Nutritional Psychology - Know More About It!

The relationship between our food and our mood as well as our thoughts is very complicated and at times contradictory. Internal motivation, as well as positive psychology, plays an important role in changing our eating-related behaviour. Any perceived stress related to what we eat can negate the effects of good diet.

One must realise that our mental state plays an important role in what our body assimilates from food. Simply put it means that if we eat with a mind-set that good nourishing food is a punishment, chances are the signals generated by our brain will ensure that our body gets little nutrition from that food. Forcing healthy food down our throat will not necessarily mean that we become healthy. We will only end up assimilating calories from food and the stress caused would not only cause unnecessary depression but also lead to internal inflammations.

The stress caused in the body due to the negative and forced feelings at the time of consumption of healthy food options leads to increase in the existing levels of inflammations in the body that may have been caused due to any reasons. For the healing to occur it is imperative that there is a release of the feel-good hormone during the intake of food. This will ensure proper assimilation of all the nutrients in the gut making them available for the biochemical processes in the body which in turn helps in the right functioning and repair of our system.

 If someone is already suffering from existing health problems or chronic disorders but these conditions are not getting better in spite of medical help, then chances are that it is the thoughts that are the culprit. Remember that our food and our thoughts are the medium for absorption and effectiveness of the medicines. If any of these are not in balance then the medicine will also be ineffective. All of these elements have to be in harmony to extract maximum benefit from them.

It is difficult to fight with the psychology of patients who like to brush aside foods like sprouts or multigrain in spite of understanding that it is good for their health. This happens when people are used to a particular style of eating and anything that compromises with it is difficult to accept, however good it might be for them! Generally, they are the same set of people who exploit their body with the wrong foods and eating habits but consider it fun and fulfilling!

For people who have this kind of psychology, it is important to set realistic goals. I recommend more cheat meals on a weekly basis as it helps them slowly settle into a routine that they are happy to follow, at their own pace. Once that happens then they can be upgraded to the next level of diet so that their mind can adjust to it.

Keep in mind that there is cross-talk between our brain and our body. We need to focus on integrative diet and lifestyle changes to get the desired results. Learn to love your body, train your mind and eat healthy and then it will reflect in better clinical conditions, weight loss and health upgradation. We can always work to find alternatives for foods that are not palatable but are important and needed by our body.