Nutrition Journal Reflection
Reading the article by Norwitz and Naidoo (2021) was really helpful, as I used to think that artificial sweeteners and bread were good for you (no sugar and grains!), but now I realize that really anything artificial is going to conflict with the bodys natural processes, and bread today is made from wheat that has been altered so much through chemical engineering that the body simply does not want anything to do with it. The article emphasized that omega-3 fatty acids and turmeric are good for the body, especially when one is dealing with anxiety. This was great news, because I recently discovered turmeric and I love it. I get it in juice shots and helps me feel better, and I get it in tea, and I use it in cooking. It has a great taste and really does make me feel good. So based on this reading I will be changing at least one nutritional lifestyle approachno more diet sodas, for instance. Im also going to try to avoid gluten more and rely on natural foods like fish and turmeric for when I am eating at home.
The same goes for the Aucoin et al. (2021) reading. It linked anxiety with high-fat food intake, and particularly refined carbs and sugar. So that means all those donuts I love to eat are probably not good for me in terms of helping me deal with anxiety! I especially liked the part about supplements (zinc, magnesium) and probiotics. I like the idea of my gut bacteria working with me to help keep my body in good condition, so I want to help it in return by getting good bacteria in there for my gut to work well. Kombucha is something I have discovered recently that I am going to make more a part of my diet from now on as a result of this reading. I tended to avoid it before because I was unfamiliar with it, but my friend promotes it, and it lines up with the idea of probiotics in this article. So it is another change I will be making.
References
Aucoin, M., LaChance, L., Naidoo, U., Remy, D., Shekdar, T., Sayar, N., ... & Cooley, K.
(2021). Diet and anxiety: A scoping review.Nutrients,13(12), 4418.
Norwitz, N. G., & Naidoo, U. (2021). Nutrition as metabolic treatment for anxiety.Frontiers in
psychiatry, 105.
