Calming your brain

Stress and anxiety can affect the way the brain works (read more

about how to calm your brain in Chapter 10). Although most

people do feel anxious about certain things, feeling anxious all the

time (chronic anxiety) isn’t the norm. If you’re experiencing symp-

toms such as frequent headaches, sweating, or hypertension that

manifest in high-pressure situations, see your doctor right away.

Follow these tips to keep your brain calm and healthy:

 ✓ Avoid sugary and processed foods. In Chapter 12 I discuss

how sugar is not brain food. Sugar can also affect your mental

health. If you can’t completely cut out processed foods, which

contain a lot of sugar, try to limit them as a treat on the week-

ends, instead of making sugary foods part of your daily allow-

ance. Examples of sugary and processed foods are muffins

and chocolate bars. But most foods, including some labelled

as ‘health food’, can contain more sugar than your body

needs. So just check the label to make sure that your body

is getting the right fuel for your brain. Recommended daily

amounts are usually listed in a separate column to the actual

contents of the food on labels, so compare the two to make

sure that your intake doesn’t exceed this amount.

 ✓ Boost your grains. Some people prefer to avoid medication

and rely on a natural way to calm the brain. A food plan rich

in complex carbohydrates can achieve that. Pick foods that

are rich in whole grains, such as lentils and bran.

 ✓ Drink your juice. Drink citrus juices in particular – like orange

juice. But try to get fresh juice and not processed or sweet-

ened juice. Add a squeeze of orange to your salad; throw in

some orange wedges into your salad or even your chicken

dish; or, at the very least, add some to your water. Read

Chapter 12 for more ideas on how juice can help your brain.

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