The pandemic has led to mental health decline in a wide number of people. The uncertainty of the times we are living in is difficult for a lot of people to understand and accept. Not everyone however prefers to treat their mental health with medication, lucky for them because a plant-based diet for mental health is something that is known to offer major benefits.
What you eat makes a huge difference in not only your mood but also in how your body functions and produces feel-good hormones that benefit our mental healths.
Melanie Saiz is a Director at Centers Marketing and Development. She says that they motivate people to look at foods that are rich in nutrients and to incorporate foods full of minerals in their diets. She explains that some specific minerals and nutrients are known to benefit the functions of the brain as well as their mental health. These nutrients include things like Zinc, vitamin C, Omega -3’s, Iron, magnesium, and vitamin D among others.
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Saiz recommends people first visit the doctor for checking the levels of vitamin in their blood through a blood test. If the test results show that you are low on some nutrients, you may be given useful suggestions by your doctor to get your diet to better suit your body.
Kristi Edwards is the Centers Executive Director. She says that a good diet helps to also increase good gut bacteria which keeps the environment in your gut healthy and fit, when good gut bacteria are present in abundance inflammation is decreased. She acknowledges that these days diets include a lot of different inflammation-causing food.
Edwards goes on to say that a plant-based diet for mental health is a good idea because it can raise levels of serotonin in the body which is a hormone that helps us feel good. She believes that physical and mental health goes hand in hand and one can impact the other.
She says they thoroughly believe in encouraging the physical aspect of a person’s health so that it may positively affect a person’s mental health. She thinks only if a person’s mental health is well can they feel up to the task of doing other things so in a way a lot of things are dependant on one another.
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Whether you are vegan, want to be one, or are just looking to better your mental health it is always a good idea to incorporate a lot of fruits and vegetables into your diets.
Edwards believes a well-balanced diet helps maintain brain health by simply boosting the development of the brain. Eating healthy helps proteins and enzymes in the neuro system to increase as well as all the transmitters we need to function properly.
Before you embark on this journey however it is always a good idea to head to the doctor to consider all your options and any pre-existing allergies you may have that could eliminate some foods off your list. Centers also run a podcast on plant-based diets which can help you if you’re trying it for yourself.
