As a gym owner and doctor, I recommend many lifestyle choices and health tips that will lead to better overall health. Many of them lead to noticeable physical benefits. With all the attention we give to physical health, we must be careful not to minimize or overlook mind health. Mind is the set of cognitive faculties including consciousness, imagination, perception, thinking, judgement, language and memory, which is housed in the brain. Sounds like something we should pay attention to, right? A healthy mind is key to feeling good. How we think and approach the world is directly correlated to how we feel. Below I list some ways to boost and protect mind health.
Try to incorporate these 5 tips into your regime and realize short and long term gains in terms of mood, memory, energy, focus and clarity.
- Selenium: involved in the diverse functions of the brain including motor performance, coordination, memory and cognition. The best source of selenium is from a Brazil nut. Eat a Brazil nut a day and your brain will thank you.
- Omega 3s: help to lower the risk of heart disease, depression, dementia, and arthritis. In a typical Western diet we get far more Omega 6s than 3s ( often a 10:1 ratio). More ideal would be a 2:1 ratio. Weekly consumption of fatty fish, like salmon and rainbow trout, would help boost omega 3s. You could also ramp up omega 3s in your diet by adding a daily tablespoon of ground flax seeds, chia seeds, or hemp heartsto your salads or stir-frys or oatmeal, for example. Or just mix in with a ¼ cup of liquid, like almond milk, yogurt or water and bottoms up!
- Tyrosine: an amino acid that is a building block for dopamine, epinephrine, norepinephrine, and thyroid hormones. In a nutshell, it helps to increase feel-good hormones, sustain cognitive function and stimulate metabolism. Foods rich in tyrosine are chicken, turkey, fish, milk, yogurt, cottage cheese, peanuts, almonds, pumpkin seeds, sesame seeds, lima beans, avocados, and bananas. Try incorporating 4 tyrosine rich foods into your diet daily.
- Tryptophan: Found in chocolate, oats, dried dates, milk, yogurt, cottage cheese, red meat, eggs, fish, turkey, sesame, chickpeas, almonds, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, buckwheat, spirulina,and peanuts. Why do we care? Tryptophan is an amino acid that helps to produce serotonin. The feel good agent in your body that regulates mood, energy, promotes good sleep and longevity. Make sure tryptophan shows up daily in your diet.
- Vitamin D: Humans in North America usually have a vitamin D insufficiency. In the body, vitamin D assists with many essential functions, including energy levels and the promotion of brain health. For vitamin D, I would recommend a supplement as food rarely has enough and we can’t consistently depend on sun exposure ( the best D vitamin). Try taking 2000-4000 IU of vitamin D3 a day. Vitamin K is often paired with vitamin D capsules or drops. This ensures proper calcium distribution throughout the body, which is a benefit.
The health of the mind is essential to overall well-being and in the maintenance of a high level of functionality as we age. Start putting some of my tips into practice to protect this major asset. If you have any questions or feedback please email: michelle@crossfitdefy.com