A healthy nervous system is key to a relaxed mind, calm body and overall well-being. If you routinely suffer from anxiety, insomnia, muscle twitches, and/or low appetite, your nervous system may need some support. Let's look at ways to improve your nervous system naturally.
Let Food Be Your Medicine
A common but often overlooked cause of anxiety and other mental health problems is hidden food allergies and intolerances. The most common foods to cause allergic reaction with mental/emotional symptoms are gluten, artificial sweeteners and food additives. The best way to improve the nervous system naturally is to eliminate possible causes of anxiety and mental illness. For one week cut out all wheat, gluten, artificial sweeteners and anything containing additives from the diet and note how you feel. If there is an improvement in mood and well-being, you've narrowed down the culprit. Next, reintroduce each food one at a time to see what you react to. When you find it, you'll know and be able to completely eliminate it from the diet. It is important to note there are two artificial sweeteners that interfere with proper nervous system function. One is aspartame, the other is high fructose corn syrup. There are over 92 different symptoms of aspartame poisoning, a lot of them related to this specific system. Removing it from your diet completely will help improve nervous system function. High fructose corn syrup is another man-made sweetener that has been known to cause increased inflammation in the body, which can interfere with nervous system function.
Let Medicine Be Your Food
Now that you've eliminated the potential cause of a highly-stressed system, let's take a look at the foods designed by nature to enhance and support nervous system function. Foods rich in B vitamins, magnesium and omega-3 fatty acids are essential in repairing a damaged nervous system. Examples of foods rich in B vitamins are dark, leafy green vegetables, whole grain bread, eggs, legumes, berries and red meat. Foods high in magnesium include black beans, broccoli, squash, pumpkin seeds, cooked spinach and halibut. High doses of omega-3 fatty acids can be found in foods such as salmon, sardines, flax seeds, walnuts and cooked soybeans.
Magnesium - The Miracle Mineral
Magnesium is essential to proper neurological function as it helps regulate 300 of the body's enzymatic reactions. Those deficient in magnesium often suffer from anxiety, insomnia, twitching muscles and other neurological ailments. If you feel you are not getting enough magnesium from food, supplement with chelated magnesium. Unlike other magnesium supplements, chelated magnesium is bioavailable, meaning it is best absorbed by the body for maximum benefit. Another way to get the enzymes you need is to bathe in Epsom salt. Epsom salt is not salt but magnesium sulfate which easily absorbs through the skin, relaxing and soothing a frayed nervous system. It is important to note that if you are pregnant, diabetic or allergic to sulfur, you should not take an Epsom salt bath.
Chiropractic Care
Most people, when they think of chiropractic medicine, think of a doctor who treats the neck and back. It's so much more than that. Physical or mental trauma can block the brain's ability to communicate properly with the rest of the nervous system, resulting in anxiety, neurological complaints and a host of other difficult-to-diagnose diseases. By performing subtle manipulations of the spine, a chiropractor can help re-balance the nervous system by eliminating the block and re-establishing communication between the brain and the rest of the body.
By Kari Farmer
Let Food Be Your Medicine
A common but often overlooked cause of anxiety and other mental health problems is hidden food allergies and intolerances. The most common foods to cause allergic reaction with mental/emotional symptoms are gluten, artificial sweeteners and food additives. The best way to improve the nervous system naturally is to eliminate possible causes of anxiety and mental illness. For one week cut out all wheat, gluten, artificial sweeteners and anything containing additives from the diet and note how you feel. If there is an improvement in mood and well-being, you've narrowed down the culprit. Next, reintroduce each food one at a time to see what you react to. When you find it, you'll know and be able to completely eliminate it from the diet. It is important to note there are two artificial sweeteners that interfere with proper nervous system function. One is aspartame, the other is high fructose corn syrup. There are over 92 different symptoms of aspartame poisoning, a lot of them related to this specific system. Removing it from your diet completely will help improve nervous system function. High fructose corn syrup is another man-made sweetener that has been known to cause increased inflammation in the body, which can interfere with nervous system function.
Let Medicine Be Your Food
Now that you've eliminated the potential cause of a highly-stressed system, let's take a look at the foods designed by nature to enhance and support nervous system function. Foods rich in B vitamins, magnesium and omega-3 fatty acids are essential in repairing a damaged nervous system. Examples of foods rich in B vitamins are dark, leafy green vegetables, whole grain bread, eggs, legumes, berries and red meat. Foods high in magnesium include black beans, broccoli, squash, pumpkin seeds, cooked spinach and halibut. High doses of omega-3 fatty acids can be found in foods such as salmon, sardines, flax seeds, walnuts and cooked soybeans.
Magnesium - The Miracle Mineral
Magnesium is essential to proper neurological function as it helps regulate 300 of the body's enzymatic reactions. Those deficient in magnesium often suffer from anxiety, insomnia, twitching muscles and other neurological ailments. If you feel you are not getting enough magnesium from food, supplement with chelated magnesium. Unlike other magnesium supplements, chelated magnesium is bioavailable, meaning it is best absorbed by the body for maximum benefit. Another way to get the enzymes you need is to bathe in Epsom salt. Epsom salt is not salt but magnesium sulfate which easily absorbs through the skin, relaxing and soothing a frayed nervous system. It is important to note that if you are pregnant, diabetic or allergic to sulfur, you should not take an Epsom salt bath.
Chiropractic Care
Most people, when they think of chiropractic medicine, think of a doctor who treats the neck and back. It's so much more than that. Physical or mental trauma can block the brain's ability to communicate properly with the rest of the nervous system, resulting in anxiety, neurological complaints and a host of other difficult-to-diagnose diseases. By performing subtle manipulations of the spine, a chiropractor can help re-balance the nervous system by eliminating the block and re-establishing communication between the brain and the rest of the body.
By Kari Farmer
