micronutrients
Diet and Depression
Diet and depression share a love-hate relationship. Eating too much or too little can both be warning signs. A healthy balanced diet will help you keep your mind and body healthy. The Bengali diet is a typical fish and rice diet. When I was young I rarely appreciated my mom’s fish-rice staple menu.
Is gut health related to your mood swings? Recent research says yes.YOu will do well to listen to your gut and keep it healthy.
Typical food patterns before depression
You will have a poor appetite or overeat (emotional eating)You will want to skip meals. Your sweet tooth will take the upper hand. Also when you skip meals, especially carbs you are more likely to suffer from mood swings. This is because your brain exclusively uses glucose (the building block of carbs) as energy
Top tips from nutritional neuroscience:
- Have fish rich in omega-3 fatty acids.
- Fruits and veggies are important to give you important water-soluble vitamins like vitamins B,C, folate.
- Vitamin B complex and folate are both important to prevent relapse after therapy with antidepressants.
- Check Vitamin D status and adjust the daily dose.
- Whole grain cereals and legumes
- Nuts like walnuts,almonds which are a rich source of omega-3 fatty acid
- Don’t skip carbs.
- Go for the low GI carbs and avoid sugar spikes.
- Proteins especially animal proteins are complete proteins and have all essential amino acids for your body to function. But skip processed meat as far as possible, because that’s where the danger of colon cancer and problems of altered gut flora lies.
- Your brain chemicals or neurotransmitters are proteins. These neurotransmitters help relay info. They are also responsible for your moods. Serotonin is the mood elevating neurochemical.9-% of Serotonin is released in the digestive tract and is responsible for the communication between your gut and the brain and is a responsible member of the Enteric nervous system. Yes, your gut is your second brain, and your vagus nerve which is the tenth cranial nerve, helps your digestive system, connects it to the brain, and is possibly behind the strange feeling in the pit of your stomach when your are anxious. You need tryptophan an amino acid to make this chemical. Where will you find tryptophan? High-quality proteins contain all the essential amino acids like in eggs,chicken, meat, and dairy. But remember moderation is key. Avoid processed food.
- Probiotics
- Minerals which are important: Calcium Iodine Chromium Iron Selenium Lithium
Now, this may go against all fad diet recommendations. But you do need certain food to function.
Most research will tell you your total diet quality is important. Food not only nourishes your body, it also nourishes your soul. Mood disorders like depression, anxiety, OCDs are influenced by your diet. Your diet will help your medicines. It will also play a role in deciding how much you are helped.
Whether you can be weaned off drugs and whether relapse is possible. Don’t ignore your food cravings and your food habits. They hold the key to your moods. Interestingly your gut microbes may be playing a role in influencing your moods. Its quite common that when your bowels are not moving, your mood is off.
There’s more to gut feeling than you previously thought. The gut has its nervous system which transmits to your brain(The brain is the big boss) Your gut microbes also may be releasing special neurotransmitters which affect how you feel. More reason to keep your gut populated by healthy probiotic organisms. This research is still in its early stages. But emerging trends make this an interesting possibility. What’s your diet tip to keep your mood up? Comment below to let me know.
Sharing is good Karma!
Protected: PROBIOTIC FOOD:WHY YOU NEED IT
Ultimate Nutrition tips to fight Flu and Improve immunity
Modern medicine as well as alternative medicine both agree when it comes to the role of diet to improve immunity.
Rest and medicine plays a big role,but the role of a well balanced diet cannot be stressed enough.
Food has been a large part of nature’s arsenal to fight various disease from ancient times.
Improving your overall nutrition is a way to fight all the pesky viruses and bacterias which lurk around like villains , waiting for your natural defences to become weakened.
The micronutrients(essential nutrients in your diet which are required in micrograms for normal metabolic functions of your body), in your diet like vitamins ,minerals , can help to improve our body’s defence mechanism.
They help prevent disease as well as heal your body when you fall ill.
Deficiencies of vitamins, minerals and other micronutrients, not only make you susceptible to infections, but also increases the chance of complications.
Micronutrients are critical for your immunity.They help you fight against the microbes and produce an effective immune response.
How nutrients in the flu diet help?
- Interferon production and improves action of phagocytic cells.
- Anti-microbial barriers of skin, mucus membranes, tears, saliva, gastric juice.
- Antibody response and optimized cell-mediated immunity.
- Micronutrients such as vitamin C, A, B-5, B-6, B-12, and folic acid trace elements such as iron, zinc, selenium, copper and others are essential for optimizing white blood cell production and immune function.
Infections in turn make the deficiencies worse by decreasing absorption,assimilation and increasing losses .
So does this mean you will never fall ill if you are having vitamin supplements?
The answer now becomes tricky.
It has been seen that children with malnutrition, often suffer recurrent episodes of cold,stomach problems .They seem to be specially susceptible to all germs that affect people in their immediate environment. Contagious diseases are often spread by touch ,respiratory droplets.In order for our body to fight invasion by germs, the body’s defence mechanism should be sufficiently primed to fight an assault.But when everyday functioning of the body is compromised by nutritional deficiencies ,it becomes difficult to cope during infections. Since prevention in a holistic manner is the goal of modern medicine. A well balanced diet comprising of all the super powerful anti-inflammatory food groups ,will definitely help keep you healthy even during the dreaded flu season.
Top 10 food to fight flu and improve immunity
- Fruits and vegetables, truly these are miracle food.Read my post , Fruits and vegetables..nature’s multivitamins for a quick idea about how they are helping you everyday
- Green Tea or its active ingredient, epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG), are natural anti-inflammatory molecules,affecting both innate and adaptive immunity
- Walnuts,Almonds:Rich in omega 3 fatty acids,they help in increase the good fat (HDL) in our body and decrease inflammation
- Other sources of omega 3 fatty acids:chia seeds,flaxseed,fish
- Drink plenty of water about 4 to 6 litres in warm climates.Water helps to flush the toxins from our system,and is essential for most bodily functions.
- Ginger :popular for its medicinal properties offers relief from congested nose and throat when added to tea, soups etc.
- Onion
- Garlic:The pungent odour of these helps to clear blocked nose.Add crushed garlic cloves chopped onions in soups,dal for a soothing mouthful when you have a cold.
- Spices from the Indian kitchen like turmeric helps to bolster your immunity.Curcumin (diferuloylmethane) is an orange-yellow component of turmeric (Curcuma longa),having anti-inflammatory effects. Curcumin has a potent immunomodulatory agent and can modulate the activation of our innate and adaptive immune functions.
- Chicken soup for the cold:old’s wives tale,but true!Chicken soup with crushed garlic, chopped onion and ginger, with black pepper to garnish.Chicken is a popular source of the semi-essential amino acid Cysteine.Cysteine has powerful antioxidant properties.It is a major constituent of glutathione ,the body’s natural antioxidant enzyme ,helping to fight the oxidative damage from diseased condition.
What else can you do to improve immunity
- Boost up your immunity with multivitamin supplements(after consultation with your doctor),when you are feeling low.
- Get plenty of sleep
- Avoid stress
- Think positive
- Pray..the power of prayer is the secret ingredient which makes the doctors work easier.
Take care and stay fit.
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Reference
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