Hustle Culture, Nutrition, and Mental Health
For the entire month of August, we are focusing on hustle culture and nutrition and how it affects mental health. Our goals this month are to hydrate and to have five servings of fruit and vegetables a day. And while it may seem a lot, I think even adding one extra serving per day can be helpful.
Let’s dive in!
What is Hustle Culture?
So as we look at hustle culture, what I'm referencing is the culture in America, where we just keep working and working and driving and driving toward more success. Hustle culture can get in the way of rest, of good mental health, and it can get in the way of life balance.
When we examine hustle culture, we see that society rewards us for participating in it. Being busy is worn as a badge of honor by many people and our culture admires people who are able to ignore when they are sick and do whatever it takes to “get the job done.” Qualities such as grit, persistence and grinding are seen as uniformly beneficial, even when they are prioritized over connections with others, rest and moderation.
This can affect how we prioritize the small things that help us stay physically and mentally healthy, such as adequate hydration and nutrition.
The Importance of Hydration
Hydration is the fuel to all of your body’s functions. It affects how our brain works and our energy levels. Rather than trying to push a certain number of ounces of water per day, we want you to examine your urine. Yep, your urine! Everybody is different, so it’s important to hydrate adequately according to your body’s needs.
So when you urinate, if your urine is pale yellow or clear, you are drinking enough water! If it's bright or deep yellow, well, then it’s time to drink up!
5 Essential Nutrients
Nutrition is another area that can become deprioritized when we are deep into hustle culture. There are five essential nutrients that we all need in order to have better body and brain function. These nutrients are
vitamin D
vitamin B
magnesium
omega-three fatty acids
a pro probiotic.
The research (found here) suggests that if you are able to, request a blood panel to test these levels in your own body and then work with your medical professional to decide how to incorporate more of those nutrients.
Vitamin D is helpful in the production of adrenaline, noradrenaline, and dopamine, and it helps with brain function. A lack of vitamin D can lead to fatigue, muscle weakness, hair loss, back pain, poor skin healing, bone pain, and mood changes.
Recently I was talking with my doctor about my fatigue and they ran a panel, and I was low in vitamin D. I was able to take one pill a week for six weeks for my vitamin D deficiency and it's really helped a lot.
Vitamin B s important because a lack thereof can contribute to depression, anxiety, and mood swings, and it can be consumed in the form of folate. Some of the food we can consume that contain folate are dark green vegetables, beans, peas, citrus fruits, and legumes such as lentils and garbanzo beans. I love hummus, so I probably get most of my folate from hummus and kale.
Deficiency in magnesium can contribute to anxiety, confusion, insomnia, or headache. I remember a client I was working with years ago who started using magnesium as a supplement and reported that it really helped his anxiety. I was having trouble sleeping, so I took a magnesium supplement, which also helped me.
Omega three fatty acids are vital for brain function. It supports mental sharpness and a positive mood. Oily fish is a great way to get your omega threes!
Probiotics are also very important because our mental health is what is linked strongly to our gut health. And when we are having problems with our gut health, we might want to take a look at what is also happening in our mental health and with our mood. A probiotic is a mix of live bacteria and yeast that live naturally in the gut, and taking a probiotic can help mitigate ATD or ADHD and reduce anxiety, depression, and Alzheimer's Disease. You can ingest probiotics in the form of fermented foods, such as yogurt, non-GMO miso, combo G, and Kimchi and sauerkraut.
We recommend that you get the nutrients you need from whole foods when possible. Supplements can be used when needed but make sure you research the supplement company and how their ingredients are sourced as not all supplements are high quality.
Diets and Mental Health
Certain types of diets and eating programs can affect our mental health and can contribute to different moods. There are several theories about how diet may influence mood or the risk of conditions such as depression and anxiety.
One thing that has been studied quite a bit lately is the role that inflammation may play in our mental health and various mental conditions such as depression, anxiety, and Alzheimer's. And while we are still researching that, there are many scientists that believe that inflammation can create very significant challenges to our mental health.
One way to fight inflammation is to eat whole foods, plant-based as much as you can, and to make sure that you're eating foods that will provide you with those essential nutrients that you need so that your body has a chance to operate most functionally and our brain follows suit.
One dilemma we face as part of the hustle culture is that in order to change our eating habits, it requires enough time and energy to plan and prepare food differently. When we are always in hustle mode, it's really difficult to slow down enough to prioritize healthy eating and our gut biome.
We can positively impact our gut biome just by adding an increased serving of fruit or vegetables every day. Fresh or frozen fruit and vegetables are much better than canned, nutrient-wise! This is because canned vegetables and fruit often lose a lot of nutritional value.
Two main questions that researchers are asking in regards to nutrition and mental health are 1) do diet help improve mental health conditions, and 2) are our nutrition interventions helpful in treating these conditions? The more healthy we eat, in terms of eating unprocessed foods and adding lots of fresh food to our diet, will also help raise levels of essential nutrients in our body, and will give our gut biome a chance to be restored to a more healthy place.
Research continues to support the idea that a Mediterranean style of eating is very helpful for our bodies. This would include high intakes of fruit and vegetables, whole grains, olive oil, fish, low fat, dairy, and antioxidants, as well as a low intake of animal foods. This type of eating pattern, the Mediterranean diet, has been researched in nutrition for over three decades, and the results continued to indicate that it's a very solid healthful way to eat, and a way to help your body repair, help your brain function, and to help your mood and your gut biome.
As we move forward in this month, keep in mind that we're taking these steps so that we can continue to build on a foundation of health with our whole body, our whole mind, and our whole spirit. And that by attending to our physical health and nutrition, we can positively impact all parts of us.
If you are ready to start prioritizing your mind, body, and spirit, I urge you to look into The Whole Health Lab. It is a program designed for high-achieving women who are ready to level up their entire being and break generational cycles.
