Today’s world includes different stressors than that of yesteryears but not more.
Life is not more stressful than those who survived a world when wars drafted sons, telephones didn’t leave home, and a trip to the bathroom meant a dark, cold walk to the outhouse that may or may not be housing a raccoon for the night. What is different is the modern world’s response to stress.
If pharmaceuticals worked, mental health cases wouldn’t rise
The number of mental health issues– anxiety, depression, ADHD, stress, etc.– in the world continues to increase even though pharmaceutical companies pump out pills as often as you breathe. You’d think that the number of mental health struggles would decrease with how convincingly and consistently pharmaceutical companies advertise and brag about their powerful products, and yet, they haven’t.
From cell phones to indoor plumbing, the current generation has many stress relievers that previous generations did not. But, unfortunately, one convenience and stress reliever of the modern world is resiliency’s undoing: Processed foods.
Mental health issues & nutrition: The connection is clear
People have long connected the gut with how they feel. From saying you have butterflies in your stomach when you’re nervous to feeling something horrible is gut-wrenching. The connection between your gut and mental health status has always been right in front of you.
Every bite and every sip leads you toward or further from your best mental health. Unfortunately, as “The Better Brain” points out, “ government data from the United States, Canada, New Zealand, and Australia show that at least 50 percent of what we now put into our mouths does not qualify as food. It is ultra-processed “stuff.” Stuff made from simple carbs (sugar), salt, trans fats, and chemicals like artificial coloring.”
It’s not a coincidence that as the consumption of “stuff” rises, so, too, do mental health cases. Mental health is an inside job, and your gut is the boss. So stop burdening your gut with poor nutritional choices that make it impossible for it to deal with stress productively.
Instead, let the knowledge that nutrients fuel your brain and, as a result, your mental health lead you to your best health and your best life. Feel relief that your mental health is primarily in your hands. Choose unprocessed foods. Take quality nutritional supplements like EMPowerplus Advanced. And the next time you’re at a family cookout or sifting through your pantry, ask yourself, “am I giving my mental health the strongest shield of nutrients I can to help me respond to life’s stressors, or am I giving it a Cheeto as a sword?”
Author: Evelyn Lindell
Certified Health & Wellness Coach