PSYCHOLOGY AND NUTRITION - How They Depends on each other

 INTRODUCTION:

To live a full life, we need to fill our stomachs. We can fill our stomachs by eating food. Food is not only a word, it has become an emotion for many people. If there is food before you, you keep seeing it or drooling over it before you start to consume it. In the present scenario, people are becoming foodies by eating the food they desire. Many people are fond of foods that are tasty, yummy to eat. They have their own favorites depending on the place they go. The states of our country are famous for different varieties of food. People say if you are visiting a place try its famous food. As we all know food is essential for our survival as it provides all the required nutrients for our body. Apart from nutritional usage, food is also related to a person's mood and mental health. A person in any mood if he eats food will become normal. Food has been a friend for humans for a long time. Food is linked to nutritional as well as psychological aspects in a person’s life. There is much research that is being done to understand nutrition’s role in a person’s mental health.

NUTRITIONAL PSYCHOLOGY:

Nutrition and psychology are two different fields, but they can be connected by a field known as nutritional psychology. This field deals with the role nutrition be it dietary patterns, broad-based multi-nutrient supplements or fixed vitamins, minerals, or other nutrients plays in the etiology of mental health problems. Another definition that can be said is it is an interdisciplinary field to develop an envisaged framework to understand the diet- mental health relationship. This framework allows us to procure awareness in the deeper, more complex role that food, nutrients, and dietary intake patterns play on shaping our mood, behavior, and mental health. The essential vitamins, minerals, and nutrients found in whole or unprocessed foods notably support the body’s biochemical and physiological processes. As the gap between our body’s physiological needs and our dietary intake patterns widens, the importance of considering diet as a piece of the puzzle in the world’s mental health crisis is needed.

NEED FOR HEALTH CARE SERVICES

The Center for Nutritional Psychology (CNP) exists to address the need for nutritional psychology through fused research efforts related to the Diet-Mental Health Relationship, developing formalized curriculum to support individuals in understanding this relationship, and advocating for the training of students and professionals in the field of Nutritional Psychology. There have been many health care services that have been grown in recent times for making people understand the need for necessary nutrients. Health care services are needed to understand the need for nutrients for the proper functioning of our body. If we have proper nutrition we can be prevented from various illnesses as food also provides immunity against diseases. In order to have a properly working healthy body, proper nutritional intake is necessary. These health care services give advice regarding this and act as a guide for consulting a doctor. Depending on the body condition health care service providers tell what should be done to be healthy. In order to get primary consultation for not-so-severe diseases, health care services can be an option. They can provide the right advice and medication for the disease, but if the case is worst they will suggest a doctor consultation for recovery.

EFFECTS OF IMPROPER NUTRITION:

Improper nutrition here signifies the improper intake of food or delay in food timings or not eating healthy food. Improper nutrition affects the energy dietary density(ED) which in turn affects the individual by causing obesity. Various studies show that obesity is also related to psychological aspects in an individual. The main reason for this has been found to be stress which in turn leads to depression. Psychological distress, which is defined as the co-occurrence of discerned stress and depressive symptoms, may be linked to increased cardiometabolic disease risk through the intake of high energy-dense diets. Adults are more likely to feel stressed when they discern environmental demands as taxing and see themselves as wanting the resources to cope with these demands. Stress can precipitate or exacerbate depressive symptoms and reinforce unhealthy dietary patterns leading to greater psychological distress and potentially incurable illness. The relationship between psychological distress may be bidirectional; obesity may contribute to depression due to negative body image and social stigma. Overweight individuals studies show that stress and depressive symptoms as psychological factors affect eating behaviors and food choices. Negative emotions such as anger, fear, and sadness are associated with irregular eating patterns. Eating food paves the way to get distracted, or to relax or feel better from these emotions. Stress is associated with cravings for high fat and high carbohydrate foods, particularly among women. Stress-related eating is more common in women than men. Depressive symptoms are associated with increased appetite, excess food intake, preferences for high fat and carbohydrate foods, excess alcohol intake, and higher BMI in women than in men. Additionally, severely depressed individuals may be less able to adhere to dietary recommendations. Although stress and depressive symptoms may contribute to weight gain in some individuals, psychological distress can have the opposite effect in others.

WAYS TO OVERCOME IMPROPER EATING HABITS:

1. Needing to always feel full after a meal: Spreading your food intake out throughout the day will prevent insulin spikes and help keep your metabolism working in your favor, making weight management easier.
2. Avoid eating beyond the point of hunger: If you feel tempted to eat even after having a heavy meal, it is better to avoid it. Eating irregularly leads to obesity and weight gain which in turn leads to onset of CVD. If such a situation pops in, it is better to take water or some healthy juices in order to overcome the craving.
3. Avoid overeating when you are alone: It can be so easy to lose touch with your sense of appetite when you’re doing something else while eating. Focus on just eating your food. Don’t involve in other activities when you are eating.
4. Skipping breakfasts: There is a saying that eating breakfast helps jumpstart the metabolism, shed pounds, and cut cravings during the day. It has also been identified as a key to maintaining weight loss in the long term.
5. Avoid constant snacking throughout the workday: Snacking regularly is an outcome of boredom. If we are bored, we tend to eat junk. In order to avoid that, it is better to keep ourselves busy by doing activities. If you still feel to eat something then drinking water or consuming nuts like almonds, cashews can be done.
6. Avoid late-night food: Many people have a habit of eating in mid-night after they have their dinner. This should be avoided for having a healthy body as well as proper mental health.
7. Have a balanced diet with an exercise routine: We need to maintain a proper balanced diet and intake all required nutrients in a required amount. Along with this practicing yoga or doing workouts can be a way to lead a healthy life.

YOGA AND PSYCHOLOGY

Talking about yoga, it is considered the best way to maintain a healthy body as it works naturally. The inclusion of yoga in therapeutic settings has been useful for many yoga services that are provided. According to Bhagavad Gita, “Yoga is the journey of the self, through the self, to the self.” Yoga helps in alleviating a person’s mental health. Yoga helps in improving physical, mental, and emotional well-being. It helps in attaining physical, mental, spiritual, emotional, social potential. It helps in managing stress and having positive thoughts in all situations. It also helps people fight depression and keeps them away from negativity. Along with this yoga helps in maintaining our body healthy and helps in proper metabolism thereby preventing diseases.

There are many yoga services available for training or teaching people yoga and its importance. These institutes teach yoga in a proper way and make people be aware of the same.

CONCLUSION:

Having proper food will give proper nutrients for the working of a healthy body. Eating food is also related to psychology as it controls the emotions of people. In order to have a good mood and happy life, it is necessary to have healthy eating routines with proper yoga.