(NaturalHealth365)  Did you know food can help you beat depression and improve your brain function?  Some foods do this better than any medication.  The key is to eat foods that are high in polyphenols.  These compounds are found in plant foods and reduce oxidative stress while improving ‘synaptic plasticity’ – which makes you mentally sharper and promotes a good mood.

To understand the importance of learning how to beat depression and improve your thought processes – you need to know that chronic negative emotional states and poor brain function can lead to more serious neurodegenerative diseases.  But, the good news, a 2021 study published in the journal  Molecules showed the powerful effects of polyphenols in combating psychiatric disorders and improving cognitive performance.

In other words, you can clear your mind and feel better just by eating the correct foods.

Never forget:  Food is the key to healthy brain function

Rather than taking dangerous drugs with numerous side effects – many of which are not even proven to work – why not take charge of your own health by eating the right foods?  Remember, healthy foods do more than just give you a healthy body.  According to the above-referenced study, polyphenols found in parsley and their antioxidant capacity exert anxiolytic and antidepressant effects.  Several other studies have also demonstrated that diets that are high in plants, including fruits and vegetables, can improve brain function and mood in a significant and noticeable way.

These foods promote such things as:

• Calmness
• Happiness
• More energy
• Improved mental focus

Real case studies prove brain benefits of healthy plant foods

The many brain benefits of plant foods have already been proven in numerous case studies and through plentiful anecdotal evidence.  For example, people who have been interested in how to treat depression because they suffer from it themselves have found a diet rich in the correct foods to be enormously helpful.

According to the Washington Post, many have found that when they eliminate known mood-affecting foods such as gluten and artificial ingredients, they experience a significant increase in happiness and clarity of thought, sometimes for the first time in decades.

Understanding the food-mind/body connection

Scientists have been looking for a provable connection between food and the mind for a long time – as food’s effect on the body has long been known.  Finally, recent studies seem to suggest they’ve found it.  Michael Berk, a professor of Psychiatry at Deakin University in Australia, reported that the results of recent studies regarding food’s connection to mental health have consistently shown a definite link.

If you want to know how to support your mental health and have better clarity of mind, eat a diet rich in polyphenols and experience the results yourself.  The more of this substance a food has, the more it will improve your mental health.

Some of the best examples of foods rich in polyphenols include dark-colored fruits (like blueberries and blackberries), herbal teas, dark chocolate, flax seeds, and hazelnuts.  Add these delicious foods to your diet and enjoy the benefits.

Sources for this article include:

NIH.gov
NIH.gov
WashingtonPost.com
MikeRousseell.wpengine.com