“Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food”
– Hippocrates (460 BC – 357 BC)
The link between food and health has been well recognized since antiquity. Our bodies have not evolved much compared to how we have transformed our food (especially in the last few decades). Food manipulation has brought us to an era of numerous environmental factors that have significantly deteriorated our health and wellbeing.
Glucose is virtually the sole fuel of the human brain, and because our brain has no way to store it, we require its continuous supply to function. More than any other organ, the human brain consumes nearly 20% of the entire glucose reserve. We can all relate to how our mood and behavior changes when we are hungry, bloated or crashing; but how much do we know about the long term effect of our food choices or eating habits? New studies are increasingly showing the association of food to depression and anxiety. There is also new evidence to prove that the adult brain is still malleable. Given its importance, why not learn how to best nourish your brain?
Better food choices will not only help you look and feel great, but can significantly decrease the risk of obesity, diabetes, hypertension and heart disease. Ironically, these same conditions are caused by many psychiatric medications on the market. The good news is that greater awareness can lead us to make smarter decisions about what we eat and improve our overall health.