How a Healthy Body helps your Mental Health
Life is not always a bed of roses and that’s probably an understatement especially if you feel depressed, anxious and overwhelmed by life.
People feel depressed, get anxious and overwhelmed and sometimes it’s all too much and hard to get out of bed. Other people find they’re under so much stress they can’t sleep, eat for comfort or don’t eat at all.
All of these factors, whilst affected by what is happening in life, can be alleviated by having a healthy body. This is achieved with good nutrition and some form of exercise.
Starting with good nutrition, this would include:
- Eating balanced meals which contain the right combination of protein, healthy carbohydrates and good fat
- Cutting down on sugar
- Cutting down on caffeine
- Cutting down on dairy
- Increasing the amount of green food eaten
- Increasing the amount of water
- Taking vitamin and mineral supplements
A balanced meal
Each meal should contain a good protein. Foods high in protein would be fish, lentils, nuts
Good carbohydrates would be any none “white” foods, foods containing grains. This would be such things as quinoa, vegetables (some vegetables are high in carbohydrates), sweet potatoes.
Good fats are such things as olive oil, olives, nuts, avocados, coconut oil. It has been found that fats are not as bad as they were always made out to be and in fact, the body needs some fats to function well MORE. Fats can also help when reducing sugar because it makes you feel more satisfied MORE.
Cutting down on sugar
Sugar has a negative effect on the body both short term and long term. See this article
It also affects the pH balance of the body making it more acidic and along with it’s addictive properties makes you eat more and more and makes you put on weight.
Cutting down on caffeine
Caffeine is a false energy. It gives an instant high but leads to a later crash. The more you drink the more addictive it becomes and when you don’t get that regular coffee your body goes into all sorts of withdrawal symptoms like headaches. Coffee is also highly acidic in the body which disturbs the pH balance just as sugar does
Cutting down on dairy
Dairy is also acidic for the body. And with modern farming methods, it’s hard to find a dairy product that is in its natural state, doesn’t have added hormones. Many people are allergic to dairy and don’t realise. It is mucous-forming so you might find that little frog you have in your throat every morning is caused by dairy!
Increasing green foods
Plainly put, green foods are good for you! They help to create an alkaline state in the body which keeps the body nutritionally balanced.
The more green foods you eat the less craving you will have for sweet foods and bad carbohydrates. Green foods would be such foods as:
- spinach
- kale
- broccoli
- cucumber
- lettuce
- avocado
Use them in salads (at least half a plate full), soups, stir-fry, smoothies and juices.
Increasing the amount of water
It is important to drink sufficient water as the body needs this to be able to function well. When your body feels tired and sluggish it is often due to lack of water.
If you’re out and about a lot make sure you have a bottle of water with you. If you’re at a desk all day make sure you always have a glass/bottle of water on the desk – and that you drink from it!
Measure the amount of water that fits in your glass and work out how many glasses you need to drink so you’re drinking 2-3 Litres per day. And then keep track of how many glasses you drink!
Taking Vitamin and Mineral Supplements
Whilst you should try to get the majority of nutrients from your food it’s a good idea to take supplements to help you on your way.
Vitamin C – this is a good overall helper. It helps to ward off colds and flu and it can help reduce cravings when you’re cutting back on sugar
Vitamin B1 – this is a good vitamin to take when you’re feeling a bit low. Another factor is alcohol and drugs – these deplete vitamin B1 from your body leaving you feeling low and depressed.
Vitamin B Complex – whilst taking B1 helps with mental and emotional issues, it’s a good idea to take a B complex which is a balanced mixture of the B vitamins – all of which are helpful MORE
Omega 3 oil – Omega 3 has many benefits to the body. It’s been found to help with depression and anxiety, inflammation in the body, keeping your joints healthy, improving skin condition and so much more!
Exercise
It’s important to get some form of exercise every day. This doesn’t mean you have to join a gym or go for a 5-mile run – do what you’re capable of doing and work on that to increase fitness. Of course, if you’re capable of tackling a 5-mile run then go ahead!
Exercise has many benefits to the mind and body.
It increases the amount of oxygen in the body which benefits every part of the body. It increases blood flow in the body which supplies more oxygen. It improves muscle tone which makes you more able to move around as well as increasing your metabolism.
It’s also a way to take the focus off of your problems. If you exercise outside, whether walking, running or cycling, you can put your attention out into the environment – one of the best ways of dealing with stress.
Summary
In summary, having a healthy body will give you a good basis from which to tackle the other problems in life. Take a look at your nutrition and exercise routine and see if these can be improved.
To feel good mentally, it’s important to be in good physical shape!