"FOOD AS LIFE'S BASIC NEEDS"
Healthy
eating is not about strict dietary limitations, staying unrealistically thin,
or depriving yourself of the foods you love. Rather, it’s about feeling great,
having more energy, improving your health, and stabilizing your mood. If you feel
overwhelmed by all the conflicting nutrition and diet advice out there, you’re
not alone. It seems that for every expert who tells you a certain food is good
for you, you’ll find another saying exactly the opposite. But by using these
simple tips, you can cut through the confusion and learn how to create a tasty,
varied, and healthy diet that is as good for your mind as it is for your body.
HEALTHY
EATING
How
can healthy eating improve your mental health?
We
all know that eating right can help you maintain a healthy weight and avoid
certain health problems, but your diet can also have a profound effect on your
mood and sense of wellbeing. Studies have linked eating a typical Western
diet—filled with processed meats, packaged meals, takeout food, and sugary
snacks—with higher rates of depression, stress, bipolar disorder, and anxiety.
Eating an unhealthy diet may even play a role in the development of mental
health disorders such as ADHD, Alzheimer’s disease, and schizophrenia, or in
the increased risk of suicide in young people.
Eating
more fresh fruits and vegetables, cooking meals at home, and reducing your
intake of sugar and refined carbohydrates, on the other hand, may help to
improve mood and lower your risk for mental health issues. If you have already
been diagnosed with a mental health problem, eating well can even help to
manage your symptoms and regain control of your life.
What
constitutes a healthy diet?
Eating
a healthy diet doesn’t have to be overly complicated. While some specific foods
or nutrients have been shown to have a beneficial effect on mood, it’s your
overall dietary pattern that is most important. The cornerstone of a healthy
diet pattern should be to replace processed food with real food whenever
possible. Eating food that is as close as possible to the way nature made it
can make a huge difference to the way you think, look, and feel.
Building
your healthy diet
While
some extreme diets may suggest otherwise, we all need a balance of protein,
fat, carbohydrates, fiber, vitamins, and minerals in our diets to sustain a
healthy body. You don’t need to eliminate certain categories of food from your
diet, but rather select the healthiest options from each category.
1.
Carbohydrates
Carbohydrates
are one of your body’s main sources of energy. But most should come from
complex, unrefined carbs (vegetables, whole grains, fruit) rather than sugars
and refined carbs that have been stripped of all bran, fiber, and nutrients.
Cutting back on white bread, pastries, starches, and sugar can prevent rapid
spikes in blood sugar, fluctuations in mood and energy, and a build-up of fat,
especially around your waistline.
2.
Protein
Protein
gives us the energy to get up and go—and keep going—while also supporting mood
and cognitive function. Too much protein can be harmful to people with kidney
disease, but the latest research suggests that many of us need more
high-quality protein, especially as we age. That doesn’t mean you have to eat
more animal products—a variety of plant-based sources of protein each day can
ensure your body gets all the essential protein it needs.
3.
Fat
Not all fat is
the same. While bad fats can wreck your diet and increase your risk of certain
diseases, good fats protect your brain and heart. In fact, healthy fats—such as
omega-3s—are vital to your physical and emotional health. Understanding how to
include more healthy fat in your diet can help improve your mood, boost your
well-being, and even trim your waistline.
4.
Fiber
Eating foods
high in dietary fiber (grains, fruit, vegetables, nuts, and beans) can help you
stay regular and lower your risk for heart disease, stroke, and diabetes. It
can also improve your skin and even help you to lose weight. Depending on your
age and gender, nutrition experts recommend you eat at least 21 to 38 grams of
fiber each day for optimal health. Unfortunately, most of us aren't eating even
half that amount.
5.
Calcium
Your body uses
calcium to build healthy bones and teeth, keep them strong as you age, send
messages through the nervous system, and regulate the heart’s rhythm. As well
as leading to osteoporosis, not getting enough calcium in your diet can also
contribute to anxiety, depression, and sleep difficulties. Whatever your age or
gender, it’s vital to include calcium-rich foods in your diet, limit those that
deplete calcium, and get enough magnesium and vitamins D and K to help calcium
do its job.
The
Healthy Eating Pyramid
The Harvard Healthy
Eating Pyramid represents the latest nutritional science. The widest part at
the bottom is for things that are most important. The foods at the narrow top
are those that should be eaten sparingly, if at all. This Healthy Eating
Pyramid shows daily exercise and weight control in the widest, most important
category. Fats from healthy sources, such as plants, are in the wider part of
the pyramid. Refined carbohydrates, such as white bread and white rice, are in
the narrow top. Red meat should also be eaten sparingly, while fish, poultry,
and eggs are healthier choices.
How to add more fruit and vegetables to your diet
Fruit and vegetables are low in
calories and nutrient dense, which means they are packed with vitamins,
minerals, antioxidants, and fiber. Focus on eating the recommended daily amount
of at least five servings of fruit and vegetables and it will naturally fill
you up and help you cut back on unhealthy foods. A serving is half a cup of raw
fruit or veg or a small apple or banana, for example. Most of us need to double
the amount we currently eat.
To increase your
intake:
i.
Add berries to breakfast cereals
ii.
Eat fruit for dessert
iii.
Swap your usual side dish for a salad
iv.
Snack on vegetables such as carrots, snow peas, or cherry tomatoes instead
of processed snack foods
Make
your meals colorful
The
brighter, deeper colored fruits and vegetables contain higher concentrations of
vitamins, minerals and antioxidants—and different colors provide different
benefits.
Greens.
Branch out beyond lettuce. Kale, mustard greens, broccoli, and Chinese cabbage
are all packed with calcium, magnesium, iron, potassium, zinc, and vitamins A,
C, E, and K.
Sweet
vegetables. Naturally sweet vegetables—such as carrots, beets, sweet potatoes,
yams, onions, and squash—add healthy sweetness to your meals and reduce your
cravings for added sugar.
Fruit.
Fruit is a tasty, satisfying way to fill up on fiber, vitamins, and
antioxidants. Berries are cancer-fighting, apples provide fiber, oranges and
mangos offer vitamin C, and so on.
Resources and
references
Healthy eating and mental
health
Healthy Eating – Overview and articles about what constitutes a healthy
diet. (Harvard Health Publications)
Healthy Diet: Eating with Mental
Health in Mind – Foods
to eat and avoid for optimal mental health. (Mental Health America)
Nutritional psychiatry: Your brain
on food – How the food you eat affects the way you feel. (Harvard
Health Publications)
Mastering the mindful meal – Describes the importance of mindful eating, along with tips
on how to eat more mindfully. (Brigham & Women’s Hospital)
Artikel helpguide.org. Healthy Eating. Diambil dari : https://www.helpguide.org/articles/healthy-eating/healthy-eating.htm
(On 19th May 2017)
Broccoli, Almonds are good for improving brain power. and for improving concentration start taking herbal brain booster supplements.
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