It’s no secret that opting to eat a healthy diet helps you maintain a healthy heart, strong muscles and an appropriate weight. When you eat right and drink plenty of water, you have more energy and generally, you just feel better.
In fact, research has shown that increased physical activity and improved diet can have significant positive effects in preventing chronic disease, improving chronic disease outcomes and supporting recovery from mental illness. Exercise can alleviate primary symptoms of depression and anxiety, as well as secondary symptoms such as low self-esteem and social withdrawal.
Mental illness is serious. In some cases, it can even be life-threatening. Treatment for mental illness must be monitored by a health care practitioner. Eating better and exercise are by no means a “cure”, but perhaps can help in terms of offering an outlet to improve self esteem.
For those who suffer from “the blues” at certain times of the year, or sometimes feel a little down or stressed, there is limited evidence suggesting that certain nutrients may support emotional well being. All of these nutrients are part of a balanced diet. Proper nutrition is likely to keep you feeling better physically and if your body feels good, you feel good.
For example, magnesium is a nutrient that helps your body produce energy. It also helps your muscles, arteries and heart work properly. Some researchers are studying whether patients who take extra magnesium recover more quickly from depression. Magnesium can be found in foods such as leafy green vegetables, nuts and avocados.
Although omega-3 fatty acids don’t affect LDL levels, because of their other heart benefits, the American Heart Association recommends eating at least two servings of fish a week. Omega-3 has also shown promise for improving mental health.
Researchers think that omega-3 fatty acids may affect the way your brain sends signals throughout your body.
Regardless of what research is telling us, it cannot be harmful to try to eat better and get more exercise.
