You Are What You Eat...and Think!

We all know the old saying "You are What you Eat" - hence the importance of good nutrition. But what about your thoughts...do they impact your physical health?

A new study in the American Journal of Epidemiology reports that happiness and your attitude affects your health in ways you may not have realized. Research has shown time and again how our thoughts (mind) affect our health (body). The mind-body connection is undeniably linked - so watch your thoughts! Negative thoughts, feelings and attitudes decrease your vitality & overall health.

The study, which involved almost 3000 British adults, found that those with upbeat moods had lower levels of the stress hormone, cortisol. We know scientifically that chronic exposure to cortisol (which most of us are exposed to because of our stressful lives!) can result in high blood pressure, abdominal obesity and compromised immune function (ie. you get sick easily when you're stressed!) - to name a few. This was seen to be the case, even when factors such as age, weight, smoking and income were taken into account.

As well in this study, subjects who reported more positive emotions had lower levels of two marker proteins for inflammation. With lower levels of inflammation in the body - the risk of heart disease and cancer is reduced - no kidding! Inflammation has been linked to a number of chronic diseases and yes, happier people have been shown to have lower levels of inflammatory processes going on - as proved again in this study.

In a nutshell - your thoughts, emotions and attitude can have a dramatic impact on your short-term and long-term health status. And really, it makes complete sense - we know when we're stressed and therefore feeling bad we are more prone to ilness. On the other hand, we know feeling happy feels good - a difficult environment for disease to manifest!

Although we may not be able to eliminate stress (wishful thinking if one thinks we could!) - its HOW we REACT and RESPOND to stress that really can make or break it when it comes to our health. Most of the time, stress is self-imposed and can be handled in more effective ways.

If we all just smiled more, let things roll off our shoulders and realized the world isn't ending with every blip in the road, we'd be a happier, healthier bunch!

So, next time you feel stressed, angry or have a negative attitude - remember, your thoughts are affecting much more than the present moment - they are setting a footprint for your health. So choose your thoughts & feelings wisely - You are what you Think!

Comments

[amreen]

those words really ring true, Dr. Shamira. It's often when i'm at some emotional low that I will get sick. what do you recommend for coping with stress in such a way that it doesn't affect our health?

[Savia]

Mind over body is the best way to describe how our mental health influences our physical well-being. Even though most of us know this, we tend to slip up. Any suggestions on how to focus on the positive and ignore the negative?

[blog traffic]

Nice informative blog.
-umesh

[Dr. Shamira]

Thanks for your comments Amreen & Savia - in terms of coping with stress - man's eternal question - I think one way to do so is to really be present in the moment, take a breath and really ask yourself if its worth getting worked up about. Also, being aware of your thoughts and remembering that you are NOT your thoughts or your mind and, therefore, you have control over how you think, feel and act. That awareness can bring you much peace.

Also regarding how to focus on the positive - one word: Gratitude. If you can find something to be thankful for - then its not so effortful and your energy shifts to that of negative to one of positivity, automatically. Its truly amazing. Next time you are feeling negative (ie. someone/something bothers you) - think of one thing you can be thankful for in that moment - perhaps that person or thing is teaching you a lesson about yourself??.....