When I was studying to be a Naturopath I had a tutor state that "anyone who writes a book about nutrition is a fanatic". It does seem that whatever you want to eat there is a book claiming the health benefits or justifying why it's great diet.
Back then vegetarian diets that were loaded with carbs were considered the healthiest way to eat. Then we went through the Atkins diet era, then paleo, ketogenic, Mediterranean, and so on.
As a Naturopath I help people sift through all the noise and find that way of eating that best suits them, sometimes general “good advice” isn’t right for someone until something else is resolved.
A lot of popular diets and eating philosophies focus on macronutrients of Carbohydrates, Fats and Protein but just because micronutrients are smaller doesn’t mean they are less important.
For example Zinc is needed for over 100 enzymes to carry out vital chemical reactions in the body. Magnesium is a cofactor in more that 300 enzyme systems in the body. Both Magnesium and Zinc are thought to be diminished in times of stress.
In their book The Better Brain, Julia Rucklidge and Bonnie Kaplan caution against thinking that a select handful of micronutrients is the answer for mental wellness and instead advocate for a wide range of micronutrients.
In fact there are over 30 micronutrients needed by the human body to function optimally. A healthy balanced diet needs to take micronutrients into consideration.
When we are busy and under stress it is tempting to skimp on things we "should" do - like eating nutritious food. Comfort foods that are high in carbohydrates and low in nutrients can be very tempting "just for now". With ongoing busy and stressful lives "just for now" can far too easily become usual daily life.
We know that nutrients are necessary to support our wellbeing, and yet there is a lot of contradictory information available about what's best to eat. How can we find a simple way to make smart choices that support us?
The one thing that seems to be true among all the controversy and different diets is that non-starchy nutrient dense vegetables loaded with nutrients are ok, in fact encouraged.
"Eat more veg" is one of my core health support mantras. What kind of nutrient dense non-starchy vegetables am I talking about?
Asparagus, Avocado, Mushrooms, Cucumbers, Carrots, Courgettes, Cauliflower, Kale, Celery and spinach are all examples of the kinds of nutrient dense non-starchy vegetables I am talking about.
My favourite method is to add one more vegetable to every meal. Whatever you are making, simply find a way to add another vegetable. For example adding grated carrot to a baked dish, or mushrooms to your stir fry. Even an already healthy soup or salad can have one more vegetable added.
Another option is to add a side salad to every meal. This way you don’t change what you are making, but make sure there is more variety and nutrients that there would have otherwise been. And yes, you can have a salad at breakfast time!
With very little extra time and effort you can increase the variety in your diet, and improve your nutrient intake. Even when you are busy, you can add one more vegetable.
Further reading:
https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/stress-and-health/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7442351/
https://thebetterbrainbook.com/
I have found with the people that I help that using minerals gives us a strong foundation to work with.
On a personal level I am extremely grateful for the support of minerals!!
When you start to think in a downward spiral, or become distracted or focussing on negative “unwanted” thoughts - of the past, the present or the future you simply tell your brain “Useful Thoughts Only”
The trick is catching yourself in the act, but I suspect you may have a few (or even many) opportunities each day to practice this technique. The great thing is, even if you realise after quite a while that you have been riding the unhelpful thought train, you can stop at any time and tell yourself - USEFUL THOUGHTS ONLY.
