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ENCOURAGE RESTORE TRANSFORM
Blog
Nutrients Affect on Emotinal Wellbeing and the Brain
Posted on January 28, 2017 at 2:00 AM |
Nutrients Affect on Emotional
Wellbeing and the Brain In 2012 I
attended a continuing education course on the affects of specific nutrients in
relation to mental health and brain functions. I was pleasantly surprised to
see those who attended were varied in professions from doctors, nurses,
trainers, massage therapist, chiropractors and mental health counselors like
me. My first impression was there must be factual and scientific evidence to
support this topic or there would not be such a wide array of professions
(those professions who help people with their physical and emotional problems
daily). I was ready to learn as much as I could. What I will attempt to do is convey
briefly some of the valuable information I absorbed in six hours of this course.
I hope it will be as eye opening and life changing for you as it was for me. If
nothing else, I hope you gain such an interest that you do further study and
research which will help you and others around you. As a mental
health counselor, I counsel many people with varied issues. I am convinced
healthy emotional wellness is maintained by a healthy balance of good
nutrition, exercise, and emotional healing and stability. Our physical body
interacts and affects our emotional stability and vice versa. Both are affected
by the other and if one is off balance, the other will be affected negatively.
Exercise and good nutrition will help maintain the proper level and function of
your neurotransmitters, which are chemicals released allowing signals to be
passed from one neuron to the next. Memory, appetite, mental function, mood,
movement and the wake-sleep cycle are all nerve functions which
neurotransmitters regulate. The specific neurotransmitters I want to mention
are serotonin, dopamine, endorphin, and norepinephrine. With the proper nutrients and exercise,
neurotransmitters will function at the capacity they were created to function
and will directly affect our emotional wellness. Nutrients high in B vitamins,
vitamin C and E, iron, selenium and magnesium are involved in production of
neurotransmitters. Moods are regulated by serotonin, therefore it is important
to eat food which support the balance of
serotonin such as nuts, milk, dates, papayas, and bananas. Dopamine
production helps regulate the flow of information in the brain, playing a role
in memory, attention and problem solving. Dopamine is associated with reward
mechanisms which involves things that “feel good.” Dopamine is stored in nerve
cells and requires a protein-rich meal. With the help of vitamin C, dopamine is
then converted to norepinephrine causing increased feelings of alertness and
energy. Endorphins are always associated with “happy” state of mind. Endorphins
are sometimes described as morphine-like neurotransmitters and are produced
through moderately intense physical activity including biking, running,
swimming, or yoga. Neurotransmitters
play such an important role and healthy emotional state of mind and are
maintained through the proper nutrients and exercise. Although several
disorders were discussed during the course and the affects certain nutrients have
on helping to improve them, anxiety is the one I would like to concentrate on
in this article. Others mentioned were mood disorders, depression, ADHD, and Alzheimer’s.
Allergies, food cravings, stress related eating and appetite, sleep and
awareness were some physical issues discussed and what nutrients were needed to
help regulate them. Anxiety
affects close to 40 million people in the United States. Anxiety is a fear
based manifestation of a deeper problem, increasing acute awareness of
potential threats, or heightened fear of past events that lay dormant in the
subconscious upon which a present event triggers the emotion of fear/anxiety to
surface. People with anxiety most likely have a shortage of the neurotransmitter serotonin during stress.
Anxiety of course causes a negative mood and sometimes a craving for sweets. A
healthy nutritional approach to anxiety would include supplementation with
magnesium, passionflower, and L-theanine (amino acid) found in tea (increases
brain dopamine and alpha-wave activity). A healthy physical approach would
include moderate but regular exercise which will regulate your
neurotransmitters (particularly produce dopamine and endorphins). The intense build
up of stress (cortisol) from anxiety needs a physical release as well as an
emotional release. Remember balance is the key to maintaining healthy emotional
stability; balance with good nutrition, exercise and processing of emotions in
a healthy way! Georgia
Smith is in private practice as a Licensed Professional Counselor in the state
of Texas. She provides counseling for children, adolescents, adults, marriage
and family in the Dallas area. She is also the mother of three grown children,
two daughter-in-laws and a grandson who also reside in Texas. Georgia has a BA
degree in Economics from the University of North Texas and an MA degree in
Counseling from Amberton University. As an author and counselor, she has a
passion for writing, counseling, and public speaking to encourage others to
become all they were created to be. She has written and published one book
called You Are My Beloved, Now Believe It, with a supplemental devotional study
guide. She is starting her second book called Mercy Falls Like Rain, which she
hopes to have finished by Spring of 2016. |
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