Muscle Lines Everyone Has Health Mini Series
Today I want to start a new conversation about health in a holistic way. This series will look at issues people are currently “struggling” with in their daily lives that impact their workouts, self-care, motivation and ability to have your word just be your word without judgment.
I am picking the subject matter out of things that our clients are actually saying to us and struggling with. Hopefully through this sharing process we open up our readers to the realization that humanity is all inclusive, and that we are not separate but shockingly similar to others in respect to what we all deal with on a daily basis.
Today’s subject is “The transformational benefits of nutrition on mental health.”
I know what you’re thinking…. What does this have to do with mental health? I was shocked and pleasantly surprised by what I found.
Before I get to the facts here is a small story to set the scene.
You are a late thirties to mid-forties client who suddenly finds themselves gaining a bunch of weight. You work out sometimes and do your best to eat right but it doesn’t always work out. At first you do not notice so much but over the months and possibly years it just keeps going. You start to notice that your mental state has shifted or changed towards yourself and your body, and one day as if from nowhere you look in the mirror and declare something is wrong and you are somehow bad or out of shape (insert personal negative affirmation here).
Unrelated to this change you also might notice a deepening of feelings of depression, loss of power, anxiety, loss of sleep, instability in daily life. Some or none of the areas of life work for you, and no matter where you look you cannot figure out what is causing all these problems and stress. You try everything you know of like going on vacations, shopping, attempting to destress at home or work but nothing seems to work. You avoid things you would normally enjoy and your exercise has dropped to an all-time low.
Your care and attention for your dietary concerns are near zero, and things that you already know should not be going in your mouth find themselves going in on a regular basis. Feelings of sickness and unrest come more often accompanied by pain in joints and muscles. Life becomes more of a struggle and the very thought of going to the gym or being active or out in the world becomes loathsome or simply just another thing to be endured.
I can go on and on about where this scenario goes and the downward health spiral it leads to. The point is many people who come to us are struggling with some or all of what I just described or know someone who is.
Often we blame circumstances, people or situations for not getting what we want out of our fitness or our life. In reality though once we start to peel back the onion on this health crisis that is plaguing our society called mental illness, we see that we have far more control than what we imagine.
The 2 pillars of health that I will talk about in this series can and will lessen or even get rid of symptoms of mental illness depending on the cause and application of this recipe for success.
Pillar 1 Nutrition
I love this topic because it is the genesis or starting point of all fitness and wellness that we teach. In most people’s daily lives though, this is where we get most of the resistance and where all clients great and small will self-sabotage themselves.
The kitchen can be a deadly place for all good fitness plans to go off the rails. A balanced diet of protein in every meal, a large amount of vegetables for complex carbs and 2 snacks per day consisting of seeds or nuts or some other kind of healthy snack is what we prescribe to keep people on track. If we settle for diets that do not include all the good stuff we are killing off our highest health self.
I also realize that choosing to to do something is rather simplistic when talking about possible long term addictions to sugar ect. however many of our clients have taken the challenge head on to stick to the nutrition programs prescribed and reported both satiation and very few cravings.
I would like to talk briefly about some simple ways that nutrition can quickly turn around moods and a possible solution for some people to relieve some major mental health issues.
Firstly let’s talk about the little known essential amino acid called Tryptophan and why it is key to mental health and stability.
Many people are Tryptophan deficient and do not know it. As many of our diets consist of low quality nutrition. A good rule of thumb is if you cannot pick it, dig it, chase it or grow it don’t put it in your mouth.
Tryptophan is essentially and on the endangered species list in your body for a few reasons.
1. What it does in the body is so unique as it has the ability to cross the blood to brain barrier and once in the brain create a neurotransmitter called Serotonin which is responsible for feelings of fullness, general wellness, sleep induction etc. (basically the feel good hormone) It is also the synthetically produced hormone that all antidepressant, or SSRI drugs are produced to combat mental issues.
2. Tryptophan also has other jobs in the body and if the body for example was short of B3 or B6, Tryptophan can be converted over to make those essential vitamins.
3. Amino acids like Tryptophan and all other amino acids also have the job of being building blocks for essential body mechanics like muscle and organs to name a few. Due to all these demands from the body dietary Tryptophan may not be enough if you are not eating a whole food diet.
So you can see the importance of this essential amino acid but why do I care?
Simple the body and mood depend heavily on this amino acid and if sufficient levels are not present it does something very interesting to get it.
If Tryptophan levels are low and all other body functions are competing for amino acids including Tryptophan, then the body will make you crave carbs in order to start an insulin response. The presence of the carbs essentially sucks out all other amino acids in the body except Tryptophan. This leaves only Tryptophan to enter the brain and produce Serotonin. This is the danger zone as refined carbs cause obesity very quickly due to their stimulation of the insulin response which is a fat gathering hormone.
So what do you do about these deficiencies?
Easy get your seeds and nuts as snacks and Tryptophan also comes in other foods such as, meat, eggs, chicken ect. Choose wisely here as natural whole foods and vegetable or seed/nut sources are preferred.
Other things in your diet that may cause serious symptoms of anxiety and depression and are potentially dangerous to your health are: FREE SUGAR (this is processed sugar or high fructose corn syrup which is even more deadly and covered in later series), Refined carbohydrates (breads, cereals, white flour, white rice) and artificial sweeteners (Nutrasweet, Equal, Aspartame, ect) Stevia is exception to this as it is a ground up plant and safe for humans as far as we know.
Many foods that we eat today are processed. The processing takes nutrients out while adding chemicals and pesticides in, leading to empty calories and even worse harmful substances which cause instability in the body and mind.
The science on what pesticides, preservatives, food coloring, and other processing agents do will blow your mind literally if you look it up, which I encourage you to do.
They have been linked and have been shown to be the direct cause of all the worst diseases plaguing human beings including diabetes, heart disease, cancer, asthma, stroke to name a few.
When in doubt about anything dietary please consult your physician or even better your Naturopath and get tested for deficiencies and health related symptoms.
In closing I would just like to leave you with 2 thoughts.
One, depression and anxiety are grounded in the fact that negative thoughts, feelings and circumstances which have happened and will continue to happen, because you think about them and draw them to you as if they are real while taking no effective action to change them.
Two, if practicing good nutrition is on your list of things to never do, perhaps it is time to take a look at the first statement and change your actions and thinking to include them in your daily life and I guarantee that things will change.
As always Muscle Lines is here to help with any and all dietary advice or planning and we look forward to helping you achieve your highest health self.
