Good Nutrition is Essential for Mental Health
Food intake and eating behavior have always been observed to have a connection with peoples mood, behavior and brain function. For instance, hungry people are usually restless and easily irritated. Persons who have eaten enough food are always satisfied and appear calm. It is also observed that people who are facing malnutrition are always moody and apathetic. Apparently, nutrition and mental health have always been noted to go hand-in-hand with each another. Various nutritional factors have an impact on mental health such as amount of energy intake, alcohol intake as well as intake of vitamins and minerals. Deficiencies in one or more nutritional elements have been observed to alter the normal functioning of the brain.
Energy Intake and Mental Health
The human brain is metabolically highly active requiring very high calories for it to function normally. People facing deficiency of calories in their food will have negative effects on their mental health as well as people who are slightly malnourished. Chronic hunger and shortage of energy giving food have been seen to affect negatively the mood and mental health of individuals. Young and developing children have been seen to be highly affected by malnutrition causing retarded mental development. This is because of the fact that the body, brain being included, reacts to shortage of energy by shutting down its nonessential functions or altering the way it functions. If the brain shuts down some of its mental functions due to shortage of energy, it is really a very serious mental health problem which may have long term effects.
Alcohol and Mental Health
Alcohol intake has been noted to have detrimental effects on normal sleeping patterns which affect the mood of the individuals. Alcoholism and mental health have always been antagonizing and in most cases, alcoholism retards the mental development of people. Although, alcoholic beverages provide energy to the body, they supply no minerals at all. Also, extra amounts of body vitamins are required in an effort to break down the alcoholic elements in the brain. Thus, people who consume a lot of alcoholic products generally have retarded mental development which lowers their thinking capacity.
Good Nutrition Tips
Many people always associate eating well with increased cost making it very expensive to attain. Eating well can rather be cheap, leading to body and mental health development. As a general rule towards achieving mental health, you should avoid alcoholic beverages due to their negative effects on general body development. Since mental health relies on high energy consumption, you should always endeavor to eat food with a lot of calories to ensure that good mental development is achieved. In addition, it’s wise to avoid eating packed foods and takeaways, as they have a lot of fat and salt that is definitely not good for your mental development. Eating fresh food such as vegetables will enhance positive body development and mental health growth. As a parting shot, always consult your doctor for advice on good nutrition.
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