How Focusing On Brain Health Can Help You Heal
The brain operates the rest of the body, making it one of the most essential parts of a human. Understanding how the brain operates and why it needs nutrition will change your perspective on why it’s important to eat well and exercise.
The brain is remarkable, especially considering that it usually weighs around three pounds. While we tend to work on individual parts of our bodies, it actually functions as one and the brain operates everything.
An example of this is muscle memory. Many people know that if you repeat a function with your body, it will help you regain strength in muscle faster. While we call it muscle memory, it’s actually completed by the brain because the brain operates your muscles. This is why caring for the brain is so important.
The brain requires certain ingredients to function. When someone suffers from depression or mood swings, it’s because the brain is not getting what it needs.The sole purpose of eating is so that the brain gets this required nurishment. About 30% of the calories we intake is used by the brain.
Most people learn that certain parts of the body need specific vitamins to function and remain healthy. While this is true, the brain knows which parts of the body are deficient in these vitamins.
The brain also knows which parts of the body are most important. If you’re deficient in calcium, the brain recognizes that the heart needs more and you can’t live without your heart. So it will borrow calcium from your bones or teeth. This can eventually result in the breaking down of the body.
Dr. Cyd Charisse Williams calls this “the thing behind the thing behind the thing.” While the nutrients enhance your body, the brain is running everything behind the scenes.
Nutrition has a significant impact on your brain but it’s not the only thing. Physical exercise is also essential for neural health. Most people only consider how physical exercise impacts their physical body but its biggest impact is on the brain.
There are two primary ways in which physical exercise improves brain function. When you exercise, your body creates more energy. This energy allows the different parts of your brain to communicate better, resulting in improved physical condition. This is why it’s recommended that you move around every 20 minutes. Movement improves brain function.
Another impact involves the production of oxygen. The brain requires oxygen to survive and blood flow moves oxygen around the body. When you exercise, you increase your blood flow, allowing oxygen to spread around the brain and body.
Now that you know the importance that nutrition and physical exercise has on the brain, you might be wondering how much this actually affects us.
When you suffer from depression or mood swings, many doctors will prescribe antidepressants. However, there is another way in which you can improve your mood or mental state.
Dr. Williams practices functional medicine and explains that it’s the process of recognizing the underlying cause of an injury or illness. If you repeatedly suffer from an injury or illness, it might be the impact of your nutrition on your brain, which then impacts other parts of your body. Functional medicine allows you to make biomechanical changes through nutrition.
But how do you know which part of your brain requires support and what nutritional changes are needed?
Since the different parts of the brain work together as opposed to a single function, you need to test the individual sections. There are activities that can test these individual parts of the brain to find out where you’re deficient. You can then exercise these parts to enhance your body, emotions, or feelings.
If you find yourself suffering from mental or physical distress and want to find a solution, Dr. Williams can help. You can reach her through email or by calling 407-341-6667. For more information, check out her website, Facebook page, or find her on Linkedin.
If you’re looking to relieve anxiety and create a better overall mindset, book a free consultation through my website. You can also watch my weekly show, The Well-Balanced Mind, where I’ll provide insights into understanding your mind and behavior.
Do you find that you have anger, stress, or sadness and are looking for a change? Hypnotherapy might be a good fit for you. To schedule a consultation call, click here.