Julie's Blog
There’s no way around it. Food affects our mood, big time.
Just as eating starchy, refined carbohydrates—think pasta, white bread and other processed foods—makes us feel drowsy and sluggish, eating fresh, raw fruits and vegetables can have the opposite effect, brightening our mood and our outlook on life.
Fruits and veggies, most effective when eaten in their raw form, boost mental health, while also alleviating symptoms of depression, according to a new study published in the Frontiers of Psychology journal. The research suggests that there’s truth in the old saying, “You are what you eat.”
The notion that eating raw fruits and veggies can make us feel happy and improve our mental health is huge—particularly in a nation embroiled in a mental health crisis centered on depression and anxiety, among other mental health issues.
We live in a world where toxic chemicals that haven’t been tested for safety are lurking everywhere, including in our food, drinking water, personal care products, household cleaners, furniture, clothing, children’s toys and many other items. Chronic exposure to these chemicals, including endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs),is making us sick in ways we don’t yet fully understand, says green living expert and Mamavation.com founder Leah Segedie in her new book, “Green Enough: Eat Better, Live Cleaner, Be Happier.”
So-called “modern” food, produced through industrialized, chemical-intensive farming practices, is causing a host of chronic, hard-to-diagnose and hard-to-treat health problems in children and adults, say Michelle Perro, MD and Vincanne Adams, PhD, authors of “What’s Making Our Children Sick?”
The book explores the impact chronic exposure to toxins in our food—pesticides, hormones and antibiotics—is having on children, many of whom suffer from myriad health problems that are often linked to an impaired gut and overtaxed immune system.
It’s been an eventful week in federal court in San Francisco as expert witnesses face off on the science surrounding glyphosate, the key active ingredient in Monsanto’s Roundup weedkiller.
The outcome of the hearing, determined by U.S. Judge Vince Chhabria, will establish whether farmers and their families can proceed with legal action against Monsanto Co. over cancer concerns.
Our connection to nature is sacred, dating back to the beginning of our existence. It’s no wonder then that our health is intimately intertwined with the Earth—from the soil beneath our feet, to the food we eat, to the water we drink and to the air that fills our lungs.
In other words, nature determines our health, upon which much of our wellbeing—and even our happiness—depends.
This philosophy is the foundation for Dr. Maya Shetreat-Klein’s book, “The Dirt Cure: Growing Healthy Kids with Food Straight from Soil.” Dr. Shetreat-Klein is a pediatric neurologist, herbalist, naturalist and urban farmer based in New York City, where she raises chickens (a lifelong dream) and grows organic fruits and vegetables.
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