Food and Mental Health

Your nervous system and mental health rely on nutrition to build fresh tissues, proteins, and cells. Your body needs a variety of minerals, proteins, and carbohydrates to function effectively. Instead of eating the same meals and snacks every day, nutritionists suggest eating a variety of foods. This helps acquire all the nutrients that improve the functions of mental health.

The following are the top three foods you should include in a healthy mental diet.

• Complex Carbohydrates: You can get energy from complex carbohydrates like starchy vegetables and brown rice. Sweet potatoes, beets, and quinoa have additional nutritional value and will keep you satisfied longer than the typical carbohydrates existing in candy and sugar.
• Lean Proteins: These proteins provide energy that lets your body think and react instantly. Excellent sources of protein include eggs, seeds, nuts, chicken, soybeans, and meat.
• Fatty acids: These are crucial acids for the right function of your nervous system and brain. Fatty acids are found in flaxseeds, fish, nuts, eggs, and meat.

Healthy Eating Tips

• Eat plenty of healthy fats to support your brain, including avocado, coconut oil, and olive oil.
• Pass up snacks filled with sugar, such as soft drinks and candy, which lead to instability in energy levels. Steer up processed snacks like potato chips, which can weaken your ability to concentrate.
• When hunger strikes, consume healthy snacks like baked sweet potatoes, fruits, hard-boiled eggs, or nuts that will produce more energy than packaged products.
• Eat at the right time and don’t eat in a distracting environment. Consider sitting in a relaxed place and take note of what you are eating.
• Develop a shopping list of healthy foods and stick to it.
• Shopping while hungry will make you purchase unhealthy impulse – don’t shop when you are hungry!