For years, I have been talking about how food can effect your mental health, and now the research is catching up!

In the past, healthy eating was primarily focused on diet, weight and chronic disease, but finally, the research is paying attention to how food makes you feel emotionally.  Nutritional psychiatry is having it’s moment! In the past few years, more and more research has been focusing on our gut microbiome, and connecting it to inflammation in the body and chronic disease. It is also connected to our brains, and the connection starts in utero. Even Serotonin, the brain chemical that regulates our mood, is mostly made in the gut. Only 5% is made in the brain.

When people think of comfort foods, they are usually thinking of foods high in fat, sugar or salt, but the reality is, those foods can often make us feel worse. Next time you are craving a comfort food, try something healthy, and see if that does the trick.

Check out this article in the NY Times on the connection between the foods we eat and how we feel.

Mindful Eating Tips that Readers Shared!

Since the new year, I have been writing about the Eat Well Challenge and the idea of Mindful Eating. Well, this week in the New York Times, readers have shared tips that could help you in your journey, so I wanted to share them with you.

1- Set goals unrelated to loosing weight

2- Ask yourself, before you eat it, How will this make me feel?

3- Use nice china, set the table, and choose a smaller plate.

4-Don’t multitask while eating. Don’t sit in front of a TV or computer.

5- Put your fork down in between bites.

6- Don’t shop while hungry

7- Add more vegetables to every meal

8- Ride the wave of food cravings

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