subject: Feed Your Brain With Good Nutrition [print this page] Everyone would have mood swings, but have you ever linked this with foods that you ate? Each time when talking about wellness and nutrition, we often refer to physical condition. In fact health includes two parts- mental health and physical health, and certainly these two parts have interaction on each other. Well, a diet equals to our health, so a balanced healthy diet is the best way to achieve both mental health and physical health. This suggests us to have a good dietary habit.
Scientists say that our brain weighs only about 2% of our bodies, but in fact it accounts for at least 25% of our metabolic demands. The human brain has high energy and nutrient needs. Food and the chemicals in our brains interact to keep us going throughout the day. Brain needs different energy and nutrients to keep working well. Do you know that people who have mental health problem are more likely to have weight problem? Maybe it is just related to eating habit, or the possible side effects of some medicines or treatment. Sometimes it is possible to swap to another medication. Alternatively, one can try to become more physically active or switch to better eating habits.
As to eating habits and weight problem, many obese people have had experience of isolating themselves and living with depression. Not only obese people have the declination of being depression, but also people with other diseases such as a stroke, high blood pressure, cardiac disease or other. Well, we all know that healthy eating is not about being thin or depravation. Healthy eating is about feeling good, having more energy, participating in your recovery and mapping out your future. People with any illness should find out some possible helpful diet for their disease.
The main fuel on which the brain runs is glucose - blood sugar. Imbalance in blood sugar levels can lead to brain dysfunction. When being lack of glucose, people would get involved with Hypoglycemia, Irritability, poor memory, poor concentration, tiredness, cold hands; muscle cramping and sugar craving are some of the symptoms. Thus if you think you get hypoglycemia, change your diet and take some supplements if necessary.
When making dietary changes, doctors would advice a diet rich in fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and seafood (if not vegetarian) and low in processed, refined foods for optimizing mental health.
