Eating a healthy and balanced diet is must for all, but in the modern world where we are surrounded by fast foods and so many food options based on taste keeping track of what we are eating and how much may seem a bit difficult to some. Making sure the food we are eating is nutritious is even harder as we have less time to eat the food during our daily activities let alone check the nutrition contents of it. And these lapse in our daily diet leads to various physical and mental health problems, lets learn a few ways how we can make our daily diet healthier without loosing the taste we so desire and also how food is connected to our mental health.
Mental health and Diet/Nutrition
What we eat has a direct impact on our mental well-being. A balanced and nutritious diet provides the essential nutrients and energy our brain needs to function optimally, contributing to better mood regulation and cognitive performance.
Conversely, poor dietary choices, such as excessive consumption of processed foods, sugary snacks, and high levels of saturated fats, have been linked to an increased risk of mental health disorders like depression and anxiety.
The gut-brain connection is also significant, as the gut microbiome plays a crucial role in mood regulation and overall mental health. Also, a healthy and nutritious diet provides us with amino acids and various vitamins required for a healthy brain functioning and hormonal stability.
Small yet effective changes to diet for a good mental health
Eating healthy does not require lot of efforts juts small and simple changes to our daily food habits and diet can lead to very effective changes in our health. One such small step is to be mindful of what you’re eating just by paying attention to your body’s hunger and fullness cues. Mindful eating can help you make better food choices and prevent emotional eating. Some other ways you can change your daily life habits are:
- Increase Whole Foods: Incorporate more whole, unprocessed foods like fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and lean proteins into your diet. These provide essential nutrients for brain health.
- Omega-3 Fatty Acids: Include sources of omega-3 fatty acids, such as fatty fish, flaxseeds, and walnuts, they are known to support cognitive function and mood stability.
- Limit Sugar and Processed Foods: Reduce your consumption of sugary snacks, sodas, and highly processed foods. Eat fruits when craving sugar, as they will help satisfy the craving yet are healthy,
- Moderate or reduce Caffeine and Alcohol: Excessive caffeine and alcohol consumption can disrupt sleep and affect mood. Be mindful of your intake and consider reducing it, especially in the evening.
- Probiotics: Consider incorporating probiotic-rich foods like yogurt, buttermilk, curd, banana, apple, etc. A healthy gut microbiome can positively influence mood.
- Dark chocolate: Chocolate cravings are hard to resist and one of the ways to make it healthy is by changing milk chocolate with dark chocolate (55-75%) as it contains compounds like flavonoids and antioxidants, which are associated with improved cognition and mood.
