Essential Nutrients To Promote Brain Function

Apr 20, 2024

Nutrition, Physical Therapy, Nutrition, Aches & Pains

Have you been dealing with mental fog and difficulty concentrating? Do you find it challenging to keep your energy up at work? You may have a nutrition problem, and adding the proper nutrients can make all the difference!

At Element Physical Therapy, our physical therapists will provide you with all the tools you need to function at your highest potential, eat healthier, and live a healthy life. Our physical therapists are musculoskeletal experts, so we are highly trained in all components of health and well-being, including proper nutrition.

We address the whole person, which means we manage all aspects of health for optimal results. Our therapists stay up-to-date on proven strategies to ensure your body is getting the right fuel to keep your brain functioning at its best.

Our physical therapists will work with you at Element Physical Therapy, from preventing injuries to rehabilitation and beyond. Our goals are for you to be the healthiest version of yourself!

If you have been struggling to get by and feel like your diet may be contributing to your issues, contact our office today!

What is an unhealthy diet?

Although there isn’t necessarily a perfect diet for everyone, some essential key nutrients help our brain function optimally. We are all unique, with differences in genetics, physical activity, and cultural backgrounds that affect our diet. Fortunately, a growing body of evidence supports the benefits of eating a healthy, well-balanced diet.

Too often, the latest claims about most diets are inaccurate. These fad diets may, at times, and for some people, provide short-term results. They are not based on a lifestyle change towards healthy eating. Just because something seems to work for some time doesn’t mean it is the ideal way to keep your health, and specifically your brain, functioning at its best

It is also common for these fad diets to become increasingly difficult to maintain. As soon as the diet ends, most people resort to eating poorly again, and the effects on the body make it even more challenging to keep your brain free of mental fog.

This so-called “yo-yo dieting” is extremely common and harmful to your overall health and well-being. Some universally agreed-upon food types contribute to poor brain health, including the following:

Refined and added sugars
Refined and processed foods
Excessive alcohol consumption

The only thing that can give you actual long-term results is to make a lifestyle change that focuses on adopting a healthy lifestyle. This means understanding how your nutrition affects your brain over the long term so you can have a lifetime of improved health and mental clarity.

How can an anti-inflammatory diet help?

Food has a significant impact on how your brain functions. Eating unhealthy foods will lead to systemic (whole-body) inflammation. The worse your diet, the more susceptible you are to developing chronic dysfunction. In addition, your diet affects your energy level, mood, and ability to recover from injuries and illnesses.

Nutrition plays a crucial role in reviving the health of our joints, muscles, and the overall ability of our brain and body to function. Your body and brain need proper nutrients for a healthy recovery. The Mediterranean Diet has consistently provided the proper nutrients for overall brain health and physical well-being.

The Mediterranean diet is an example of a nutritionally-sound lifestyle plan mainly consisting of plant-based foods and moderate amounts of dairy, fish, poultry, and red meat. Multiple research studies have linked the Mediterranean diet with overall health, lower body weight, and cognitive functioning.

The most important effects the Mediterranean Diet has on the body include the following:

Brain functioning and mental clarity
Anti-inflammation
Reduction in harmful fats in the blood
Improved gut microbiome, which is linked to improved overall health
Protection/assistance in the treatment of cancer
Weight loss and maintenance of healthy weight

Nutrition can be challenging to keep up with and follow due to the countless recommendations and stories in the news. Fortunately, at Element Physical Therapy, our physical therapists offer nutrition counseling as part of our recommendations for optimal brain function and return to an active, healthy life!

What to expect at physical therapy

Our physical therapists will start with a comprehensive evaluation that includes a nutritional assessment to identify all the factors contributing to your condition. Our examination will consist of a thorough history to understand more about the types of foods you are eating and how nutrition affects your cognitive and physical function.

We need to understand all the demands on the body, including our nutrition, to determine our overall health status. Next, your MT physical therapists will use this information to develop a comprehensive program that includes targeted manual techniques, mobility work, strengthening, and appropriate pain relief techniques for the individual to ensure recovery from any physical ailment.

In addition, we will educate and support you by implementing the changes you need to make to your lifestyle. Our Element Physical Therapy physical therapists will incorporate nutritional recommendations with our treatments to assist you in a safe return to exercise and a healthier way of living.

Every good therapy program will include nutritional and injury prevention strategies that ensure you stay doing what you love!

Call for an appointment at Element Physical Therapy and get started today!

At Element Physical Therapy, our licensed physical therapists can help you recover from any pain or injury as quickly as possible so you can get back to living your life without limitations. We will emphasize lifestyle changes, including proper nutrition, to ensure your brain is functioning at its best!

Call us today to request an appointment with one of our specialists!

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Essential Nutrients To Promote Brain Function