Nutrition And Positive Psychology

NUTRITION AND POSITIVE PSYCHOLOGY

There is a link between healthy nutrition and positive psychology although not proven.

What is nutrition?

Nutrition is the science that interpretes the nutrients and other substances in food in relation to maintenance, growth, reproduction, health and disease of an organism.The diet of an organism is what it eats, which is largely determined by the availability and palatability of foods.

What is positive psychology?

Positive psychology is the study of the good life or the positive aspects of human experience that makes life worth living. As an art, it focuses on both individual and societal well-being. It builds on the humanistic movement, which encouraged an emphasis on happiness, well-being and positivity thus creating the thus creating the foundation for what is now known as positive psychology.

Positive psychology is the scientific study of what makes life worth living. It examines how ordinary people can become happier and more fulfilled. It seeks to restore the positive feature of our human nature.. It focuses on how people build on their individual strength and develop wisdom needed to live a fulfilled life.

Experience shows that when people are happier, they live longer, healthier lives. Happiness makes one feel better emotionally and also improves one`s physical and mental health. Psychological traits such as optimism can improve good health. Positive emotions has contributed to a reduced cause of death from diseases such as stroke, diabetes and hypertension. Mental outlook influences physical health. Healthy positive emotions overrides negative feelings that underlie unhealthy diet. Happier people tend to be more flexible and resilient, which makes it easier for them to modify these habits as well as cope with stress and change in their daily life. It is not only the quality and quantity of food consumed that influences positive mood and well-being, the manner and conditions under which the food is eaten matter. For instance, food eaten in a careful and mindful way improves positive mood. This can also mean that there are food that influences mood differently. For example if you feel lazy after eating fatty food, such as fries, hamburger e.t.c. that`s no surprise as it is because your stomach is busy digesting a high calorie meal. A friend once told me that whenever she eats heavy meal in the morning, she feels so tired and lazy and then she sleeps off.

Yes, what we eat is first processed in our stomach and finds its way to the small intestine where it either gets absorbed or rejected to the large intestine and we pass it out as faeces. When it is absorbed into the blood stream, the blood circulates it to our brain which is the central processing unit of the body and so what we eat definitely influences it`s workings.

Here`s a little information about how the nutrients we eat is utilised by the brain to influence our mood.

Neurotransmitters are the vehicle with which information are transported between neurons and Other cells. Two important neurotransmitters responsible for mood regulation are serotonin and dopamin ( amongst others). They are made from amino acids which comes from the protein we eat. However, too much protein at once is not ideal as the various types of amino acids competes with each other, which confuses the brain into wondering how to process all this input in a short time frame. It is advisable to eat lighter and more frequent meals to avoid giving too much to your body to process at once. We should learn to eat good and healthy diet that can improve our positive mood and make us well.Article Here