Wellness Wednesday: Food and mental health
(WFSB) – Eating healthy is good for our physical health, but it can be just as important for our mental health.
“The food we eat is so impactful on so many conditions but also our mood and emotional well-being and that’s really what I wanted people to understand,” said Dr. Uma Naidoo.
Dr. Uma Naidoo wrote a book about it, called This is Your Brain on Food.
“People are not realizing that the bag of processed junk food or snack or sugary food they are eating is also impacting their mental well-being,” she said.
Naidoo says you can create a whole diet to support your mental health. It includes many of the food that’s good for your waistline too.
She says to start focusing on plant-based foods.
“Lean into those vegetables, the cauliflower, the broccoli, the brussels sprouts, the leafy greens, leafy greens actually contain folate,” Naidoo said. “Low folate is associated with a low mood. So eating those leafy greens is much more significant than we realize.”
Fill your plate with colorful vegetables, nuts and seeds that are rich in fiber and fatty fish that are stocked with Omega 3s.
“Prebiotic foods, garlics, leeks, onions, things we’d be putting in soups this time of year,” Naidoo said.
Don’t forget about spices.
“Things like turmeric with a pinch of black pepper, even if you don’t cook with it, use it in a tea, soup or smoothie because that has a good amount of evidence to prevent depression and anxiety and it’s a simple thing we can do and add to our food,” said Naidoo.
Food that will not only make you feel better physically, but mentally too.
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