breathing can help you in this matter and improve the absorption of nutrients.Eating slowly also helps in speeding up your metabolism.

You only get one body in this life and you need to treat it the best way possible. Taking care of yourself is crucial for your physical and mental health, and that’s not only related to working out and pampering yourself, but also making sure that you eat healthy, non-processed food every day. There are no excuses for not treating your body and mind the proper way. Fill yourself with healthy nutrients and by combining your diet with regular exercise you will quickly be able to see how much more relaxed and stronger you feel and your body and mind will connect into perfect harmony. You owe it to yourself to live a healthy life every day and do your best to bypass any potential physical or mental problems.