I was reading the other day about the six good doctors we need in our lives to stay healthy. As I was reading through the list it occurred to me that these six doctors are particularly applicable to our mental health. They are:

·       Fresh air and sunshine

·       Exercise

·       A good diet

·       Sleep

·       Friends/community

·       A Purpose in life

Looking down this list it’s easy to nod wisely and then move on, but it’s worth taking the time to evaluate all these things and see how our lives measure up. This week: diet.

I think the first thing to say is that one diet does not suit everyone. The second thing to say is that the word diet has come to mean specifically a weight loss diet, which is not what I mean, so I will use the term way of eating instead.

When you read books on healthy eating, you will find proponents of the low fat, high carbohydrate way of eating. This is based on the food pyramid we all know about. There are books which espouse the keto way of eating and even books that advise the benefits of the strictly carnivore style. The book I was following recently, removes all inflammatory produce from the diet: grains, nightshades, nuts etc. One thing all these books have in common is that they don’t include sugar. Sugar is the carbohydrate none of us need and yet it is addictive; some would argue it is more addictive than tobacco. None of them include alcohol, yet many of us drink and some of us drink to excess.

It's coming up to Christmas, and in our house, I regret to say, there is a lot of chocolate. This time last year, I could resist chocolate, this year, not so much. Because I started to eat sweet things again, I am addicted again. Fortunately, I have managed to stay away from the alcohol, for which I am profoundly grateful.

I don’t think any of us would disagree with the statement that when we eat better, we feel better. After a big, carbohydrate heavy meal we feel overfull and lethargic, If we spend Christmas overeating and gorging on chocolate, we can feel bad for days afterwards.

The thing is, sugar, and especially chocolate, does make us feel better in the short term. It contains a precursor to serotonin, which gives a feeling of happiness; also, phenethylamine, which makes you feel contented, and a little in love; it also contains theobromine which gives you a buzz. So, essentially, chocolate is a drug, just not an illegal one.

So, should we cut our sugar and chocolate? Well, I know that when I do, I feel better, and I don’t need to fear the bathroom scales. Can we cut it out? That’s more awkward, because most of us are addicted to it. I know, when I first adopted a keto way of eating: high fat, low carbohydrate – which is one I feel really good on, I missed sugar very much. It wasn’t as hard to give up as alcohol, but it was still hard. Now I’m eating it again, I think it will be even harder to give it up a second time. Yet, I know I will feel better for it.

Do you have a particular way of eating that makes you feel alive and full of energy? Please share with us in the comments.

Mary

A Moodscope member