Nutrition

Your diet affects:

the brain neurochemistry that controls mood and response to stress
the way your brain and body interact
the higher brain functions that control learning, memory and intellectual functioning
Whether deciding what, when or how much to eat, the key is balance.  The strategies and tools outlined here will help you develop a more balanced approach to eating, and to incorporate some specific ideas that may lessen your mental health symptoms.

What am I eating now?
Making changes to how you eat is simple, but not easy.  Breaking bad habits and establishing new, healthy routines always requires patience. And because eating has both a physical and emotional component (providing comfort, familiarity, and even recreation), developing an achievable eating plan may be a particularly challenging part of your self-care plan.

To make a start, it’s good to first have a clear, honest picture of what you’re currently eating. The best way to see how you’re using food is to keep a food diary for one week, writing down what, when, and how much you’re eating. By also noting how you’re feeling at different points during the day in your food diary, you’ll get an even more complete picture of how your emotions and your eating behaviors may be interacting. See SuperTracker.usda.gov to complete an online food diary.

What should my food plan look like?
The U.S. Department of Agriculture recently moved away from the traditional “food pyramid” in favor of a new icon, called MyPlate. The MyPlate icon is easy to understand and it helps to promote healthy food choices based on the 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans.

The United States Department of Agriculture’s ChooseMyPlate website offers personalized eating plans and interactive tools to help you plan and assess your food choices based on American Dietary Guidelines.

The U-M Healing Foods Pyramid reflects the University’s latest thinking about the connection between what we eat and how we feel.

Tips for Healthy Eating

If you have a medical condition such as diabetes or food allergies, or other dietary restrictions including those related to taking certain psychiatric medications, you should follow your healthcare provider’s specific dietary recommendations. 

READ MORE on http://campusmindworks.org/students/self_care/nutrition.asp