Berlin.
More energy, resistance to stress, positive thoughts: All of this is also related to a healthy diet. That’s what experts recommend for the start.
Raclette, fondue, potato salad with sausages or fried fish, Christmas goose, roasts, sauces and dumplings – all of these are common Food on the holidays. The main thing is hearty, greasy and powerful. To top it off, there’s dessert. Delicious. At the same time, it’s also pretty unhealthy. Almost everyone knows that by now.
The good news: If these dishes don’t dominate the menu, but are the exception, then we can enjoy them. “The main thing is that we eat plant-rich foods with less fat as soon as possible,” says Andreas Jopp. For his latest book “Happy Food Instead of Burnout”, the science author has dealt with the consequences of the nutrition busy on the psyche.
also read: Nutrition: These foods are said to make you happier
Because, he says, very few people are aware that the Brain even more sensitive to nutrition than the body. “The hippocampus is one of the three parts of the brain that change at all,” says Jopp.
Unhealthy diet: These are the consequences for the brain
If this area of the brain shrinks, that’s not all negative effects on our memory, but also on our ability to make decisions and control impulses. Research shows that learning and memory are weakened, and susceptibility to anxiety and depression is increased.
“The hippocampus can not only degrade, but also build up,” says Jopp. Along with sleep and exercise, nutrition is one of the factors that can stimulate growth hormones for the brain – the so-called BDNF. The abbreviation stands for “Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor”, which translates as “brain-derived neurotrophic factor”.
According to Jopp, if it strengthens our hippocampus, our mood improves, we become more resistant to stress and that short-term memory better.
Professor Soyoung Q Park from the German Institute for Human Nutrition and the Charité and her team are also examining how nutrition influences our thinking and our psyche. In the second Corona lockdown in 2020, they asked adults in Germany and Austria for a good week what and how much they ate and drank per day.
The result was simple, clear, and consistent with what was already being seen in pre-pandemic studies. “People who ate a lot of fruit and vegetables all reported greater well-being,” says Park. According to the scientist, this effect was clear despite the severe stress of the pandemic.
Healthy eating: This measure is good for the start
fruit and vegetables contribute significantly to BDNF production. Five servings per day are recommended: three of them vegetables, two of them fruit. Statistically, we know that most Germans don’t come up with this amount, often not even remotely. Making improvements here in order to do something good for yourself would be a sensible and effective start.
It is important to note that fruit is not just fruit, and vegetables are not just vegetables. “All plant fruits are packed with different micro- and macro-nutrients, all of which can play very different roles in the brain,” Park points out.
Jopp recommends as rule of thumb especially fruits and plants with dark, strong colors: such as berries, aubergines, rocket. “It contains the protective antioxidants for the brain,” says the science author.
It’s all in the mix: the more varied, the better
Park observed: If people supposedly want to eat particularly healthy, they often only eat so-called superfoods – such as acai berries, chia seeds and kale every day. All valuable foods, but “just like our body, our brain needs many different nutrients and not just a few selected superfoods for a good interaction of all biochemical mechanisms,” says Park.
Fresh food and a lot of variety are the most important things from her point of view. “We also have to make sure that the intestinal bacteria are well fed so that they produce enough healthy fatty acids,” adds Jopp. “These also clean up our brain and can activate our energy.” One therefore speaks of the “gut-brain axis” or the “gut brain”. A varied diet without industrial products, but with vegetables, nuts and additional whole grain products, helps to keep the intestinal flora in balance. “Even severe depression can be alleviated by a healthy diet in mild ones,” says Jopp. Studies have shown that.
Changing your diet: “Start small”
As simple as that may sound, it rarely succeeds diet change consistent. The reason: like many things in life, eating is a matter of habit. Hardly anyone eats something different every day for breakfast. Reaching for milk and muesli or coffee and bread are part of the morning routine.
“Eating is a thoroughly learned behavior,” Park emphasizes. Even parents laid the foundation for whether their children intuitively eat healthily as adults and which dishes end up on their plates. “In addition, the variability of what we eat decreases with age,” says Park.
Research shows: It would be best to start with the entire lifestyle to question and to readjust in all areas towards healthier behavior – not only in nutrition, but also in exercise, sleep or living environment. “But not radically. Start small.” The experts agree on that.
Her recommendation: replace a few bad foods with good ones. Off to the market, regional, seasonal and cook yourself, consciously chew and taste. “People need to reconnect with food,” says Park, “to seriously consider what they’re eating.”
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