Feeding Your Mind

[tilltheend]

TweetFeeding Your Mind

By Donna McIntosh

We are living in exciting times. All sciences have made great advances, including nutrition. Everyday new discoveries are made that expand and improve our knowledge about food and the health of humans. We are also living in a time when the origins, production, storing and processing of our foods are very different than they were even a generation ago.

What does this mean for your mental health? There are several factors involved.

But first, let’s look at some startling mental health statistics. One in four Americans has a diagnosable mental disorder. Insurance coverage is generally not that good, covering a $50,000 lifetime expense. Costs to treat mental health soared from 1996 to 2006, from $35 billion to almost $58 billion. The number of people seeking treatment also rose sharply, from 19 million to 36 million during the same decade.

Antidepressant use in the U. S. alone almost doubled from 1996 to 2005. In 2005, 10 percent of the U.S. population over the age of 6 – 27 million people – were using antidepressants. Compare that with 1996, when just under 6 percent, or 13 million people, used antidepressants.

It is estimated that over 500,000 Americans have Parkinson’s disease. The total cost of that to our nation is $6 billion annually.

Alzheimer’s disease is another major problem, with approximately 5.3 million victims. Alzheimer’s costs more than $148 billion each year to Medicare, Medicaid and businesses. In addition, families pay out of pocket an average of about $17,000 yearly to nursing homes or assisted living facilities and other caregivers.

Strokes also claim many. The estimated costs of ischemic stroke in the U.S. in the next half-century (2005 to 2050) will exceed $2.2 trillion! These costs include ambulances, hospitals, nursing homes, rehab clinics, drugs and more. Strokes are the third leading cause of death and the leading cause of disability.

The risk for all these illnesses, except for the need for antidepressants, increases with age, so these costs will increase as baby boomers start entering the high-risk years. Doctors and researchers are looking for ways to halt or delay these diseases. What about prevention? What happened to the old saying, “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure?” There aren’t too many guarantees in life, but if you feed your brain with good nutrition, you will help avoid these problems.

Let’s take a look and think about what and how we are feeding our brains. Most of your brain is derived directly from the foods you eat. The brain is no different than other organs and is very sensitive to the food and drink ingested. In order to remain healthy, it needs different amounts of complex carbohydrates, essential fatty acids, amino acids, vitamins, minerals and water. Our food has changed drastically with additives, pesticides and the foods fed to our farm animals. Americans spend 90 percent of their food budgets on processed foods. Stop! These processed foods have so many additives and flavorings (more than 3,000 cleared by the FDA for use) and more than 30,000 FDA-approved pesticides (in 1997, 4.6 billion pounds of them, were used). Can these harm your brain? I’d venture to say yes! What about farm animal feed? Genetically modified soy and corn are the staples, with other things thrown in the mix. Remember, lots of antibiotics and hormones are used to keep these caged animals quasi-healthy and to fatten them quickly for slaughter. When farm animals are free-range and grass-fed, these antibiotics are not necessary. Remember, you are what you eat. If you’re eating plants and animals that aren’t fed properly and aren’t healthy, then how can they be healthy for you?

[Dzone]

TweetHoly Balls! BigPharma is thrilled to death about this and wants to see it double again! Chaching $$$$chaching if youre a drug salesman

Antidepressant use in the U. S. alone almost doubled from 1996 to 2005. In 2005, 10 percent of the U.S. population over the age of 6 – 27 million people – were using antidepressants. Compare that with 1996, when just under 6 percent, or 13 million people, used antidepressants.

[MrzDiva]

TweetGreat post !