Family Wellness Tip
Brain Food
With Halloween candy coming this week, it can be hard to keep healthy food habits. It can also be challenging during the holidays with all the tasty food. If your family eats too much during the holidays, its okay and give everyone a little more grace when it comes to behavior and mood changes.
Proper nutrition is important for our body and brain to function well. There is added stress that comes from having to breakdown too much food or digesting foods that lack (or are unbalanced) in the nutrients our brain and body needs. This can make someone more grouchy, sensitive, forgetful, and have trouble focusing.
With stress comes the desire for comfort foods. Comfort foods tend to be high fat and high carb foods that ground and calm the body. It uses 3 of the 5 senses and sparks the Parasympathetic Nervous System, aka Rest and Digest System. The Parasympathetic Nervous System's sole purpose is to calm the brain and body down after stressful events. This allows the body to function at its best. Eating is a good tool to calm down and eating good foods fuels your body and brain better. More protein and mindfulness exercises help you make better choices when it comes to feeding your brain and body right.
How can I start making nutrition changes?
This can be a tough one when it comes to picky eaters and dietary restrictions. The best way to make changes is to start small. Maybe try one of these tips:
Add another serving of a fruit or vegetable to 1 meal a day.
Try a new method of cooking a vegetable or meal.
Prep a meal or portion during a non-stressful time.
Cut raw veggies and prepackage for snacks.
Make a couple meals on a day off and freeze some.
Make a little extra of a meal for the next day.
Buy pre-cut vegetables instead of prepping your own.
Ask for family help or suggestions.
Find a recipe that sounds good and try it.
Harvard Blog Post:
Your brain on food
A great, in-depth article about the effects of food on the brain and body.
