A lot is written about health and the effects of nutrition of disease. In this respect, the role of nutrition in the maintenance of physical health receives the lion’s share of the attention, mainly in relation to weight loss and the prevention of Western diseases, such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes and cancer. However, a growing number of individuals living in developed nations are suffering from general health issues, something that is perhaps a reflection of the increasingly controlled and regimented lives we live. Many people live beyond the capacity of their bodies to cope with continuous stress, and this results in a breakdown of both physical and mental health over the long term. The focus of the role of diet in the prevention of disease receives a large amount of academic attention, but most of this material relates to the prevention of a small number of high profile diseases. There therefore exists a vacuum in terms of useful information that is relating to the maintenance of optimal health for otherwise healthy individuals.
Nutrition undoubtedly increases the resistance to stress, and in this way a healthy diet can prevent or reduce the risk of many Western lifestyle diseases. Many such strategies have been covered in my previous articles, and this information can be summarised by the statement that high quality foods, that form part of a high quality diet, have been shown experimentally to reduce the risk of damage to health. Further, a number of supplements act as useful adjuncts to a healthy diet for those who want to maintain their health. Food is therefore vital to the maintenance of physical and mental health and these are the two strongest arguments for improving the quality of your diet. But what about other aspects of people’s lifestyle that affect their health? Food alone cannot guarantee the maintenance of health because humans require more that just energy and micronutrients to be healthy and rounded. Other aspects of life must therefore be taken into consideration, particularly the power of a positive outlook.
That a positive outlook is important to mental health is evidenced through the observation in science of the placebo effect. The placebo effect is an inexplicable phenomenon, whereby an individual is able to affect the physical realm through the use of abstract thought. The placebo effect is well documented and is so widely accepted to occur, that the gold standard experimental procedure in scientific endeavour, the clinical trial, is expected to measure the effects of a placebo, in order to be considered scientifically robust. Thoughts can therefore affect physical health, and this is the strongest argument that a positive outlook and a belief in yourself should be a cornerstone of any healthy eating plan. The simple belief that you are healthy is very likely to indeed make you more healthy, and this is therefore one of the most effective and cheapest strategies that can be employed by an individual. Being unhappy is very likely therefore not just a consequence of poor health, it may also be a direct cause of it.
RdB
