myFM: mental health

Mental health is a topic that’s worthy of talking about every day further to the attention put on Let’s Talk Day. 

So let’s talk … 

Having anxiety and depression can feel powerless on top of the actual feelings of anxiety and depression. No matter what avenues you’re exploring; medication or therapy, finding what you can put your attention to to support your mental health allows you to take your power back. 

Key areas to focus on:

1. Your gut - more and more research about your microbiome and mental health points to gut health being crucial for mental health. It’s a two fold situation; supporting good bacteria and eliminating as much of the bad as possible. Taking a probiotic like my Take This by Lianne Bio Boost is a great start. Listen to EAT THIS with Lianne episode 97 on Candida for more tips on how to deal with the bad bacteria situation. 
2. Reduce or eliminate sugar - bad gut bugs love sugar and help them proliferate. Sugar has been linked to decreases in a protein called brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), which can play a role in anxiety and depression.A study of 23,245 people over 22 years found that men who ate 67 grams or more of sugar per day were 23% more likely to develop depression over five years, compared to those who consumed less than 40 grams a day. Stick to natural sugars in fruit and dried fruit for your sweet fix and absolutely ditch the sweet drinks like pop. 
3. Follow a structured diet -Two diets that seem to have a positive impact on mental health are the Mediterranean diet (encouraging more healthy fats) and the DASH diet (focusing on reducing sugar intake). Intermittent Fasting has also shown some promise with its reduction in calories and the timing of meals.
4. Increase good fats and good feeling foods - superfoods like dark chocolate, fat rich avocado, antioxidant rich blueberries and other berries are essential to include in your diet daily. Protein and fat rich foods help you blood sugar, mood and energy stabilize throughout the day and lessens that afternoon crash. 
5. Get good sleep - avoid the caffeine, eating too late, take magnesium bis-glycinate and melatonin for immunity, energy and sleep, and counter blue light with Red Light Therapy and Infra Red Light (hear more on episode 99 of EAT THIS with Lianne and get your own Orion red light and NIR device. Use code EATTHIS10 for a 10% discount on any of their units. Lianne has the Orion PRO 300 with the stand.) 

While eating avocado every day may not ‘cure’ your mental health issues, every intentional step and mouthful towards healing and feeling in your power, helps.

Audio coming soon!