You are what you eat

I know you’ve all heard the expression. They say the human body is about 60 percent water. Taken to its literal end, that means I’m probably about 40 percent cheeseburgers, peanut butter sandwiches and chocolate chip cookies.

It’s a little bit of a silly saying, conjured up years ago, probably my some wise mother trying to convince her children to eschew junk food in favor of fruits and vegetables. I know I had it used on me when I was a kid. I used it on my kids when they were little (and in all honesty, I kind of need to use it on myself these days).

And while there’s definitely something to it. What we consume in our daily diet can have a huge impact on our physical health. Too many of the wrong kinds of foods can cause heart disease, diabetes, high blood pressure, etc. And conversely, a healthy diet can have a positive effect on your body.

The thing is, the exact same adage can be applied to our brains. You’ve also probably heard another saying, “Garbage in, garbage out.” What we fill our minds with can have a positive or negative effect on our thinking, our behavior and our overall mental health.

If you spend your free time reading, what do you read?

Do you read novels, historical biographies, the news, trashy romances? What you read, watch on TV or see on the internet fills your mind and much of it stays in there, cluttering your thoughts.

I saw a recent article warning against the dangers of “doom-scrolling”… that is, just scrolling through post after post of negativity on the internet. It’s not healthy. It can lead to depression and despondency.

Remember, you need mental “fruits and veggies” too!