Thoughts affect our neurotransmitters. Cognitive Behavioural Therapy is useful to gain control over our thoughts, feelings and behaviour.

BODY:

Dietary triggers:

Unnatural food additives should be avoided completely. Check every label in your kitchen cupboard, and before purchasing, for food colourants (e.g. tartrazine, etc.), preservatives (e.g. sodium benzoate, etc.), sweeteners (e.g. aspartame, etc.) and flavour enhancers (e.g. monosodium glutamate (MSG), etc.). Avoid unhealthy drugs, caffeine, cocoa and sugar, as they are stimulants (deplete neurotransmitters) and spike blood sugar levels. If labels use E-numbers, you can search the E-numbers online.

Brain food:

A whole food diet is the most nutritious. We need the right nutrients to produce neurotransmitters. A three-grain breakfast (e.g. a two-grain porridge and a slice of homemade whole wheat bread for those who are not wheat sensitive) with fresh fruit and a blend of ground flaxseeds, sunflower seeds, sesame seeds and pumpkin seeds over porridge with a few walnuts provide omega 3 fatty acids (brain food), and help to stabilize blood sugar, which is also important for the brain as it uses glucose to function. Refined foods and refined sugar rob the brain of the stable supply of glucose it needs. Lunch/dinner can have one grain (e.g. brown rice or whole wheat pasta) with vegetables, legumes and a fresh salad.

Healthy digestive system for absorption of nutrients for the brain:

1. Avoid eating late at night. Your last meal must be 4 to 4 ½ hours before bedtime.

2. Avoid snacking between meals (drink water instead of snacking).

3. Avoid eating fruit and vegetables at the same meal (causes fermentation).

4. Avoid drinking liquids with meals (interferes with digestion - if you are thirsty during your meal, you didn’t drink enough water between your meals).

5. Avoid overeating.

6. Try to be calm and relaxed while eating.

7. Chew your food well.

8. Eat raw foods with each meal (fruit in the morning, salad in the afternoon) for enzymes - helps with digestion.

Healthy body and mind:

Exercise helps to balance mind and body. We also need to ensure we are drinking enough water, getting some sunshine (not sunburn), being self-disciplined by ensuring we eat at regular mealtimes for a stable blood sugar curve, getting fresh air and rest. Sleeping during the hours before midnight are most important for cell renewal as growth hormone is highest during this time of the night. Going to bed at 12 am robs us of that fresh feeling in the morning. Bedtime at 9 or 10 pm is much healthier. Stress, caffeine, cocoa (chocolate), smoking, alcohol and drugs deplete neurotransmitters.

SPIRIT:

A relationship with God, by reading the Bible and praying every day, gives us His peaceful, tranquil Spirit.