Mental Health Awarness
Bodi Buzz at “End The Silence For Mental Health” Event in Indianapolis, IN at the Edna Martin Christian Center on 5/10/24 with Jean Arnett (left), Brianna Bible (middle), and Cheyenne Hurt (right).
May is mental health awareness month if you did not know. Not only is it a month to celebrate recovery for mental illness but also to increase the importance of good mental health. Many view good mental health as having a peace of mind and fail to see the much deeper meaning. Mental health affects how we think, feel, and act. It also helps us determine how to handle stress, makes choices, and deal/relate with others. Having good mental health enables us to face difficult challenges with resilience and strength while connecting and improving community.
Right now, our mental health is under attack and it is up to us to fight to protect it. What do I man by that? Well, let me explain. Currently in America, 6/10 people have chronic diseases and that is rising as chemical dense processed foods and products are infiltrating our bodies and depriving us of minerals and poisoning our temples. With chronic diseases increasing, so are mental illness; with 4/10 people being impacted.
Poor diets = nutritional deficiencies. When our bodies lack natural nutrients like magnesium, iron, iodine, B-vitamins, etc. it has been seen that cognitive function is impacted affecting many processes and connections in the brain and body. Diets high in refined/processed sugar leads to excess glucose in the brain and studies have linked excess glucose consumption to memory and cognitive deficiencies. Now imagine already having pre-existing mental health problems like childhood abuse, bereavement, poverty, discrimination and adding in nutritional deficiencies. With these factors combined, we see an even bigger issue with combating mental illness because there is an imbalance in a very unstable body. With over half the population experiencing these health problems it is safe to say this is a “why” to our communities falling apart.
David joined the panel with other health professionals during the event to dive deeper into how to deal with mental illness and natural ways to combat it.
It was very important for us to share the relationship with mental illness and diet at the event. During the panel, David called out how the event was focused around mental illness, yet Hawaiian Fruit punch was being served which has ingredients like Red 40, Allura Red AC, Brilliant blue FCF, sodium polyphosphate, and sucralose. All of which are artificial chemicals been found to cause attention deficit disorders, hyperactivity, ADHD, increase heart disease, insulin sensitivity. They also had a vendor present selling candy, hot chips, and sugary drinks along with sugary store purchased cheese cakes. By calling these innocent examples out, the guest were able to see how weaponized the foods are that have been made available to us and how everyone who did indulge in these just contributed to negatively impacting not only their health, but their mental health also. Emphasizing the importance to read ingredients was a crowd take away. At Bodi Buzz, we believe that a natural diet is the best way to improve mental illnesses. When we know better we do better!
