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Mental wellness has started to have a bigger and bigger importance in today’s fast world. More people than ever encounter mood disorders and excessive stress, and in part this negative shift is linked to food choices and gut health.
While dealing with mental health concerns is an ongoing challenge, it has now become clear that diet can actually support us in the process. It may not always be apparent how eating a certain way benefits the brain and the mind, but let’s remember that “we are what we eat”. The way we nourish our body translates to how we feel and how we perceive ourselves and the world.
Choosing healthier foods should not be a battle, especially if we learn how to make simple swaps in our daily lives. Here are three diet-based swaps to help you improve your overall mental health.
Olive Oil Over Margarine
Have you heard of the MIND diet? This diet for alleviating symptoms of dementia combines Mediterranean and anti-hypertensive eating patterns. New research shows that this way of eating can also lower the odds for depression. A BMC Psychiatry study reports that the MIND diet can decrease chances of developing anxiety and stress over time.
A simple swap to incorporate these principles in your daily life is switching margarine for olive oil. This dietary guideline recommends that you should use olive oil as your everyday cooking fat, not just on your salads. This swap may help your body develop less oxidative stress and inflammation, while also helping with burning stored fat. This type of healthy choice will eventually reduce the risk of cell damage in the brain.
Plant-Based Snacks Over Processed Foods
Swapping ultra-processed snacks with plant-based alternatives can lead to mental health benefits even in chronic cases. A Nature Mental Health study found that dietary patterns can profoundly influence chronic diseases like type 2 diabetes and cancer. This is reassuring since these conditions often have mental implications – think of Alzheimer’s disease which is linked to a high sugar intake.
Try choosing healthy snacks like carrot sticks with hummus, or something like sliced cucumber with scallions and sesame seeds. You can also choose a simple snack made of boiled carrots with walnuts, or make yourself a quick salad with cherry tomatoes, cucumber, and olives.
These alternatives will give you all the nutrients you need from a simple meal, minus the inflammation that you usually get from processed foods.
There’s no denying the mental health implications of our lifestyle. In fact, medical professionals who manage chronic illness also learn to monitor mental health and dietary choices throughout a patient’s lifespan. Some post-MSN FNP online programs offer immersive clinical experiences through simulations.
This helps practitioners understand mental wellness in primary healthcare. Nurses can also learn to recommend lifestyle modifications to lower depression in patients.
For example, practical advice like satisfying one’s sweet tooth with an apple instead of a candy bar makes diabetes seem less restrictive and overwhelming for some people. Rockhurst University observes that practitioners who get comprehensive wellness education can improve the outlook for chronic disease management.
Kimchi Over Ketchup
Even before kimchi became cool, it occupied a veritable spot in the healthy fermented foods category. The spicy tangy dish makes an excellent accompaniment for most meals once you develop a taste for it. New studies have found another reason to consume this Korean staple: its power to improve mental wellness.
Cleveland Clinic explains how fermented food infuses the body with gut-friendly bacteria. This enhanced microbiome will facilitate better communication between the neurotransmitters found in the gut and our brain, making us feel better and happier from within.
Ongoing studies examine the connection between these foods and gamma-aminobutyric acid, an inhibitory neurotransmitter that induces calmness. This type of research has the potential to help people deal with anxiety and depression.
Why not consider kimchi a swap for condiments like tomato ketchup or mayo? You can even obtain similar health benefits from foods like kefir, yogurt, sauerkraut, or pickles. Use fermented foods instead of ranch or soy sauce dressings, which have excessive sodium and unhealthy fats, not to mention preservatives and additives.
Takeaway
For a long time, physical fitness has motivated people to cultivate healthier eating habits. We want to lose weight or develop flat abs, and we don’t mind adopting a ketogenic diet to achieve these goals. However, with mental health deteriorating globally, it has become vital to make dietary changes for our mental wellbeing as well.
Start by making one new healthy choice each week and go from there. Don’t forget that years of making unhealthy choices cannot be reversed in just a few weeks. It takes time for your body to adapt to these new healthy changes. It may even “feel” strange at first, so take it easy and focus on your long-term goal of being healthy.
