Eating is an essential part of human life and it turns out that not only what we eat but when we eat can impact our brains. Irregular eating times have been shown to contribute to poor mental health, including depression and anxiety, as well as to cardio-metabolic diseases and weight gain.The circadian clock system is responsible for aligning our internal processes at optimal times of the day based on cues from the environment such as light or food. Fortunately, it is possible to leverage our eating rhythms to limit negative moods and increase mental health.

When you eat matters

The circadian clock system is responsible for aligning our internal processes at optimal times of the day based on cues from the environment such as light or food. <ul><li>Although the main clock manages metabolic function over the day-night cycle, our eating rhythms also impact the main clock. </li><li>When the main circadian clock in the brain is out of sync with eating rhythms, it impacts the brain’s ability to function fully. Even though the brain is only 2% of our total body mass, it consumes up to 25% of our energy.  So abnormal meal times are bound to have negative health outcomes.</li></ul>

How eating rhythms impact the brain

<ul><li>There is an overlap between neural circuits governing eating and mood. Also, digestive hormones exert effects on dopamine, a neurotransmitter that plays a large role in mood, energy, and pleasure. </li><li>Individuals with depression and bipolar disorder have abnormal dopamine levels. Altered eating rhythms are thought to contribute to the poor maintenance of mood.</li><li>Irregular eating may even play a role in the complex underlying causes of mood disorders. Despite this evidence, assessing eating rhythms is not currently part of standard clinical care in most psychiatric settings.</li></ul>

Food and mood

This is also known as intermittent fasting.<ul><li>TRE involves restricting the eating window to a certain amount of time during the day, typically four to 12 hours. For example, choosing to eat all meals and snacks in a 10-hour window from 9:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. reflects an overnight fasting period. </li><li>Evidence suggests that this method optimizes brain function, energy metabolism, and the healthy signaling of metabolic hormones.</li><li>TRE has already been shown to prevent depressive and anxiety symptoms in animal studies designed to model shift work. </li></ul>

Optimizing eating rhythms: time-restricted eating (TRE)

We live in a 24-hour world filled with artificial light and round-the-clock access to food. That makes the effects of disturbed eating rhythms on mental health an important topic for modern life. For the general population, it is important to increase public knowledge on accessible and affordable ways to maintain healthy eating. This includes paying attention not only to the content of meals but also to eating rhythms.

Circadian rhythms in a 24-hour world

Healthy eating is not just what you eat, but when you eat. Eating rhythms that are in sync with the circadian clock can benefit general well-being and may have a protective effect against mental illness.

food

Food

health

Health

How your eating rhythms impact your mental health

When we nap, sleep pressure is released, increasing cognitive function, performance and memory while reducing stress and sleepiness.A successful power nap should leave you feeling refreshed and prepared to cruise through your to-do list in no time.

Power Naps

Enjoying a coffee 15-20 minutes before lying down helps to prevent the brain from absorbing adenosine, a chemical that causes drowsiness and sleep. By the time you wake up, the caffeine will have kicked in, providing an extra jolt of energy.

Start with a Cup of Coffee

<ul><li>Noise-free, dark and cool (60-67 degree Fahrenheit/15-22 degree Celsius) environments are most conducive to productive sleep. </li><li>Try to wind down before attempting to sleep. Perhaps try a short meditation, go for a walk outside, or listen to calm music.</li><li>If you have been trying to fall asleep for longer than you’d like, but still can’t seem to relax and go to sleep, it can be a good idea to get up.</li><li>To aid sleep, the sleeping space should be used for sleeping, and when we can’t sleep and start to worry, we start to relate that place to worry instead of the ability to relax and to sleep.</li></ul>

Set the Stage

Naps that exceed 20 minutes can increase sleep inertia, or in layman’s terms — give you that heavy feeling after you wake up. Sleep inertia happens when you awake from a deep sleep. <ul><li> To ensure you are hitting the power nap ‘sweet spot,’ set your alarm for 15-20 minutes. The exception to this rule is if you’re sleep-deprived and have the luxury of being able to nap long enough to complete a full sleep cycle, which is at least 90 minutes.</li><li>The best time to nap is between 1PM – 3PM when most of us experience a natural dip in energy. </li></ul>

Timing is Everything 

Did you know there are a few things that could be hindering your power nap? The next time your post-lunch yawn sets in, consider these three go-to tips.

productivity

Productivity

timemanagement

Time Management

Mastering the Art of the Power Nap: 3 Go-To Tips

Walking is an easy and accessible form of exercise that can combat brain ageing and memory loss.Whether it was the <a href="https://www.stylist.co.uk/fitness-health/best-at-home-workouts-tutorial-exercise-tips/369685">easiest form of movement </a>or a way to get some <a href="https://www.stylist.co.uk/fitness-health/wellbeing/walking-mindful-hiking-fitness-mental-health/441404">headspace</a>, the past year has shown the <a href="https://www.stylist.co.uk/fitness-health/walking-benefits-vs-running-best-exercise-to-do-when-injured/372192">benefits of walking</a> in our day-to-day lives. Just because <a href="https://www.stylist.co.uk/tag/walking">lockdown </a>is easing, it doesn’t mean that the love affair with walking will end either. 60% of people say they will continue to use walking as one of their main ways <a href="https://www.stylist.co.uk/fitness-health/benefits-of-walking-more-moderate-daily-exercise/401682">of keeping fit</a> in 2021, according to research.

Walking Daily

While it isn’t as high intensity as other forms of cardio such as running, it is effective in its own right, and no matter how fit you are, it is extremely beneficial. Walking is particularly good for people who suffer from “knee, ankle or back problems as it can reduce pain and improve your circulation and posture.There are a whole load of benefits you can get from walking. It can help you improve your breathing, lower your heart rate, feel happier, become more connected to your environment, and experience less pain if you struggle with pain-related health issues.

Benefits Of Walking Are Underrated

<a href="https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/exercise/">According to the NHS</a>, adults should be doing at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity activity a week. Walking counts towards this weekly exercise goal, and can help you build stamina and improve cardiovascular health – <a href="https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/exercise/walking-for-health/">but you have to make sure you’re going at a “brisk” pace</a>.Other experts conclude that a daily walk of at least 30 minutes is the best way to increase cardiovascular fitness, help to strengthen your bones and boost <a href="https://www.stylist.co.uk/fitness-health/what-is-strength-endurance-training/388046">muscle endurance </a>and power.

Recommended Amount Of Walking

Practising <a href="https://www.stylist.co.uk/fitness-health/best-upper-body-exercises-improve-posture/408894">good posture</a> is important while <a href="https://www.stylist.co.uk/fitness-health/workouts/walking-with-weights-benefits/463955">walking</a> to ensure the exercise is comfortable and efficient. That means you should keep your head up, lengthen your back, drop your neck and shoulders, and try to engage your core. You also need to make sure you swing your arms with each step to create momentum.

Tips To Get The Maximum Traction

The benefits of walking every day on our cardiovascular system, according to fitness experts. Plus, how often do we need to walk to reach our weekly exercise goals?

exerciseandfitness

Exercise & Fitness

Is a daily walk enough exercise to keep you fit? 

Back in the wild old days, my best buddy and I used to call going out “looking for trouble”. We weren’t hoping for a punch-up or a little light robbery, but a spontaneous adventure involving music, strangers or just the city at night. All that spur-of-the-moment fun has taken quite a beating since the pandemic began, for many millions of us. First came the lockdowns, social distancing and closed venues, then the cautious reopening when even a trip to the pub or an art gallery had to be booked weeks in advance.

Fun comes so much from spontaneity – doing things and not thinki

We also need spontaneity to embrace change, says the clinical psychologist and writer Linda Blair. “And change is necessary for progress of any sort. Spontaneity makes us happier, too.” In 2016, a team of Austrian and Italian researchers found that people with less spontaneity in their lives experienced greater “psychological suffering”.

Psychological Suffering

The best way forward at the moment, says Blair, “is to turn things on their head and instead of talking about trying to be spontaneous, you say: ‘There is no other way to be right now.’” Now is the time for seizing the day and moving with your heart, or your gut. “You want to go to your favourite restaurant?” asks Blair. “Don’t plan it – go there today, while it’s still open.”

Triggers are things that keep us acting automatically. The cookie jar that makes us think we’re hungry. The phone ping that takes us into a rabbit hole and delays making lunch by 45 minutes. Triggers are not spontaneity’s friends. So Blair’s top tip for starting the day free of our inner naysayers and triggers is to write down all your thoughts first thing in the morning, before you do anything else. This process is called the Morning Pages and was devised by the writer Julia Cameron, originally as part of what she called the Artist’s Way – a method for unblocking creativity.

"the lack of fun that’s available to them. And fun comes so much from spontaneity – doing things and not thinking too much about it, connecting with people, doing an activity and being allowed to take it in unexpected directions.”

One of the barriers is people wanting to stay in their comfort zones, where it’s safe, predictable, ordered and people know how things are going to go. The comfort zone can be useful – especially at the moment, when we need to keep safe, but there’s a danger of talking ourselves out of adventuring.

Next time you catch yourself chickening out of doing something on the spur of the moment, he suggests overruling your critical brain and telling yourself: I’m doing this because it’s good for me. And I like it. It’s fun. Let’s persist through this initial anxiety and see what comes afterwards. Mindfulness will help you enjoy the moment you’re in, Oliver says, but it doesn’t have to be a full-on meditative practice. Just anchor into your feet, notice your breath for 10 seconds, roll your shoulders back, drop your arms and spend some time coming down into your body.

we don’t accurately estimate what the future is going to be like. We usually think it’s going to be better than it is. And we don’t accurately estimate what the past was like, either. We are hard on ourselves and overly critical about what happened – or we romanticise it. But now, you can be happy right now

The pandemic has left our best-laid plans in disarray, but we can still have spur-of-the-moment adventures.

Understand yourself and those around you.

psychology

Psychology

personaldevelopment

Personal Development

‘Don’t Plan It, Just Go!’: How to Be Spontaneous – and Grab Some Unexpected Fun

It seems in recent years being busy has become the rule rather than the exception for many people. If you feel busy and stressed and don't have a lot of time to work stress relief into your schedule, you may end up feeling tired and lethargic or overwhelmed and plagued by chronic stress.Clearly, stress relief is important, and this is particularly true for busy people. However, those of us who are most busy may feel least able to take on new habits. We may be concerned with the time that would be required to learn about a new habit.

7 Top Tips on Stress for Busy People

The following are ways to get more energy, relieve stress, and find extra time in your day—a must for busy people everywhere!If you feel overwhelmed by stress during the day, a busy schedule may prevent you from being able to do what relaxes you the most, whatever that may be. However, there are some quick ways to feel better without taking hours you don't have to do so.

Find Some Quick Stress Relievers

If you're one to grab a cup of coffee or can of cola when you need a little extra energy, you may be making yourself more tired in the long run! This is partially because caffeine can keep you from experiencing restful sleep at night, creating a cycle of chronic sleep deprivation.

Limit Your Caffeine Intake

When your schedule's busy, often sleep is the first thing to be cut back, either intentionally or by default. This is unfortunate because it can leave you feeling lethargic and lead to errors that take more time out of your day to correct.

Get More Sleep In Your Life

If you're feeling lethargic, a little exercise will actually leave you more energized, not less.4While busy people have a hard time fitting exercise into the schedule, there are some tricks that can help you get the exercise you need without spending hours at the gym, such as breaking up exercise into smaller chunks and spacing them out during your day, when you may naturally have time available.

Build Quick Exercise Into Your Schedule

Much of your experience of stress hinges on your attitude and what you tell yourself about your situation.5 For example, learning how to view stress as a 'challenge' rather than a threat can leave you feeling more energized.

Develop a "Can Do" Attitude

If you don't have time for a new stress management regimen, these stress relievers provide maximum impact for minimal time expenditure. Things like taking your vitamins and playing music in the background, for example, fit nicely into even the busiest lifestyle but provide surprisingly significant stress relief benefits.

Build Fast Stress Relief Into Your Lifestyle

People have different reasons for being busy, but many people find themselves busy no matter what their circumstances because they have trouble saying no to other people's demands on their time. There are things that you can do to start saying yes to a freer schedule and saying no to other people's demands on your time. Telling people you don't have time, giving yourself time before you say yes, and saying yes to other things are three steps that you can try.

Learn to Say No 

How do you manage stress in your busy life. 

It seems being busy has become the rule rather than the exception. Read ways to get more energy, relieve stress, and find extra time in your day.

mentalhealth

Mental Health

7 Tips for Anyone Who Always Feels Too Busy

In the world of recreational and therapeutic supplements, a new supplement is taking center stage. Delta 8 is the latest darling of the recreational market, showing up everywhere from vape shops to gas stations across the nation. But what, exactly, is Delta 8?What most people know about Delta 8 is that it comes from the cannabis plant and is kind of like THC, only not. If you're wondering what Delta 8 is and what it can do for you, you're not alone. Thousands of people today are discovering Delta 8 for themselves and the potential it holds for a pleasant home experience.

What is DELTA-8?

In the cannabis Sativa plant, there are multiple cannabinoid compounds that, together, provide the entourage effects of both the health benefits and the psychoactive experience. The CBD family of cannabinoids includes CBG, CBN, and CBC. The THC family includes both Delta 9 THC and, Delta 8, a softer cannabinoid with similar effects. Delta 9 is what we typically call "THC" when talking about the psychoactive content of a marijuana-industry cannabis plant.

But What Exactly Is It?

Delta 8 is also found naturally - in small amounts - in both marijuana and hemp plant production. However, this compound is less psychoactive and therefore less regulated than typical THC.

Nature Made

Why are people so enthusiastic about Delta 8 products? It's because Delta 8 offers many of the same relaxation and psychoactive benefits of THC, but at a lower voltage - so to speak. Delta 8 is considered a mild allegory for Delta 9 THC. Delta 8 has been found to offer a mood-enhancing and energizing experience. Many have described the uplifted feeling as cerebral - promoting creative and focused thought. Delta 8 can help create an entourage effect with your CBD to ease pain and discomfort.

What Are The Benefits of Delta 8?

Delta 8 is mildly psychoactive, creating a gentle "high", so you shouldn't operate heavy machinery, but you can enjoy a relaxing evening with friends and family.

Potency

While Delta 8 does occur naturally in the cannabis plant, most of the Delta 8 bought in stores today is actually synthesized using CBD oil and chemicals. The CBD from industrial hemp plants is refined and chemically altered until it resembles the Delta 8 molecule instead of the CBD molecule.This is why you may hear that Delta 8 is artificial, even though it occurs naturally. Most Delta 8 is artificially made, though it's a synthesis of a real organic compound.

How is Delta 8 Made?

Delta 8 is typically derived from hemp plants, making it legal on a federal level alongside CBD. This is why you will find Delta 8 available in most states wherever CBD is also sold. However, due to its similar nature with the psychoactive THC, 22 states have already passed laws to restrict or ban Delta 8 while other states are currently reviewing whether Delta 8 should remain legal.

Is Delta 8 Legal?

If you're thinking about trying Delta 8 for yourself, there is an interesting selection of products to start with. Delta 8 products mirror those available in the CBD market, with a slow-growing selection as brands expand their production capabilities. The most common ways to enjoy Delta 8 are tinctures, vape, and gummies.

What Products Can You Try with Delta 8?

<a href="https://upperlimitsinc.com/cbd/tinctures">Tinctures</a> are drops of infused and often flavored oil. You leave one or two drops under your tongue- this is what's called sublingual application. The first of the Delta 8 is absorbed by your mucous membranes. You can then swallow and digest the rest.

Delta 8 Tinctures

If you're looking for a cool way to enjoy Delta 8 and make use of your nifty pen or box mod, try a Delta 8 vape cartridge. These also contain cannabis oil and synthesized or natural Delta 8 that is absorbed through the sinuses and lungs. It's a flavored vapor that dissipates cleanly into the air when you exhale.

Delta 8 Vape

Many people enjoy starting with <a href="https://upperlimitsinc.com/cbd/delta-8/edibles">Delta 8 gummies</a>. These chewy snacks are a cannabis industry favorite because they are tasty and easy to infuse with oil.

Delta 8 Gummies

There have been many fast advancements in the hemp and cannabis industry over the past few years. From new extraction technologies to cannabinoid discoveries, it is a lot of new information for our community. It is important to know and understand what these products are, how they are made, and how one can benefit from them.

What is Delta 8 and what can it do for you?  Read more about where to buy delta 8 thc, the new buzz in the CBD recreational market and understand the laws surrounding it. 


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Product & Design

What is Delta 8?  All about the latest buzz of the recreational market. - Content That Matters - The Upper Limits Blog

Start by making the right decision, the first thing in the morning. If you find it difficult to get out of bed in the morning, then imagine how would you find the will to get other important things done throughout the day? That is why it is important to set one alarm and make it a habit to get out of bed without procrastinating it any further.

Stop Procrastination And Get Out Of Bed

After finishing the morning rituals including a warm-up, breakfast and meditation (you should never skip these, as they are necessary for a wholesome lifestyle), you must make a list of all the important tasks. In doing so, prioritize your tasks according to the time you’d require to complete these tasks. Keep a slot during the morning for revision purposes. Right after this, take out time to revise all the important topics that you are sure would be asked in the examination - diagrams, maps, graphs etc.

Make Smaller And Manageable Tasks

Often, we find it difficult to move on from difficult topics and feel guilty or helpless for not understanding these topics fully. Even after trying your best you are not able to figure out a topic, try to shift to the topics that you find easier. Time is crucial and getting stuck with a few topics can not only hamper your self-confidence but also end up wasting your crucial time. Take action and start working on the items at the top of the list to boost your confidence and overall marks.

Don't Work On Unimportant Tasks

Top 10 Ways to Stop Procrastination, Deal with Stress, and Improve Time Management

Music. Vocal or instrumental sounds (or both) combined in such a way as to produce beauty of form, harmony, and expression of emotion. 68% of adults aged between 18 and 34 years old reported listening to music every day, and the majority of their older peers also enjoyed music with the same regularity. music is to feed our souls, but sometimes, short pieces of music can stuck in our ears or our heads, repeating itself over and over until you wish to tear your ears out. It’s Called an Earworm . But why? how do songs get stuck to your head, and more importantly… How do we get rid of them?

Let's Begin

Earworm, Sticky song syndrome, or most commonly Involuntary Musical Imagery (INMI). At best, it means that the song is catchy. At worst, it means replaying over and over until you get annoyed of that song. The word “Earworm” is a calque from the german word “Ohrwurm” which means the exact same thing.Over 90% of people are plagued by earworms once a week, and 23% experience them several times a day, most of them are either singers or music producers. Live music is more likely to stay in your head than recorded music, because it includes some visual elements that could help you remember the song

Earworm…???

again whenever you encounter these elements again.When we listen to a song, it triggers a part of the brain called The auditory cortex, which makes the listener automatically fills the rest of the song, and to have that song in their mind they had to scratch that part of the brain so the song repeats itself over and over, here… earworm occurs.Researcher Vicky Williamson says that our brains could also be triggered by experiences that trigger the memory of a song, it’s called the involuntary memory,

Why do we have Earworms?

such as seeing a word that reminds one of the song, hearing a few notes from the song, or feeling an emotion one associates with the song, all these may lead you to remember the song but in a way that shocks our brains so it gets stuck in our heads for a period of time.

Musicologist Dr. Alison Pawley and psychologist Dr. Daniel Mullensiefen out at the University of London have done researches on what makes a song catchy, their conclusion was that there are four traits that make a song catchy:<ol><li>Longer and detailed musical phrases . The breath a vocalist takes as they sing a line is crucial to creating a sing-along-able tune. The longer a vocal in one breath, the more likely we are to sing along.</li><li>A Higher number of pitches in the chorus hook . The more sounds there are, the more infectious a song becomes. </li></ol>

A Catchy song

Combining longer musical phrases and a hook over three different pitches was found to be key to sing-along success.4. Male vocalists . Singing along to a song may be a subconscious war cry, tapping into an inherent tribal part of our consciousness. Psychologically we look to men to lead us into battle, so it could be in our intuitive nature to follow male-fronted songs. 5. Higher male voices with noticeable vocal effort . This indicates high energy and purpose, particularly when combined with a smaller vocal range (Freddie Mercury of Queen and Jon Bon Jovi).

Sometimes, earworms can be annoying, not the song but that non stopping repetition. Well… earworms usually disappear by itself, but a few techniques have been found to help.<ol><li>Listen to the whole song. Since earworms are usually only a fragment of music, playing all the song would stop the process of auto-completing the song and therefore getting rid of the earworm</li><li>Replace it with another piece of music. I know this isn’t an efficient solution, you just replaced an earworm by another, but at least it’s a new tune XD. </li></ol>

How to get rid of earworms?

3. Chew gum! Chewing gum activates the motor cortex , which is used when you imagine music, almost as if you are imagining what it feels like to sing the song out loud. Chewing gum interferes with this process.4. Play puzzles (Sudoku, Chess, Anagrams…), Scientists found that engaging memory in difficult work is an effective way of stopping earworms and reducing their recurrence.

Music. Vocal or instrumental sounds (or both) combined in such a way as to produce beauty of form, harmony, and expression of emotion. 68% of adults aged between 18 and 34 years old reported…

music

Music

scienceandnature

Science & Nature

Why is that song stuck in my head?

Most of what we know about how COVID can affect the brain has come from studies of people with severe infection. In people with severe COVID, inflammatory cells from outside the brain can enter brain tissue and spread inflammation. There may be changes to blood vessels and brain cells can even have changes similar to those seen in people with Alzheimer’s disease.However, a new study has investigated the effects of mild COVID (that is, infection that doesn’t lead to a hospital admission) on the brain. The findings may further explain some of the brain changes contributing to long COVID.

Introduction

Many people who have had COVID, no matter how mjlfreport feelings of “brain fog”, fatigue, and problems with concentration and memory long after their initial symptoms resolve. These problems, collectively known as 'long COVID', may last for months even after mild infection.Long COVID is very common, and may affect more than half of the people who catch COVID, even if they have a mild case.

Brain scans and tests show changes

Scientists collected data as part of the UK Biobank database. They looked at brain MRI scans and tests of brain function in 785 volunteers who were assessed before the pandemic. They then compared this to the same data collected three years later, when around half of those participants had mild COVID infection, and the other half had not had COVID. This allowed them to determine the specific effects of mild COVID infection on brain structure and function.

Methodology

The group who had mild COVID an average of five months beforehand had thinning of brain tissue in several brain regions, ranging from 0.2% to around 2% compared to their pre-COVID scan (between one and six years of normal brain ageing). Affected brain areas included the parahippocampal gyrus (related to memory) and the orbitofrontal cortex (related to smell and taste). They also showed a reduction in overall brain size between their MRI scans that wasn’t seen in the non-COVID group, and had altered connections between different brain regions in the olfactory cortex, an area related to smell.

Findings

To show these changes were specific to COVID and not just related to having a respiratory illness, the scientists also looked at a group of people who had pneumonia. They did not see the same changes, confirming they are related to COVID. Decreases in brain volume are common to many brain diseases and disorders associated with degeneration, and have been found in people with mild cognitive impairment, Alzheimer’s disease, depression, and traumatic brain injury, among others.

Comparing to other illnesses

Problems with memory and attention are also frequent for people with these diseases and disorders, indicating mild COVID infection may accelerate brain degeneration. These changes could explain the reported symptoms of long COVID, such as brain fog.The study did not look at the mechanisms of mild COVID in the brain. However, the authors suggest this could be due to inflammation, degeneration which spreads through the brain pathways associated with smell, or sensory deprivation due to loss of smell.

Comparison with other illnesses

So does this study prove all people who have had mild COVID infections will have these same brain changes and long-term brain degeneration? Not necessarily.There are several important things we still do not know. This includes whether these brain changes will get worse over time, or whether they will go back to normal or previous levels of function. More research over a long time would help us understand the trajectory of brain changes.

The same for everyone?

This study also only included people aged 51–81, so we do not know whether these findings are relevant for younger people or children.The brain changes found in this study were more pronounced in the older participants, so it could be that older people are more susceptible. Another study is needed to determine whether the same brain alterations would occur in younger people, or whether these findings are common only to older people.

Limitations

There were some differences between the groups before COVID, with smaller volumes of areas deep within the brain. However, these were in different brain areas to those affected after COVID. The scientists also found slightly reduced scores for brain functions of thinking and remembering in the group that went on to have COVID. This study did not specifically exclude people with degenerative brain conditions such as Alzheimer’s or Parkinson’s diseases, but the scientists do not think these would explain the changes they found.

Limitations (cont.)

Because of the nature of the study, information about the strain of COVID people were infected with was not available. So we can’t assume the findings would be the same for people with the now more prevalent Omicron strain. We also can’t determine the effect vaccination may have in lessening brain changes. Given the timing of the study, it is likely most of the people in the post-COVID group were infected in 2020, so may not have been vaccinated.

Effects of different variants and vaccination unknown

This study provides the first important information about brain changes in people with mild COVID infection. Until we have all the information, we should be alert but not alarmed at emerging findings.

Conclusions

For the first time, a new study has investigated the effects of mild COVID (that is, infection that doesn’t lead to a hospital admission) on the brain. The findings may further explain some of the brain changes contributing to long COVID. ...

problemsolving

Problem Solving

communication

Communication

Even mild cases of COVID-19 might result in brain shrinkage and impaired cognitive function

No single food is going to prevent you from getting sick but focusing on an overall nutrient-rich dietary pattern and healthier lifestyle behaviours, like <a href="https://www.wellandgood.com/why-you-need-more-sleep-when-sick/">adequate sleep</a>, <a href="https://www.wellandgood.com/how-effective-is-washing-your-hands/">hand-washing</a>, <a href="https://www.wellandgood.com/walking-mile-day/">physical activity</a>, and <a href="https://www.wellandgood.com/stress-management-benefits/">stress management</a>, can help keep your immune system working at its best.Although many people fall into the trap of believing that an endless supply of supplements is the gateway to a pristine immune system, just about any dietitian will tell you that you should first try boosting your immunity with solid, wholesome foods and <a href="https://www.wellandgood.com/tea-for-gut-health/">healthy teas</a>.

Keeping Your Immune System Healthy

First and foremost, Vitamin C is an essential vitamin, meaning that your body cannot create this micronutrient on its own and therefore, must obtain it through diet in order to get all of the impressive benefits.<ul><li>Vitamin C is also an antioxidant, which keeps your immune system strong by protecting your body from free radicals. </li><li>Vitamin C also supports the production of white blood cells called lymphocytes and phagocytes, which work to protect your body against infection.</li></ul>

Citrus Fruits

Protein is a must. <a href="https://www.wellandgood.com/vegetarian-protein-foods/">High-protein foods</a> like seafood, chicken, beans, unsalted nuts and seeds can be beneficial for your immune health. Experts tout eggs as one of the best options, thanks to their variety of <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4586567/">bioactive compounds</a> that can influence anti-inflammatory pathways in the body.Other protein-rich foods, including ready-to-drink <a href="https://www.wellandgood.com/better-drink-protein-shake-before-after-workout/">protein shakes</a>, can also work to boost immunity.

Protein-Rich Diet

In addition to being a good source of protein, salmon is a healthy fatty fish packed with vitamin D which helps in regulating and strengthening immunity and can <a href="https://www.bmj.com/content/356/bmj.i6583">help prevent respiratory tract infections</a>. Milk and 100 percent juices that are fortified with vitamin D can also be a good source of this immune-boosting nutrient. Oysters contain more zinc per serving than any other food.

Sea Food To Build Immunity

<ul><li>Apple skin contains quercetin, a phytochemical that can support immune health and reduce inflammation.</li><li>Add a little crunch to your salad and a major boost to your immunity with the simple addition of carrots.</li><li>Rich in vitamin C and antioxidants like vitamin A, spinach is good for a strong immune system.</li><li>High in selenium and zinc, sunflower seeds are good for your immune system.</li><li>Beans are a good source of protein, especially glutamine.</li><li>Garlic is antimicrobial and good for your immune system.</li><li>Brazil nuts are rich in selenium, an antioxidant that is important for thyroid function and immune function.</li></ul>

Nature Has It All

No eating plan is going to prevent you from getting sick, but foods are an important part of boosting your immunity and your overall health.

longevity

Longevity

The 13 Best Immunity Boosting Foods, According to Dietitians | Well+Good

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