September 1st, 2023
Nutrition and Exercise Based Strategies for Mental Health
MONTHLY NEWSLETTER
September 2023
BRAIN-HEALTH FOODS
FOODS THAT CAN HELP IMPROVE MENTAL HEALTH
September, 1st 2023 Alissa Fast
What To Eat
chemical messenger in your brain. This is a process that is slowing
down your brain by blocking specific signals to your brain.
It plays a major role in controlling the nerve cell hyperactivity associated
with anxiety, stress and fear. Some foods that you can eat that can contain
gaba are a variety of fermented foods, soybeans, spinach, broccoli and teas,
such as green, black and oolong tea.
Omega-3-Rich foods are known to support nerve cell membranes and serotonin. They travel through the brain cell membrane and interact with mood-related molecules inside the brain. This helps manage moods and with the anti-inflammation action, It may also help relieve depression. These foods include: Mackerel, salmon, oysters, flaxseed, chia seeds, walnuts, and soybeans.
Foods that are filled with antioxidants are especially important for brain health. As the brain can experience oxidant stress, which contributes to age-related cognitive decline and brain diseases. Eating foods that have antioxidants can help reduce the risk of cognitive decline and dementia.
Dark chocolate is filled with antioxidants as it has more cocoa than regular chocolate as well as more minerals. The antioxidants in dark chocolate/cocoa have also been linked to decreased inflammation. Pecans also contain a high amount of antioxidants and are also a great source of healthy fats.
Other ways we can consume foods that are high antioxidants is through berries. Blueberries, strawberries and raspberries are all filled with antioxidants and you can easily add these berries to a smoothie or a parfait for an easy healthy breakfast.
Drinks To Calm Your Mind
Tips For Healthy Eating
Try your best to avoid sugar-filled snacks as this can lead to energy levels going up and down
Stock up on ready-to-eat fruits and vegetables like: Baby carrots, mini cucumbers, bananas, clementines, apples etc.
Avoid skipping breakfast. We need to eat breakfast to fuel our body ( and our brain )
Sources
11 Best Foods to Boost Your Brain and Memory (healthline.com)
12 best brain foods: Memory, concentration, and brain health (medicalnewstoday.com)
A List of Foods with the Highest GABA (livestrong.com)
15 Foods To Help Improve Mental Health | FOOD MATTERS®
July 2023
Exercise & how it can help your mental health:
By Kyle St James
When we talk about mental health, the first thing that pops into our mind is… medication. Taking pills to relieve anxiety, depression, and other mental health conditions, will help, but leaves the user at the mercy of the side effects. What if I told you there was a way to help your mental health inspite or in tandem with your drugs? I’m talking about exercise, and how it can truly change your life.
When we exercise, we put our body through stress and struggle, so how does that help our mental state? Exercising releases natural brain chemicals such as endogenous cannabinoids, Dopamine, Noradrenaline, and Serotonin. These are what leave you feeling tired as well as that added sense of wellness and accomplishment after. It’s these feelings afterwards that drive our rehabilitation of mental health. Some days just get us down, and some places just fill us with anxiety, but by finding an outlet like exercise, one may be able to find some semblance of normality. There are plenty of other benefits that accompany this form of mental rehabilitation. For example weight loss, increase in strength, sleeping better, and many more. What about the psychological benefits of exercise? Aside from helping mental health relief, it can also give heightened self-esteem, the interruption of negative thoughts, and healthy social contact.
There have been quite a few studies done showing how exercise correlates with mental heal relief. A recent study by Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health found that running 15 minutes a day, or walking for an hour reduces the risk of major depression by 26%. Keeping up with a consistent schedule can also prevent relapses as well. Another study that appeared in the medical journal, The Lancet Psychiatry, found that a person has 3.4 poor mental health days per month. However, among those who exercise, the number of poor mental health days dropped by more than 40 percent. Unfortunately, even with such an obvious correlation, only 10 percent of psychotherapists talk to their patients about exercise.
I’m not here just to tell you about the benefits of exercise on mental health, I'm also here to show you what exercises can be done from home. Getting active and trying these exercises can help alleviate anxiety, depression, and other conditions we may be fighting against. Luckily there are two methods that encompass most of the exercises that will help us with mental health. Anaerobic & Aerobic.
Anaerobic exercises you can do from home: high-intensity, shorter workout that involves quick bursts of energy.
Squats/Squat jump: 
Squat jumps are just a squat that you jump into a standing position at-
home anaerobic exercise program. It can aid in boosting blood flow
and enhancing oxygen delivery to the muscles.
One of the best aerobic exercises for beginners is skipping or jumping rope. It is a full-body exercise that mostly uses your arms 
When done quickly or at your highest heart rate, push-ups Try adding weight for a more intense workout!
Aerobic exercises you can do from home: Lower-intensity, slower-paced endurance activities.
Is great for helping your body release those endorphins. The objective 
Doing something is better than doing nothing in terms of physical activity, start small 
A beginner cardiovascular exercise that increases the exercise intensity by jumping 
Resembling a football or speed-skating warm-up, Shuffles are great for building the foundation of your cardio.
Minimally, we want to exercise for at least 15 minutes a day, while setting our max to working up a Sweat. Jot down how many sets of each exercise you would like to do. Then figure out how many repetitions for each. I suggest starting small, maybe only 5 repetitions and then work your way up to ten. That is our overall goal, to work our bodies until it releases those neural brain chemicals. Those chemicals that can help reduce disorders related to mental health. Just by doing a few of these exercises for at least 15 minutes a day, you can help improve your mental health, and your overall being.
References
Therapy Aid (2023) Using exercise in mental health treatment (guide).
https://www.therapistaid.com/therapy-guide/exercise-and-mental-health-treatments.
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