What Predicts a Successful Life? A Life-Course Model of Well-Being.

What Predicts a Successful Life? A Life-Course Model of Well-Being.

Abstract

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If policy-makers care about well-being, they need a recursive model of how adult life-satisfaction is predicted by childhood influences, acting both directly and (indirectly) through adult circumstances. We estimate such a model using the British Cohort Study (1970). The most powerful childhood predictor of adult life-satisfaction is the child's emotional health. Next comes the child's conduct. The least powerful predictor is the child's intellectual development. This has obvious implications for educational policy. Among adult circumstances, family income accounts for only 0.5% of the variance of life-satisfaction. Mental and physical health are much more important.

https://ideas.repec.org/p/iza/izadps/dp7682.html

A high-fat diet may increase the risk of depression and other mental disorders, study suggests http://time.com/3761083/high-fat-diet-obesity-depression-linked-study/?xid=whatsappshare

A high-fat diet may increase the risk of depression and other mental disorders, study suggests

http://time.com/3761083/high-fat-diet-obesity-depression-linked-study/?xid=whatsappshare

What are positive self talk and negative self-talk?

What  is positive and negative self-talk?

Info source:

http://au.reachout.com/What-is-self-talk

So what is positive and negative self-talk?

Positive self-talk is the stuff that makes you feel good about yourself and the things that are going on in your life. It is like having an optimistic voice in your head that always looks on the bright side. 

Example – “These clothes look pretty awesome on me”, “I can totally make it through this exam”, “I don’t feel great right now but things could be worse!”

Negative self-talk is the stuff that makes you feel pretty crappy about yourself and things that are going on. It can put a downer on anything, whether it is good or bad. 

Example- “I look stupid in these clothes”, “everyone thinks I’m an idiot”, “everything is crap and nothing is going to get better”

Negative self-talk is particularly bad as it brings you down all the time. It can impact on recovery from mental health difficulties and tends to make people pretty miserable. But being positive all the time isn’t achievable either, and isn’t helpful all the time. So how can you make your self-talk work for you?

Understanding nutrition, depression and mental illnesses"

Research paper titled  "Understanding nutrition, depression and mental illnesses"

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2738337/#!po=16.6667

Iodine plays an important role in mental health

Iodine plays an important role in mental health. The iodine provided by the thyroid hormone ensures the energy metabolism of the cerebral cells. During pregnancy, the dietary reduction of iodine induces severe cerebral dysfunction, eventually leading to cretinism.

The above info is from:

The paper "Understanding nutrition, depression and mental illnesses"

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2738337/#!po=16.6667

Top 10 Stress-Fighting Foods and 4 Foods to Avoid (From todaysdietitian.com)

Info source:

http://www.todaysdietitian.com/healthandnutrition/health/fight-stress-with-food.shtml

Top 10 Stress-Fighting Foods

1. Spinach contains magnesium, which helps improve your body’s response to stress and may prevent migraine headaches.
2. Asparagus is a good source of folic acid, which produces serotonin and helps stabilize mood.
3. Beef helps stabilize mood by supplying zinc, iron, and B vitamins.
4. Dairy products such as milk and cottage cheese provide protein and calcium.
5. Nuts and seeds are good stress-fighting snacks. In addition to containing vitamin B12, magnesium, and zinc, almonds also provide vitamin E, which, like vitamin C, fights stress-related free radicals that cause heart disease. Walnuts and pistachios are known to lower blood pressure. Sunflower seeds include folate, which helps produce dopamine, a pleasure-inducing brain chemical.
6. Fruits such as oranges and blueberries contain vitamin C, which fights cancer-causing free radicals. Blueberries also counteract the effect of hormones such as cortisol, and bananas provide potassium, which lowers blood pressure.
7. Fish containing omega-3 fatty acids, such as salmon, can boost serotonin levels and limit the production of anxiety hormones such as adrenaline and cortisol.
8. Avocados are a good source of monounsaturated fat and potassium, which lower blood pressure.
9. Milk, including skim milk, is high in antioxidants and vitamins B2 and B12 and also provides protein and calcium, which can reduce muscle spasms and tension and soothe PMS.
10. Crispy rice cereal or corn flakes aren’t necessarily low in sugar; however, they offer B vitamins and folic acid, which reduce stress. Have a bowl of whole-grain cereal with milk for a stress-fighting breakfast.

4 Foods to Avoid
1. Caffeine, found in coffee, tea, soda, and chocolate, can cause anxiety and raise stress hormone levels.
2. Sugar causes spikes in blood glucose levels and increases insulin. This affects your adrenal glands, which regulate stress hormones and help the thyroid regulate body weight.
3. Trans fatty acids such as hydrogenated vegetable oil are found in many baked goods and can hinder the immune system and increase the risk of heart disease.
4. Alcohol puts more sugar in the body, and excessive consumption can damage the adrenal glands.

How food and food production are implicated in mental health (by Mental Health Foundation, UK)

Info source: http://www.mentalhealth.org.uk/content/assets/PDF/publications/Feeding-Minds.pdf

How food and food production are implicated in mental health

Most of the brain is derived directly from food. The last fifty years have witnessed remarkable alterations to what we eat, how we process and refine it, food additives, use of pesticides and the alteration of animal fats through intensive farming.

Changes to our diet in recent years mean that what we consume daily is very diff erent in its nutritional content from that of even our closest ancestors.

It has been estimated that the average person in the UK and other industrialised countries will eat more than
4 kilogrammes of additives every year. The impact of this situation is still controversial as Governments have
appeared reluctant to fund, conduct or publish rigorously controlled studies examining the eff ects of additives.

Changing methods of farming have also introduced higher levels and different types of fat into our diet.

For example, chickens now reach their slaughter weight twice as fast as they did thirty years ago, which has
changed the nutritional profile of the meat. Whereas a chicken carcass used to be 2% fat, it is now 22%.

Also, the diet fed to chickens has changed dramatically, which has reduced omega-3 fatty acids and increased omega-6 fatty acids in chicken meat. Similarly, the diet fed to farmed fi sh is changing the ratio of fatty acids in the fish we eat.

Info source: http://www.mentalhealth.org.uk/content/assets/PDF/publications/Feeding-Minds.pdf

The impact of food on mental health (by Mental Health Foundation, UK)

Please the pdf file at

http://www.mentalhealth.org.uk/content/assets/PDF/publications/Feeding-Minds.pdf

Have good mental health by doing something or enjoy (From Mental Health Foundation, UK)

What do you love doing?

What activities can you lose yourself in? 

What did you love doing in the past?

Enjoying yourself helps beat stress. 

Doing an activity you enjoy probably means you’re good at it and achieving something boosts your self-esteem.

Concentrating on a hobby like gardening or the crossword can help you forget your worries for a while and change your mood.

“I’m learning the guitar. You have to really concentrate on getting it right so there’s no room in my head for worries.”

It can be good to have an interest where you’re not seen as someone’s mum or dad, partner or employee. You’re just you.  

An hour of sketching lets you express yourself creatively. A morning on the football pitch gets you active and gives you the chance to meet new people.

Info source:

http://www.mentalhealth.org.uk/help-information/10-ways-to-look-after-your-mental-health/do-something-youre-good-at/?view=Standard

Diet for good mood and good mental health (by Mental Health Foundation, UK)

There are strong links between what we eat and how we feel, for example, caffeine and sugar can have an immediate effect.

But food can also have a long-lasting effect on your mental health. Your brain needs a mix of nutrients to stay healthy and function well, just like the other organs in your body.

A diet that’s good for your physical health is also good for your mental health.

A healthy balanced diet includes:

(1) Lots of different types of fruit and vegetables
(2) Wholegrain cereals or bread
(3) Nuts and seeds
(4) Dairy products
(5) Oily fish
(6) Plenty of water

Eat at least 3 meals each day and drink plenty of water. Try to limit how many high-caffeine or sugary drinks you have, and avoid too much alcohol.

Please Note: The advice on this page may not apply if your doctor or dietician have given you specific dietary advice, e.g. if you are a kidney patient or a diabetic.

The above info is from:

http://www.mentalhealth.org.uk/help-information/10-ways-to-look-after-your-mental-health/eat-well/?view=Standard

Diet for optimising mental health

The
info below has been extracted from source: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/m/pubmed/20232617/

When making dietary recommendations, clinicians should consider a low-glycemic, modified Mediterranean diet rich in fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and seafood (if not vegetarian) and low in processed, refined foods for optimizing mental health.