Whole Foods And Your Moods

In this post I feel it is important for you to truly understand what are whole foods and why they are SO important to your health and mental wellbeing. Having a balanced diet to fuel your brain, will also fuel your happiness and success!

This statement can not be closer to the truth! High-quality nutrition is one of the most important strategies you need to understand to support your brain and happiness. You will get many messages in the nutrition world of what diet you should follow. Here you will never see me promote any particular diet over another.  In fact, there are mainly two schools of thought when it comes to diets: plants versus protein. I do not intend to promote one over the other.  What I want you to learn is how to eat a whole foods diet and keep it simple.

For now, let’s start by defining what are whole foods? Whole foods are foods that have never been transformed in any shape or form.  For example, a piece of chicken, fresh fish, vegetables and fruits, rice, eggs, beans and legumes, as well as nuts and grains are all whole foods. You get the picture 🙂

The quality of your food matters more than the quantity, for your physical and mental health. If you are going to eat right to think right, it is important that you understand the difference between nutrient dense calories and ‘’empty calories’’. Let’s take for example a 500 calorie cinnamon roll to a 500 calorie plate of salmon, spinach, red bell peppers, blueberries and walnuts.  The cinnamon roll will drain your energy, and create a spike of blood sugar followed by a drop in blood sugar.  This will have a huge impact on your brain health and how you feel afterwards, that is tired, bummed out and possibly either anxious, angry or depressed, depending if you are inclined to these emotions. As for the plate of salmon and vegetables will give you energy and maintain your blood sugar balanced simply by the presence of healthy fats, protein and smart carbohydrates.  It will also make you feel fuller, happier and more stable for longer.  Do you see the difference?  They both contain 500 calories just not the same high-quality calories.

When it comes to brain health and your mental wellbeing, the quality of the calories you consume makes all the difference in the world! If you want to make sure you are eating high quality calories, a good practice is to avoid buying packaged foods. Remind yourself that whole foods once grew, flew, swam or ran.   If you want to feel happy, calm and energized all day and every day so you can be the parent AND person you are meant to be, you need to be serious about nourishing yourself with high quality foods. 

Let’s Summarize

The name of the game is ”Whole Foods”. You always want to be asking yourself, what Dr.Amen from the ”Brain Warriors Way” always says ”Is this good for my brain or bad for my brain?

• Food is medicine.
• There are 2 schools of thought when it comes to nutrition, that is plant versus protein. However what you want to learn is how to eat ”Whole Foods” and keep it simple.
• You need high-quality calories, not empty calories for your mental health.
• Always remember that whole foods once grew, flew, swam or ran.

The maxim, ”Let food be thy medicine’ is applied to physical illness; might it not also apply to maladies of the mind?”

author: unknown