Diets For Good Mental Health
What we eat does indeed become a part of us. You consider this old news, but just look back on what the general eating pattern is like. Can we honestly say considering the way the general masses are eating these days, that we are a health conscious species? Here's a statistic, over three thirds of the population in developed countries is obese. So obviously, we are not making the best decisions when it comes to what goes into our tummys. The diet we take affects both our mental as well as physical health.
Good mental health means we are active and alert in our thinking, life's daily challenges don't bother us, and getting up every morning feels like what we've been waiting to do all night. And don't think what you eat or drink won't affect how you think or feel about life. Ever hear of those folks who eat their emotions, three times a day? That's a way of dealing with depression for them, but it's not healthy. Not physically not mentally. When these people realize they are doing more harm than any possible good to their bodies, they also realize that they set themselves up for emotional and mental vulnerabilities. Once the food is gone, how do you deal with depression then? For a healthy life and mental health that you deserve, you need to take the initiative and practice the right eating and living habits.
Diet Tips for Good Mental Health:
If you shape your diet on the following guidelines, you'll see a pleasant improvement in both your mental as well as physical health.
1. Drink More Water and Fresh Juices: never mind the cliché, water and fresh juices are by far the best drink there ever was on the face of this planet. Period. No matter what energy drink some big fat company churns out, nothing will ever substitute these two. If your one of those people who always has a can of soda or beer in their hand, you're doing yourself a great injustice. Alcohol relaxes the muscles of the body to the extent that your metabolism slows down. Heavy alcohol consumption just fills the body with toxins. Sure a drink or two every now and then won't kill you, but the habit needs to go. Take 8 glasses of water on a daily basis. Splurge on a juicer and make sugar-free juices from the season's fruits.
2. Cut out the Carbohydrates: don't be a sugar junkie. It can cause your insulin levels to soar and add to your body's fat mass. Also when your diet is high on sugar, you become more irritable. Refined carbs that are found in white sugar, white rice, refined cereals, etc are easily digested by the body and result in a jolt of energy that dies down as quickly as it came up. This is what causes irritability in those who consume too much sugar and hampers mental health. Go for complex carbs when you have to, like brown sugar, brown rice, whole grain cereal, etc.
3. Be Careful of the Coffee: how many of us go to work and have a coffee pot always brewing? Research is now showing what many people have been feeling for quite some time, coffee and that too the pure black coffee, damages the memory. Caffeine isn't the friend of your brain and the sense of activeness that it may bring taxes your mental health in the long run. If you must start your day with a cup (mug) of coffee, let that be the end of it. More than this and you compromise your health.