Being health conscious is almost a fad these days, though certainly a positive one. And yes, eating nutritiously is important for your body in so many ways, but did you also know it’s important for your emotional health?
There are studies for several different conditions linking both long-term health and mental health issues with dietary habits. For example, depression has been linked with an unhealthy diet, particularly with regularly eating heavily processed foods and those high in sugar.
We all get stressed for important reasons, and that’s OK. But it’s not great when our natural reaction to that pressure is to turn to foods high in sugar – to get a boost in energy or just to make us feel better. And that creates a cyclical issue – stress leads to sugar foods – and as our lives continue to have pressure, we continue to eat foods that aren’t good for us.
This poor diet has been recently documented with adolescents. Those who ate low-quality food had worse mental health than those with a higher-quality diet.
So how do we change from these habits? One step should be to change what we seek out when we’re stressed: Rather than sugary foods, how about a trip to the gym? A high-powered walk around the block? We’ll get similar feelings of relief from the endorphins released after the workout, without the sugar that isn’t good for you. You can also practice mindful eating – eat slowly, avoid distraction, and try to purchase healthy foods you can substitute when you do want that sweet treat!
For other info on how to keep both your body and your emotions healthy, schedule a time to come in and see us by clicking below. We look forward to hearing from you!