Holistic Nutrition & Mood Effects

When you think of the word "Holistic," what thoughts come to your mind? In my mind, holistic means overall wellness and completeness in health in mind, body, and spirit. You might ask yourself: "What am I going to eat today?" When you become hungry at first. There are some key things to remember here. A healthy diet is important for one's overall wellness in life because a healthy diet yields maximum energy, mental clarity/positive mood, and increased general sense of being/awareness.

If one desires maximum energy one will seek the best food option at the start of the day. Breakfast literally will either make or break your day. Wonderful breakfast foods include anything that best agrees with YOU and YOUR SYSTEM in the morning. Normally I will start my day off with a variety of grains and a tea on the side to bring down the blood sugar (if I decide to eat any sugar). Eating a large variety of grains such as oats, barley, quinoa, brown rice, farro, kasha, and/or wheat berries will often help make energy explode from your body, and will always help provide a great source of fiber and vitamins/minerals. Also, if you eat at least 7 or more grains a day, you will eliminate the need for meat in your diet. Let's face it. You just can't go wrong with grains, especially those grain varieties with low to zero gluten in them. Look at Muesli recipes for more info on special vitamins and minerals.

Once your energy level is at its maximum, you will notice your mentality becoming focused and clear. The best supplements for mental clarity are Chai teas and gingko supplement. If you have access to Chai tea or even Yacon tea, both are wonderful mind and mood elevators. Go very easy on the sugar as it tends to cause extreme physiological reactions like irritability, twitchy nerves, and racing thoughts. If you do prefer sugar, remember to eliminate sugary soft drinks and limit ice cream intake. Also, natural, high fructose-free maple syrup is wonderful for energy boosts (and tastes great in Chai, too, believe it or not!), as well as honey, which has many healing properties in addition to being a natural sweetener. Lastly, I will share with you one of my favorite teas for mood calming and stomach alleviation/mind/bone supplement. It's called African Rooibos. It's a smooth red tea that tastes absolutely delicious, is great for bringing down your blood sugar (it needs no sweetening, it tastes great on its own) and settles most digestive problems efficiently.

Once your mood has been stabilized and well-tempered, you will begin to feel the energy within make you more self-aware and perceptive. If you suffer from anxiety/mood disorder issues, then a great herbal remedy for this is St. John's Wort and/or Valerian root. Chamomile also helps to even out those wild emotions, and can be made into tea. Vanilla has been shown to calm down one's nerves, when not consumed with much sugar (no ice cream, very sorry!). Try to limit your caffeine intake and absolutely AVOID ENERGY DRINKS. They are deadly to your nervous system and brain functioning if you are a sensitive individual. Especially limit yourself to sweets such as chocolate. Dark chocolate is always preferred as a treat over sugary milk chocolate.

Upon outlining a great way to start your day, the author would love to share his views on diet proteins. Diet is what makes you YOU. I'll start off by defining different types of proteins. There are animal proteins, vegetable proteins, grain proteins, nut/seed proteins, mushroom proteins, fish proteins, and Spirulina (algae proteins). Eggs are full of omegas and contain dense protein calories for your brain and muscles. They must be eaten sparingly as the yolks do contain high fat and cholesterol counts. Turkey, chicken, quail, duck, and other fowl are great for non-red meat proteins, and are very agreeable with most people's systems. Also, fowl protein is generally lower in fat and cholesterol. Red meat is wonderful for folic acid and iron. Eat it sparingly, though, as the fat and cholesterol counts can be high. Vegetables are excellent sources of protein and contain other vitamins, minerals, and fiber. Green beans, peas, lentils, chick peas, kidney beans, and/or any bean type contains a lot of starch and protein. Eat them organic and eat them well. Grains are like the holy grail of proteins/fiber for plants. Eating 7 or more grain types a day will eliminate the need for meat in your diet. Also, grains are rich in healthy carbohydrates and vitamins/minerals. Nuts/seeds must be eaten carefully. They are very healthy and contain dense protein and omegas. The downside is the high fat count. They can be high in fiber, however, and personally I prefer almonds and pumpkin seeds in my diet. Mushroom is great for those folks who love fungi. Many mushrooms contain protein and other nutrients known to help eyesight and digestion. Prepare them carefully and don't eat the wrong ones if you go picking them in the wild. Fish can be tricky. Mercury, PCB's, and other pollutants/toxins are always a threat to wildlife health and human health. Canned tuna is not preferred for this reason. Eat freshwater fish or crab, and sparingly if you buy it from the supermarket. The advantage of fish is tons of protein and omegas. The disadvantage is pollutants/toxins. Lastly, we will examine spirulina. Spirulina is wonderful algae protein, and tastes great with seeds and nuts as an energy supplement. Be careful with spirulina, as it is also derived from aquatic organisms which can be exposed to pollutants/toxins. Also, if the wrong algae is consumed, this may cause illness and possibly be fatal. Some species of algae are very toxic, so know your source of spirulina before eating it!!

Another thing to remember here is your fruits/vegetables. There are so many fruits and vegetables to list here it is ridiculous. I'll keep the list short. Strawberries, blueberries, blackberries, raspberries, acai berries, goji berries, kiwi, pineapple, apples, grapes, peaches, plums, avocados, and many more. Research ones with many B vitamins, and also ones with high vitamin C content. Remember to eat them organic if you are able to do so (non-GMO and non-pesticides always preferred). For vegetables one generally wants to eat spinach, kale, squash, tomatoes, peppers, chard, mushrooms, carrots, soybeans, kidney beans, pinto beans, wheat grass, and blue corn (non-GMO, non-pesticides). There are so many vegetables you may want to research them yourself. They are high in fiber, carbohydrates, and general vitamins/minerals. Eat your fruits/vegetables daily for best results!!

The last thing I want to mention is olive oil. If you can always cook with olive oil you are immediately obeying a prime health rule: healthy fat intake (monounsaturated fats, which bring down cholesterol and prevent heart disease). There are many different types of oils, but remember that olive oil is your top choice, unless you would prefer to research otherwise, in which case, do so! A great alternative to olive oil is neem oil, which is used in India to cure many, many different ailments. Healthy monounsaturated oils will add more omegas to your diet, bring your cholesterol level down, help your skin tone, help your hair color/sheen, help you think more clearly, help your organs function better, and have seemingly endless health benefits. It will prolong your lifespan if you do the rest of your diet correctly. Finally, remember to exercise daily, if possible. A healthy diet won't be as effective without the proper level of exercise too! Good luck with your eating and dieting, and remember, this is just my personal guide to holistic dieting and wellness. Refer to your doctor if you have any questions regarding your own health.