How Food and Exercise Can Improve Your Mental Health

Food can only be divided into two categories: inflammatory foods and non-inflammatory foods. When you say inflammatory foods, we have to pick the right choices. Most of the time, we eat sugary foods, fast foods, fried meat, white bread, whole dairy fats, and other fatty foods—all of these are inflammatory foods. These foods cause inflammation in your body, which can lead to a lot of health problems, such as cancer, ADHD, depression, anxiety, Alzheimer's, and many other diseases. In the long run, this causes a huge impact on our health.

Switching to anti-inflammatory foods can help ease most of our symptoms. You have to pick more plant-based diets. We'll go into the details of that. The nutritional factors shown to influence mood swings, depression, and anxiety include a lot of elements like folate, omega-3 fatty acids, vitamin B6, and B12, including vegetables and nuts. These influence your mood. Increased consumption of whole fruits and vegetables and replacing unhealthy foods with wholesome foods, buying fresh foods, and maybe frozen foods is better than buying processed and canned goods. Limiting the intake of processed foods, otherwise called fast foods, commercial bakery goods, and sweets will make a huge difference in how you feel during the day.

We need to have a normal and healthy eating schedule. When I say that, we need to stick with three meals a day. If you need to snack, the snack needs to be chosen wisely; it cannot be anything processed or packaged. Pick a fresh fruit or some nuts to snack on. Avoid the urge to skip meals. We sleep late, we wake up late, and we skip breakfast sometimes, going directly to brunch. During brunch, we overeat to make up for the skipped meal. Skipping meals is not a good idea at all as it can lead to overeating later on. Imagine a scale of one to ten, with one being very hungry, making you physically ill and tired, and ten being extremely full. Aim to be between four and seven, where you want to be hungry but not starving, and also not too full.

Eating when you are not hungry is an issue. You have to eat when you are hungry. Sometimes it's a good idea to even focus on whether you are really hungry or just thirsty. Often, thirst is confused with hunger. Most of the time, we also eat when we are stressed. We need to ask ourselves if we are anxious, sad, or angry. Take a minute to think if you are experiencing emotional disturbances before grabbing something to eat, as this is called stress eating. I would advise you to avoid stress eating. Drinking plenty of water is also important. Dehydration can lead to headaches and tiredness, both of which are not good for productivity. Fill a water bottle and keep it next to your table, making sure to finish it by the end of the day to get at least 64 ounces of water daily. This should be plain water; adding fluids like sodas or sugar-loaded pops and juices doesn't count, as they can cause a crash later in the day. Be careful about your hydration.

Caffeine is another important factor.I would advise against this because while caffeine makes you feel good at the moment, it causes fatigue by the end of the day. Aim for no more than two cups of coffee per day to avoid the jittery feeling, and avoid flavored creamers and high-calorie additions to your coffee.

Don't stock your fridge or pantry like a vending machine, as this can lead to eating just because you have it. Try your best to keep junk food out of your house, especially the foods that can trigger binge eating. Mindful and healthy eating is really important. You might be tempted to continue working through lunch, just grabbing a bite while you work, but this is not ideal. Don't do it. Even if it is just five minutes, take the time exclusively for eating. Being distracted during a meal can lead to overeating and not feeling full even after a full plate of food. Focus on what you're eating. For example, if you chew your food to the point that it becomes liquid in your mouth before swallowing, you will never eat as much. We often chew a couple of times and then swallow. They say, "Drink your food," meaning you have to chew to the point that it becomes liquid. This way, you get a good amount of enzymes from your saliva, aiding digestion. Portion out your snacks. If you buy a snack, do not eat from the container or packet. Put it in a bowl or plate, so you know exactly how much you are snacking on.

We all know the healthy plate method: fill half your plate with non-starchy vegetables, one-fourth with protein, and one-fourth with high-fiber carbohydrates. At this time, we all need immunity to keep going. Citrus fruits and red bell peppers are rich in vitamin C and highly recommended to include in your daily food to boost your immunity. Spices like ginger, turmeric, and chili powder can be easily added to soups, stews, or stir-fried vegetables. Zinc, which is good for fighting viral infections, can be found in cashews. Magnesium, which calms you down, supports immunity, and helps during stress, is found in legumes, nuts, seeds, leafy greens, and whole grains. I'm a big fan of probiotic foods. I strongly believe that what you eat is connected to your brain. The gut microbiome plays a big role in brain function, so eat rich probiotic foods. For example, in South India, rice soaked in water overnight, filtered in the morning, and mixed with yogurt and salt is a rich probiotic drink. Fermented foods like dosas and pickles are also rich in probiotics. Over here, miso is a Japanese ingredient rich in probiotics. Kefir, available in stores, is similar to yogurt and comes in different flavors, which are very good too. Antioxidants, like berries and citrus fruits, combat anxiety,depression and boost your immune system.

Pick the things you can do and stick to them. If you stick to something for at least 10 days, you will see a difference in your mental activity, physical energy, and overall well-being. Consistently doing a healthy habit for 10 to 21 days makes it a habit, and you will see the benefits.

Consider supplements like vitamin D3, especially if you live in cold climates, saffron for its calming effect, chamomile tea, ashwagandha powder, and lavender or bergamot essential oils to manage stress.

Let's move on to exercise. Exercise is a prescription for chronic stress, anxiety, and depression, promoting overall body health. We need to aim for 150 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise per week. Strength training and resistance training are often overlooked, especially by women, but they are crucial. They help prevent osteoporosis and improve cognitive function and memory as we age. Strength training and resistance training should be a routine part of your life, along with running, walking, squatting, lunges, and crunches, to work on your core, upper body, and lower body muscles. Physical activity should be a habit, like brushing your teeth or eating and sleeping. It should never be missed. You need your body to connect, and this is achieved through regular physical exercise.

Ergonomics are important when working from home. Proper sitting and screen setup can prevent neck pain, back pain, and headaches. Your shoulder should be relaxed, your back supported, your thighs horizontal, and your feet flat on the floor. Never cross your legs. Your screen should be at eye level. Standing and working is also good, as it helps with circulation. Sit-stand desks are popular, but ensure you are standing correctly.

Eye exercises are crucial when staring at a screen all day. Yoga eye exercises are fantastic and can be done with a two to three-minute break in between. Move your eyes up and down, right and left, diagonally, and in circular motions, both clockwise and anti-clockwise. Take your eyes off the screen and look at something far away to help with distant vision. Simple eye exercises can prevent eye strain from screen time. Rub your palms together until you generate heat, then place them on your eyes without touching the eyes themselves. Press gently around the edges of your eyes.

Consider under-desk ellipticals to keep your feet moving and maintain blood circulation. An anti-fatigue mat can help if you stand while working, reducing foot pressure and preventing aches.

Overall well-being is a combination of everything: exercise, mind-body methods like meditation, good supplements, and good sleep. The beauty of this approach is that each element has a synergistic effect on the others. Physical activity leads to better sleep, which influences mood and so on. They are all interlinked. Picking one thing can lead to changes in other areas of your life, leading to continued improvement. This concept is known as neuroplasticity, which is revolutionizing mental health. Neuroplasticity means that interventions like exercise, meditation, and social connections can change the structure and function of your brain at any age.

We are all hardwired to stay connected socially. Dr. Sue Varma, a leading psychiatrist in New York, emphasizes the four M's: movement, meaningful engagement (staying socially connected), mastery (pursuing creativity like art, yoga, or music), and mindfulness (being fully present in whatever you are doing). These elements help preserve and improve mental health.

Food and exercise plays important role with respect to mental health and well being, to know more details check the video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=twQ93CxLjgY&t=152s