Editor’s note: Season 8 of Podcast Follow Life with Dr. Sanjay Gupta We get back to basics by taking a closer look at the brain in various states. Each episode focuses on one of the states, such as the distracted brain, the frightened brain, or the depressed brain, and explores what’s going on in our heads and how it affects our bodies. Focus on what kind of impact it will have.
(CNN) — Are you really what you eat? Decades of research backs up the saying that you are what you eat and supports the important impact that proper nutrition has on your health.
Healthy food choices improve people’s overall health Average life Reduce your risk of developing a variety of medical problems, including: Heart disease and cancer.
The impact of food on your health goes beyond just your body. They also extend to the mind, with future brain-based symptoms (e.g. stroke (such as dementia), but also mood and mental health, as well as the ability to think clearly in the moment.
But knowing what to eat for brain health, or even how to measure it, isn’t so easy. Many of us have been told that foods like blueberries, salmon, nuts, and leafy greens are so-called brain foods. But how do they work? Are they neuroprotective? Do they make us smarter? Do you want to be more cautious? Are you feeling less stressed? are you happy?
Nutritional psychiatrist Dr. Uma Naidu has built a career on figuring out which foods improve brain function and positively impact our emotions. She is also the chair of the Department of Nutrition and Lifestyle Psychiatry at Massachusetts General Hospital, a lecturer at Harvard Medical School, an author, and a personal chef.
Naidoo described this nascent and rapidly growing field as “the intersection of nutrition and mental health.”
“We’re not at the point where we can say, ‘Eat this many blueberries to feel better.’ But we definitely have the scientific evidence to say, ‘You can build a nutritional psychiatry plate to suit your mood.’ It’s growing,” she recently told CNN chief medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta on the “Chasing Life” podcast.
How many blueberries or ounces of salmon should you eat in a day? improve our mood Naidoo said he doesn’t know for sure, but the Standard American Diet (often referred to as SAD) that so many people consume is not helping our mental health.
There’s a reason this way of eating is called SAD, she says. It’s high in calories, low in nutrients, and full of refined carbohydrates, bad fats, and sugar, but lacking in fresh fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and clean protein.
“If we can add leafy greens and real whole foods to our plates and move away from processed fast food a little bit, we’ll be healthier as a country,” she says, adding that ultra-processed foods are He added: It’s designed to trick our brains, making it nearly impossible to stop overeating.
What can you do to feed your brain and boost your mood? Here are five tips from Naidoo. And if you want to learn more about the benefits of eating a balanced diet for your brain and how what you eat can affect your mood, listen to Naidoo tell us more about Chasing Life please.
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80% of your diet focuses on real, whole foods rich in fiber, such as vegetables, fruits, nuts, seeds, legumes, and low-glycemic whole grains, healthy fats, and high-quality, well-sourced protein says Naidu. The remaining 20% can afford to “enjoy the rest of their lives.”
“Following the 80/20 rule allows for a degree of flexibility in dietary discipline. …By adopting this mindset, you can calm your mind while avoiding the guilt that comes with being inflexible. “You can get all the nutrients you need,” she said.
It’s common knowledge that you should eat lots of vegetables and fruits of different colors.
“Be sure to eat the rainbow to optimize the nutritional quality of your diet,” says Naidoo. “Plant foods of different colors contain a variety of brain-boosting nutrients, including plant polyphenols.”
She tells people to eat a variety of vegetables, but she doesn’t lead with potatoes or sweet potatoes. “I focus on cruciferous vegetables, leafy greens, legumes, lentils and beans.”
Don’t forget fruit, she said, “to get natural sugars into your body instead of reaching for a candy bar, which you know isn’t the healthiest choice.” “I want people to understand that our bodies and brain cells need sugar. where Provides important sugar content. ”
Mr Naidoo said a plant-rich diet also provides plenty of fiber, which “supports a healthy and thriving microbiome, impacting a healthier body and mind.” Likewise, fiber can help reduce inflammation and calm your mind. ”
Fruits and vegetables in every color of the rainbow are great, but Naidoo pays special attention to green.
“We know that green is good for the body, but in nutritional psychiatry we know that green is good for the mind,” she says, adding that greens contain folic acid, a type of B vitamin. He explained that folic acid is a component of important neurotransmitters such as vitamin B. norepinephrine, serotonin, and dopamine.
“folate It is associated with reduced symptoms of depression and improved overall cognition, supporting a happy and clear mind,” she said. “We recommend consuming 4 to 6 cups of vegetables such as spinach, kale, arugula, spring mix, and dandelion greens per day. Arugula is a cruciferous vegetable, so it can be used as a salad vegetable or in a nutrient-rich pesto. Please consider using it as a.
Listen to your body, Naidoo said.
“An important aspect of mental health is mindfulness and the ability to recognize how things make you feel and act accordingly,” she said.
“If you’re not feeling well or performing well after eating something, there may be better dietary options available. Check your own mental health symptoms and how you react to different foods. Pay attention to your body and use its intelligence to guide you.”
Inflammation is one of the root causes stress and depressionsaid Naidu. “Inflammation in the gut as a result of added or refined sugars, processed foods, and industrial seed oils (soy, corn, grapeseed) can leave you feeling overwhelmed, stressed, and anxious,” she says. says.
“Consuming foods with low nutritional value, such as those that make up a typical Western diet, Replacing your meals with plenty of fruits and vegetables, healthy fats (especially omega-3s) and protein will calm your gut and reduce stress in your body and mind. ”
We hope these five tips help you feed your brain and improve your mood.listen to Click here for the full episode And find out what Dr. horse Naidoo has to talk about two often controversial food groups: carbohydrates and meat. Please join us next week for a special Halloween episode. chase life podcast When Dr. Sanjay Gupta speaks with “King of Horror” author Stephen King.
CNN Audio’s Eryn Mathewson contributed to this report.
