The subject of Nutrition deserves much more significance and importance than it currently gets. Can Clean and Healthy eating improve thoughts and emotions? Can Clean and Healthy eating lead to a disease-free life? We are what we eat, is an oft-used phase, so let’s deep dive a bit more into the subject.
When our body is hungry, it wants Nutrients Not Calories. One can get calories from any type of food but Nutrients will only be available only in healthy nutritious food.
All Nutritionists will agree that what we eat has a profound impact on our overall health and well-being both mentally and physically.
Clean Eating is not about hygiene or washing fruits and vegetables but is often referred to as eating whole foods as close to natural as possible and avoiding any kind of processed food. Healthy eating doesn’t have to be complicated. Keep meal preparation easy, eat more raw foods such as salads, fruits, and vegetable juices, and focus on the pleasure of eating healthy food rather than the calories. Clean eating can make us feel good by releasing the right chemicals in the brain and making the body feel light and energetic.
Healthy eating or consuming nutritious food increases energy, improves the way the body functions, strengthens the immune system, and prevents weight gain besides meeting the body’s nutritional needs. Healthful eating can prevent the risk of developing certain diseases such as diabetes, cancer, and heart disease, in treating diabetes and high blood pressure.
The gut is often referred to as the ‘second brain’ because it has its own complex nervous system, called the ENS (Enteric Nervous System). It operates independent of the brain and communicates with the Central Nervous System (CNS)
The Gut (Intestine) contains trillions of bacteria, the gut microbiome. Research shows that the gut microbiome can influence the ENS and in turn the brain. Thus everything we eat has an impact on our perceptions. The quality of food has a direct correlation to how we feel and think.
Consuming a well-balanced diet, one that contains all of the essential elements that the human body needs such as carbohydrates, lipids, vitamins, minerals, proteins, fiber, and water is essential. A balanced diet should offer around 60-70% of total calories from carbohydrates, 10-12% from proteins, and 20-25% of total calories from healthy fat.
Good nourishment can reduce feelings of fatigue, irritability, and mood swings as well as promote a more stable and positive emotional state.
Conversely, consuming a diet that is high in processed and fast foods, sugar, and unhealthy fats can contribute to health problems and induce feelings of sluggishness and lethargy.
What we eat has a significant impact on lifestyle diseases, on our brain function, and indirectly influences our thought and emotions.
Nutrition therefore can be life changing element.
Dr. Manjula Pooja Shroff MD, CEO Kalorex Group