healthy breakfastImage Credit source: Pexels
Along with physical health, food plays a big role in improving mental health. For this, it is advised to adopt a balanced diet and right lifestyle. The nutritional value and benefits of each food are different. It is said that including foods rich in Omega-3 fatty acids in the diet is good for both brain and skin. Recently, a study has claimed that this thing eaten as a snack in winter can help in improving memory.
In this research it has been told about peanuts, eating it also helps in improving blood flow in the brain. Therefore it can be beneficial for mental health. Let us know about this entire research and how peanuts can be included in the diet.
What does the study say?
Researchers from Maastricht University Medical Center in the Netherlands have done this study. This study was conducted on 31 healthy elderly people aged 60 to 75 years. The study was named “Skin Roasted Pinots”. In this, the participants were given 60 grams of peanuts daily for 16 weeks. He could eat it any time throughout the day, morning or evening. After this, when his brain function was tested, the results were found shocking.
Peanuts (Credit: Pexels)
Researchers found that eating peanuts daily improved blood flow to the brain of those people, in which cerebral blood flow increased by about 3.6%. Blood flow increased in those parts of the brain which are related to memory. Improvement in memory was observed. The study found that verbal memory, i.e. the ability to remember verbal information, improved by about 5.8%. But it is not necessarily the same for everyone. Because everyone’s body needs and medical conditions are different.
Expert opinion
Holistic Dietitian and Integrative Therapeutic Nutritionist Dr. Geetika Chopra Told that peanuts are a source of healthy fat. MUFA and PUFA are found in it. We should understand that the main structure of the brain is made of fat. If there is a deficiency of it in the diet, then there may be problems related to focus, memory and decision making ability. Peanuts contain vitamin B3 (niacin) which helps in improving blood circulation in the brain and reduces the risk of memory loss with age.
Magnesium and antioxidants are also found in peanuts, which regulate stress hormones, thereby reducing problems like stress, overthinking and mental restlessness. Experts say that the brain needs slow and steady fuel, not a sugar rush, and peanuts do exactly the same thing. Therefore peanuts are considered beneficial for mental health.
Peanuts are beneficial for mental health (Credit: Pexels)
The expert said that in his practice, he has seen many clients who came with problems like low concentration, mental fatigue and burnout and they were advised to eat soaked peanuts as it gets easily digested. In about 2 to 3 weeks, they themselves noticed that the brain is feeling more alert, things are being understood faster and the mental fatigue of the day is reducing. Stress and anxiety can also be gradually managed with this, because foods containing magnesium and healthy fats help in calming the nervous system.
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Include it in your diet like this
Peanuts can be included in the diet in many ways, not just by soaking them, such as eating simple peanut chutney, mixing peanuts in poha, snacking on dry roasted peanuts or sprinkling peanut powder on salads and fruits. But keep in mind that it should be eaten in limited quantity, along with this, people who are allergic to it can suffer harm from eating peanuts.
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