An article was recently published on PrecisionNutrition.net, a website I am very seriously considering joining (my hyper-analytical qualities prevent me from making a decision in less than 24 hours). Anyway, the author and founder of the website has a doctorate in nutrion science and has been in the fitness industry most of his career, when not spending time in an ivory tower conducting research in biochem type studies involving nutrition and performance.
Anyway, it was an interview discussing how food directly influences our mood, performance, and other astounding findings regarding the profound effects certain foods have on our overall well-being. For example, if you are having trouble staying motivated for a particular exercise program (90% of the populations' ears just perked up) then taking a quality omega-3 and a multi-vitamin will help keep you focused and on the right track. This occurs because if you feel that you don't have the right energy (multi vitamin usually increases energy) then you'll want to stay in a sedentary state for whatever excuses. If you feel that you are experiencing brain fog (omega-3 usually helps this) then you will have even less motivation to even find your shoes and get out the door!
I relate so well to this article because I have come accross numerous books, studies and supplements that have had astounding effects on people and their general fitness (exericse, energy levels, and cognitive funciton, mind well-being, etc.). I'll recommend a few books that correlate to this issue.
On a personal note, in my early years of personal training, I was approached by a vitamin company. Long story short, I started taking high quality omega-3's (omega-3's versus the other omega's, 6, 12, etc., because an American diet is loaded in the latter and not in the former which throw off your neurotransmitter balances, to name only one of the effects on brain function and mood), a multi-vitamin, and a few other supplements that I took sparingly. Anyway, my mood, my motivation, my cognitive abilities, attention span, skin health (which studies say is a direct reflection on brain health), and energy levels all improved dramatically. I was no longer drinking coffee because I had to, but because I wanted to. This is when I was eating cafeteria food in college, which was disgusting and probably not safe to be serving to people. So I wasn't getting the nutrition I needed. Not to say that vitamins replace a well-balanced diet, because they don't. They complement a diet that no longer gives us the nutritional needs it used to. BUT that is a different post.
I am not acting as an evangalist for any products, but this article is science based, which is what grabbed my attention. The link is below. Bobby Cappuccio is a well known leader/teacher in the fitness industry. I have used a few of his books and exercise recommendations as references in my own programs and have found favorable results.
Enjoy!
http://www.precisionnutrition.com/food-and-mood
