Six mind-boosting benefits of eating a healthy diet

As we’ve seen in recent blogs, eating a healthy diet is essential for fabulous skin and a key part of any medical weight loss programme. If what we eat can transform our bodies for the better, it makes sense that it can transform our brains too.

If you’re keen to make this your year then the best possible place to start is by eating healthy and nutritious food. Even small changes like drinking more water or swapping a high carb snack to a small handful of nuts can make a difference.

Here are just six of the benefits of eating a healthy diet that demonstrate there’s a clear food-mood connection:

1. It enhances your mood

The third Monday is every January has become widely known as “Blue Monday” (an idea that first appeared in a press release for Sky Travel in 2005). While many psychologists say Blue Monday isn’t a real thing, January can definitely feel like a long month.

If the long, dark evenings and post-Christmas blues have been getting you down, you may be tempted to reach for a sugary snack or glass of your favourite tipple as a “treat”. But remember, these quick pick-me-ups are usually anything but a treat for your body.

As well as being associated with obesity and related health problems, they can lower your mood, affect your memory and make you feel tired and unmotivated.

So what foods are actually a treat, i.e. good for your mood as well as your physical health?

Here are our favourites:

Fatty fish high in omega-3 (e.g. salmon)
Plant-based sources of polyunsaturated fatty acids such as flaxseed, chia seeds, beans, lentils, walnuts and edamme
Dark chocolate (high in flavonoids that increase blood flow to the brain and boost brain function)
Fermented foods such as kimchi, yogurt, kefir, kombucha, and sauerkraut (these support your healthy gut bacteria and may increase serotonin levels)
Bananas
Oats
Berries
Nuts and seeds
Coffee (even decaffeinated coffee stimulates the release of mood-boosting neurotransmitters)

Iron-rich foods are also great for lifting your mood. Try adding seafood, dark green leafy vegetables (e.g. spinach, kale and broccoli), dried fruit (e.g. raisins and apricots) or peas to your meals.

You may be surprised by how much brighter you feel by adding healthier foods into your diet.

2. It can help to reduce depression

Multiple studies show that Western diets, often packed with sugary food and trans-fatty acids, are associated with a higher risk of depression or depressive symptoms.

On the other hand, eating a Mediterranean-style diet including fish, fresh vegetables and fruit has been shown to lower the risk.

You may find that making some healthy changes to your diet, including reducing the amount of sugar, caffeine and alcohol you consume, helps you to improve your mental health.

It’s important to say that mental health conditions such as depression or anxiety are about more than feeling a bit sad occasionally or worried about something. They can be debilitating health problems that often need intervention and treatment.

We recognise, in particular, that it can be hard to eat healthily or even think about preparing food when you’re depressed.

If you think you may be experiencing anxiety, depression or any other mental health condition then do reach out to your GP for support, including information about local mental health services.

3. It builds better brain function

If your brain sometimes feels foggy and your memory isn’t what it could be, it may be down to your diet.

Again, multiple research studies have shown that eating a poor diet high in saturated fats and carbohydrates (mainly refined sugars and grains) can cause memory problems, slow reaction times and poor visual spatial learning.

The decline caused by diet is surprisingly rapid. One study from 2020 found that healthy volunteers in their 20s scored worse in memory tests and had poorer appetite control after just seven days of eating a Western-style high sugar diet.

On the flipside, eating a diet rich in polyunsaturated fatty acids (e.g. Omega-3 and Omega 6) has been shown to help brain function.

By making healthy swaps and reducing the amount of sugar you eat, you should notice that your memory improves and you feel more focused.

4. It boosts your energy

One of the best ways to increase your energy levels throughout the day is to eat a diet full of protein, healthy fats and complex carbs that slow-release energy rather than causing your blood sugar to spike and then crash.

Try to eat little and often and drink plenty of water.

Our favourite energy-boosting healthy foods include: Greek yoghurt, bananas, sweet potatoes, mint, oranges, whole grains, quinoa, seeds (e.g. chia, pumpkin, sunflower), eggs, spinach, salmon, and coconut water.

5. It makes you more productive and motivated

A happy by-product of experiencing a better mood, higher energy levels and increased brain function is that your healthy diet should also help you to be more productive and motivated throughout the day.

This could also be due to the fact that a healthy diet is great for improving your sleep, boosting your immune system and regulating your weight, thereby reducing some of the aches and pains that can slow you down.

6. It’s great for your confidence and self-esteem

Eating food that nourishes and strengthens your body and mind is empowering. It’s a commitment to feeling good and taking your health seriously.

When you combine this with all of the benefits above, it’s the best possible confidence booster.

Not-so-blue Monday

While so-called “Blue Monday” is fast-approaching, it doesn’t have to be a depressing day for you.

As we’ve seen, eating a healthy diet can lift your mood, skyrocket your energy levels, make you more productive and work wonders for your confidence, as well as helping you enjoy the best possible physical health.

If you want to give your healthy diet a boost, we offer a range of intravenous nutrition therapy protocols here at Medikaur.

These IV infusions are a more easily-absorbed alternative to daily supplements that balance your levels of essential nutrients, vitamins, minerals and water, and complement a healthy diet.

Gurpreet Gill12 January 2022