“One of the greatest shortcomings of human logic is the unquestioned belief that psychological problems, be it of behaviour or intelligence, are influenced only by psychological factors and that physiological factors are only influenced by physiological factors. This presupposes that the mind and body are separate, that psychological stress makes muscles tense. Ask a chemist, an anatomist and a psychologist to define where the mind starts and the body ends and they will find that the two are intimately interconnected”
Double-Nobel prize Winner Dr Carl Pfieffer
1. Balance your blood sugar – this means that you eat food that makes sure you have stable energy throughout the day. It is thought that the hormone insulin (the hormone responsible for keeping our glucose in balance) might be contributing to the rise in dementia that has been seen in the last 50 years.
2. Make sure that you recognise and eliminate food allergies – a rise in allergies over the last generation – The gut is sometimes referred to as “The Second Brain” – there are more receptors for the happy hormone serotonin than anywhere else in the body. Keeping the gut happy, keeps the mind happy.
3. Looking at your exposure to pollution – your body tries to detoxify pollution by using essential nutrients, if your essential nutrients are compromised then you could end up with problems of the mind. Zinc is especially important as are the B vitamins – however, making sure you have full spectrum of nutrients is very important
4. Address Stress – looking after the adrenal glands (the glands that produce stress the stress hormone cortisol) – making sure you are not having too many stimulants eg strong caffeine. Try Green Tea which does have caffeine but only 15mg (some coffees could have more than 150 mg per cup)
5. The focus for Mental Awareness Week is Mindfulness – this is the therapy of choice currently and is easily done and practiced by yourself without the need for fancy equipment. Mindfulness involves staying in the present moment (as opposed to ruminating about the past or projecting the future). Keeping focussed in the NOW enables you to be more aware of your body, your mind and your choices. I like Mark William’s Book “Mindfulness” and great start
