When looking for nutritional advice online, it’s easy to get lost in a pool of information. The internet can leave you a little confused, but science can never be wrong. A study by University of Manchester researchers shows a clear link between diet and mood. Eating healthy foods that have minimally been processed helps improve your mental wellness.
Depression comes as a result of many factors, but research shows that some nutrients can help treat and prevent it. Studies show that in the future, patients suffering from depression will require the intervention of both a therapist and a nutritionist.
The Importance of a Healthy Diet
For a long time, people have understood that fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and lean and unprocessed proteins form the best diet. However, it’s only over the last ten years that studies have revealed the contribution of healthy eating to good physical and mental health.
On the other hand, unhealthy foods high in fats, processed and refined foods, and sugar can increase the risk of some diseases. They deprive the brain of essential nutrients, breed bad bacteria, and impact the overall physical health.
Not a Diet but a Way of Life
Several studies based on the Mediterranean Diet show how a good diet affects mental and physical health. It’s not a diet in the popular sense of the word but a way of eating with a long history. The Mediterranean Diet, for example, promotes plant-based foods with a combination of fish and lots of olive oil. Meat should be consumed in very little quantity, if at all.
This way of eating is associated with a lower risk of heart disease. It also contributes to a better overall quality of life.
While I’m not specifically promoting this diet, what I am saying is that you should embrace a sustainable way of eating, more than you embrace popular diets. It also means shifting from the consumption of highly processed foods to more healthy and natural foods. It’s changing your lifestyle.
{When thinking of how to eat your way into happiness, don’t forget your pets too! Strive to feed them on foods that boost their moods.}
Healthy Eating and Happiness
If you’re in the habit of piling colorful plants on your plate, you already have a better mood advantage. Research shows that the more you consume colorful fruits and veggies, the more satisfied you become with your life. Eliminating animal products is also a big step to greater resilience and mental well-being.
However, it can be a challenge for some people to load large quantities of plants and vegetables on their plates every day. As such, a more practical approach would entail going for foods with fewer ingredients, meaning they’re unprocessed.
Experts recommend eating more foods that come out of the ground and less of what comes from factories. If you’re still not sure where to get started, an integrative nutritionist, like myself, will help you make healthy food choices.
Take Away
You know that the food you eat affects your mood. This should be enough reason to include more healthy foods and minimize the intake of unhealthy processed ones. Eating your way to happiness doesn’t have to be a far-fetched idea or one that includes lots of cakes and donuts. Consider embracing healthy eating as a way of life, not just as a fad, and both your mind and body will thank you!
