A Menu For Mental Wellbeing

HYDRATE

• Drink water! Drink it throughout the day. Humans are 60-70% water, depending on age. Our cells, our blood vessels, and our organs (particularly our brain) all need water to work properly. Drink enough water every day to keep your urine a light-yellow or nearly clear color.
• Other acceptable, occasional drinks include green tea and unsweetened iced tea, unless you suffer from anxiety or heart rhythm problems, in which case caffeine is best avoided.
• Also avoid sports drinks (unless after an intense workout), avoid energy drinks (even those marketed as vitamin-rich and “healthy”), avoid vitamin waters (which are nutritionally worthless), avoid sodas (even “diet” sodas, which may be even worse for you), avoid flavored teas and flavor-additives for water (which almost always contain unnatural chemicals), and avoid milk (which will be discussed later).

SLEEP

• Get at least 8 hours of quality sleep every night, and 9 hours is even better! Sleep is when our brains and bodies repair themselves, and when our brain organizes and files all the information it took in during the day. Don’t give it enough rest, and it’s like never cleaning your desk while every day piling on more stuff.
• Turn off your screens (television, cell phone, social media, video game) at least 30 minutes before bedtime, preferably 60 minutes. And make your bedtime basically the same every night, especially school nights. A good bedtime for pre-teens is about 9:30 to 10:00 pm, and for teens is about 10:00 to 10:30 pm.

MOVE

• You don’t need to join a team sport, or train for a marathon. You just need to move that body, in some form of exercise or activity for at least 30 minutes every day, or at least 5 days per week. Power walking, bike riding, swimming, walking the dog, martial arts, hiking, shooting baskets or playing soccer with friends…these are just some examples of things you can do to MOVE every day.

SHRINK YOUR SCREEN TIME

• Non-schoolwork related screen time (television, video gaming, social media, surfing YouTube or the internet for entertainment) should shrink to one hour per day on school days and an absolute maximum of three hours per day on weekends or no-school days. And turn off all screens at least 30 minutes before bedtime.

EAT A HEALTHY BREAKFAST

• It doesn’t have to be a lot. But you need to start your day with SOME fuel.
• Avoid desserts disguised as breakfast (Pop-Tarts, most breakfast cereals, white-flour pancakes or waffles, instant oatmeal, and others)
• There is no law in America that limits breakfast foods to bacon and eggs, pancakes, or cereals. In fact, some of the best foods for breakfast include berries and other fruits, whole grains, beans, avocados, even vegetables!

AVOID ADDED SUGARS

• Added sugars are NEVER good for you. Natural sugars (generally fructose) found in fruits and vegetables are ALWAYS okay because you’re eating them alongside fiber to aid proper digestion. If you must eat something with added sugar, it should be organic cane sugar and a very small number of grams per serving.
• Beware of all the added sugars in condiments, salad dressings, pasta sauces, fruit snacks, bottled beverages, and more. And ALWAYS avoid high-fructose corn syrup, and maltodextrin.

MINIMIZE WHITE FLOUR FOODS

• Processed white flour has almost NO nutritional value. Any “value” comes from chemically added nutrients. And almost always, processed white flour foods contain added sugar and/or fats.
• If you must have white-flour foods (pancakes, waffles, most breakfast cereals, breads, bagels, pastas, ramen, flour tortillas, most snack foods, pizza crust, doughnuts, pastries, crackers and more) then limit yourself to ONE THING from this list per day.
• Whenever possible, choose WHOLE-GRAIN bread, pasta, pizza crust, pancake mix, and so-on

MAXIMIZE POWER FOODS

• Berries! As often as possible. They make great snacks! Particularly blueberries.
• Dark green, leafy vegetables! These include spinach, kale, chard, and arugula. All great in smoothies, too!
• Cruciferous vegetables! These include broccoli, kale, cauliflower, red and green cabbage, and Brussel sprouts.
• Avocados! Great with almost any meal, or as guacamole!
• Legumes! These include the pulses (chickpeas, lentils, split peas), beans, and peanuts. Have some daily!!
• Baked potatoes! Scrub then definitely eat the skin! Load them with vegetables, not butter and sour cream.
• Nuts and seeds! Walnuts, pecans, Brazil nuts, hazelnuts, pistachios! Chia, sunflower, and pumpkin seeds!

FABULOUS FIBER

• Feed the gut biome with fiber because a healthy gut equals a healthy brain! And when your gut feels healthy, YOU feel healthy! The best sources of fiber include fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and legumes.

GOOD FATS ONLY (NO EVIL ONES!)

• The best oils for cooking are avocado and extra-virgin olive oil (EVOO). For homemade dressings, the best oils include these oils, as well as walnut oil, hazelnut oil, and macadamia nut oil. Great natural foods for healthy fats include avocados, nuts, seeds, olives, and beans.
• Acceptable oils for occasional use include sesame oil and extra-virgin coconut oil. But AVOID palm oil, canola oil, safflower oil, sunflower oil, soybean oil, and “vegetable” oil (a blend of evil oils). Almost all ultra-processed foods have one of these oils!

ULTRA-PROCESSED FOODS ARE ULTRA-BAD FOR YOU!

• UPFs are chemically engineered edible junk, “food” morphed beyond recognition. Most snack foods and many microwaveable “convenience” foods are UPFs, as are many “fast” foods. At best, UPFs are empty calories, and at worst they are harmful ones. Almost all have added sugar, salt, fats, and a boatload of crazy chemicals. A good rule when it comes to ingredients: if you don’t recognize it and can’t pronounce it, you shouldn’t risk poisoning your body by eating it!
• Remember, JUNK FOODS EQUALS JUNK MOODS. Food is the raw material that builds and rebuilds and heals and replaces every cell in your body. The food we eat today builds the body and mind we live in, and with, tomorrow. When you eat toxic, lab-created food your great-grandparents wouldn’t even recognize as “food”, of course your brain will be unhappy!

TREAT YOURSELF (HEALTHILY)

• “Treats” are special, something to enjoy occasionally. Having a treat once a week, or twice a month, is okay. Parents, consider making every Saturday or every other Saturday “treat day”. Make it part of an active family outing: go for a family hike, then out for a doughnut. But don’t keep cookies and candies in the pantry, because to a kid or teen this says, “treats are okay, mom and dad wouldn’t buy foods harmful to me”. And some kids and teens will sneak these pantry treats to their room, where they will gorge on them. Why have them in the home?
• Remember, Dutch Bros and Starbucks sell mostly desserts sold as coffee beverages. These are “treats”, as much or more as a doughnut or a piece of chocolate cake. In fact, most of these beverages contain more sugar per ounce than soda! And some people have one of these dessert beverages, which can contain 400-800 calories, nearly every day! If you want coffee, buy a house coffee, or make it at home. You’ll save tons of $$ too!
• If you want a DAILY treat, one that is healthy for you, have one square of dark chocolate (70% or higher) as an after-dinner treat!

AVOID MILK

• Milk is made for baby cows. No other mammal on our planet drinks the milk of an entirely different mammal species. We did NOT evolve as a species to do so. In fact, until about 100 years ago milk consumption was rare worldwide. In fact, over 80% of humanity is lactose-intolerant after the first few years of life!
• Milk does NOT “build strong bones” or other such made-up marketing claims. In fact, most children who drink milk become chronically “milk-sick”, which may include one or more of the following: chronic abdominal pain, cramping, constipation, diarrhea, flatulence, skin rashes, acne, fatigue, and more. And when you are “milk-sick” some or most days, this affects energy, sleep, and mood!
• Dairy ice cream is just frozen milk, with added sugar. It is best avoided. Occasional cheese is okay, but preferably AGED cheeses (cheddar, parmesan, Swiss, and others) and ideally produced in Europe rather than the U.S.

MINIMIZE MEAT

• Animal proteins (meat, dairy, eggs) are the source of almost all saturated fats, the worst kind of fats for your brain and cardiovascular health. We all know this, that saturated fats are bad for you, that they clog the arteries and can eventually lead to heart attacks. Well, the brain is dense with blood vessels too! Block those vessels with saturated fats, and what can result is brain fog, anxiety, depression, and (long-term) strokes.
• Ideally, beef (hamburgers, steaks, et al) should be eaten no more than once a month. Pork should be eaten no more than three times a month, and chicken no more than once a week. Try your best to eat organic, small farm-raised, antibiotic-free meats.
• And with regards to seafood, avoid “farm-raised” fish and shrimp, which are often diseased and filled with antibiotics and food colorings!

SUPPLEMENTS

• Vitamin D3 (ideally combined with Vitamin K2) with food daily.
• Vitamin B12 (or a B-complex vitamin) daily, 10 minutes before eating.
• DHA/EPA in such forms as daily cod liver oil, or algae-sourced if you are vegan or just don’t like fishy flavors.
• Iodine in the form of seaweed, about 2-3 times per week. A 1-inch square will do the trick.
• Ask your doctor the ideal daily amount of these supplements, which vary by age.

SOME FINAL THOUGHTS FOR GOOD MENTAL (AND PHYSICAL) HEALTH

• Avoid foods with “Natural Flavors” in the list of ingredients. There’s nothing natural about them. This is the biggest lie in the grocery store.
• Remember that 85% of all human health issues and diseases are related to poor diet, and toxins in our foods. While accidents can be unavoidable, and our genetics are uncontrollable, you CAN control your diet. Tell yourself for good mental and physical health, “no more hyper-processed, meat- and sugar-heavy diet for me!”
• Whenever you can, BUY ORGANIC! Spend a little more up front, but if you don’t overbuy you won’t over-waste, therefore you might even SAVE money. And long-term, good health will save you LOTS of money through reduced risk of disability, fewer doctor-visit and ER and prescription co-pays! And frankly, who can put a price on good health?
• Finally, remember that food is medicine. Food affects EVERYTHING. Your physical well-being, your mental health, your happiness, your energy, your sleep, your ability to learn, your ability to make good decisions…all these are AFFECTED EVERY DAY BY THE FOOD THAT YOU EAT. You don’t have to eat perfectly, and occasional treats and slip-ups are okay, so long as you are eating good food most of the time (and drinking lots of water!).

Whether you’re a parent, grandparent, student, or young adult, ask yourself: do I want to feel better? You can! And the change will be felt within weeks, and sometimes in just days!

But every journey starts with the first step, and hopefully having read our Menu for Mental (and Physical!) Wellbeing you’ll find that the right first step to take.