Nutrition for Mental Wellness
March is National Nutrition Month in Canada, so we decided to share a blog that outlines the link between good nutrition and mental wellness! Keep reading for some tips, tricks, and stats on how to shape up your diet for your best mental wellness journey.
New research regarding the link between proper nutrition and mental health is popping up almost daily. A deficiency in certain vitamins, amino acids, and omega 3 acids, can lead to anxiety and depression. The easiest way to get these nutrients isn’t through supplements – it’s through natural, whole, and organic foods!
Mental Health Food Quick List:
- Chia Seeds
- Salmon
- Broccoli
- Spinach
- Liver
- Eggs
- Yogurt
- Oysters
- Brazil Nuts
- Berries
A proper diet can aide in excellent physical health, but it’s also linked to great mental health and well being. Studies have shown that diets high in vegetables, fruit and legumes led to a reduction in depression. Another study found that saturated fats and carbohydrates was linked to poor mental health in youth.
It’s important to recognize that there are always complex variables that may offer different results. There are many underlying factors that can affect your mental health. Nutrition is just one piece of the puzzle for your wellness.
Changing your nutrition is a powerful addition to your traditional therapy, and a cost effective way to improve your self-care. By simply cutting out sugars from your diet can show a huge improvement to anyone dealing with anxiety or depression.
Again, it’s important to understand that scientists don’t know the exact reasoning why changing your diet can reduce depression or anxiety. But, a few things are clear – vitamins help enzymes function to enable synthesis of serotonin, which is an important part of happiness.
It truly comes down to the moment you start taking care of yourself, you get moral gains. Your spirit will pick up, and that’s an anti-depressant. Once you see yourself as worthy of self-care, you’ll see your diet change as an important and worthy action to take.
Tell us what you eat regularly to combat anxiety or depression. We’d love to hear your tips or stories of overcoming!
