Welcome to Mental Health Guide
Indiana Mental Health Article
. For a permanent link to this article, or to bookmark it for further reading, click here.
You may also listen to this article by using the following controls.
The Nutrition and Mental Health Connection
from:You may not know it but what the body takes in can actually have a bearing on how your brain functions. There is a link between nutrition and mental health and knowing what is best for you and your brain can help you ingest the kind of food that can help you feed your body as well as your brain.
The connection between nutrition and mental health is often seen as the connection between the amount of energy certain foods generate in the human body and the amount of energy that the brain needs to function real well. Examples that prove the veracity of this connection between nutrition and mental health are the differences in the thinking and behavioral patterns a well fed person exhibits as compared to a hungry person. If you have been fed well, you can get enough energy from the food you have consumed, therefore, the brain can process information better than when you are deprived of food. Another way to see this is through logical thinking. A person who has eaten well can easily rationalize certain judgments that need to be made while a person who is suffering from hunger pangs may not be able to get beyond his thoughts of food long enough to get to a rational conclusion to a similar problem.
Different nutrients also have different effects on the human psyche. This is where the link between specific nutrition and mental health can be seen. Carbohydrates, protein, fats and other specific substances that a body takes in generate different mental reactions. Carbohydrates, for instance, are known to affect the person's mood as well as his or her behavior. The chain reaction that carbohydrates produce starts with the creation of insulin which then triggers the production of trytophan, depending on the amount of insulin produced which is also dependent on the amount of carbohydrate laden foods being eaten. The more trytophan produced, the more serotonin is produced which then gives off a sedating effect that makes people feel sleepy after eating a carbohydrate heavy meal.
This chain reaction is one perfect example of the link that nutrition and mental health has. Another good example of the nutrition and mental health connection is the effects alcohol has on the brain and perceptive abilities of a person. It can also affect the sleep patterns of the person who takes in a lot of the substance. Other food substances like protein and fat also have their effects on the brain and the moods a person exhibits. This goes to prove that your brain can function better and your moods can greatly improve if you know what food is best for you and your brain.
Indiana Mental Health News
Eleven states now model mental health program's after Ohio's - WKYC-TV
Eleven states now model mental health program's after Ohio's WKYC-TV, OH - "With the addition of Delaware, Indiana, New Hampshire and Wisconsin, there are now 11 states operating their own mental illness and the courts committees," ... |
Study: Substance abuse adds to costs of care - Colorado Springs Gazette
Study: Substance abuse adds to costs of care Colorado Springs Gazette, CO - Dee Drake is project director of The Collaborative, a group that helps uninsured adults find mental health care and substance abuse treatment. ... |
$600 Million in Disaster and Social Services Assistance Released - Media Newswire (press release)
$600 Million in Disaster and Social Services Assistance Released Media Newswire (press release), NY - ... and health services (including mental health services), and assist states in the repair, renovation and construction of health care and mental health ... |
Health calendar - Journal and Courier
Health calendar Journal and Courier, IN - The National Alliance on Mental Illness West Central Indiana hosts a Family to Family Workshop the first Tuesday of each month from 7 to 8:30 pm The ... |
Mixed News On Mercury In Indiana's Water - Pollution Online (press release)
Mixed News On Mercury In Indiana's Water Pollution Online (press release), PA - Nervous system and mental development can be diminished by mercury exposure. Mercury concentrations in sport fish in Indiana have caused health officials to ... |
Hale earns supervisory certificate - Muncie Star Press
Hale earns supervisory certificate Muncie Star Press, IN - ... by the Joint Commission, certified by the Indiana Division of Mental Health and Addictions, and a member of Mental Health Corporations of America. ... |