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Food and Nutrition Psychology


According to Eric Erickson, the personal development of man happens in very strictly defined sequence. At the same time, it is tied to a time range in which, according to a generally accepted norm, the emergence and development of the human qualities, abilities, possibilities, perceptions, features and, above all, character traits necessary for the stage of development are expected. He divides personality development into eight stages, which he calls crises.

And each of these stages-crises is connected with the previous ones, using as a basis the accumulated experience and understandings and uses them as a scaffold on which to add the newly acquired. We see how much learning is embedded in the line of human existence. Dealing with each stage will leave its mark on the developing personality and will contribute to the complete image of the individual. The process of identity formation will take place through constant upgrading and including all previous conscious and unconscious experience, will provide a basis that will represent the current overall format of the individual's personality.

The development will continue throughout life. And the first seven years are strongly decisive for the future development of the personality. And this mean that this period of our life will be predetermined by our parents. Here we take a deep breath and thank the Austrian neurologist and psychiatrist Victor Frankl for his resilient definition of this statement, saying that regardless of the past and everything sealed in it, one always has complete free will to decide how one wants to live and what one wants to do with his life and even the past he can say Who he wants to be in his life now as well as in the future. So here we realize that the responsibility of our choices about everything in our life is exactly right into our hands.

It would be very stressful if we were left to live with the insurmountable reality of the original theories and to believe that what is imprinted in us when we were completely dependent on our parents will determine our personality in the course of our entire lives. Undoubtedly, it is precisely before the age of seven that the moments when the individual first feels the feeling of warmth and security, care and love, which are prerequisites for his future sense of optimism and faith in the good. Part of the upbringing includes the attitude towards food. The food that will create the elements leading to the physical and mental development of this wonderful little creature. The first thing that excites us is our attitude towards food, because children will absorb this pattern and we will not be able to trick them into eating broccoli while we eat leftovers from yesterday's pizza.

Because nutrition is a physical, mental, social, emotional and, above all, health phenomenon. Dining is inevitable moment of everyday life. In our homes, in each and every office, lifesaving food when climbing mountains, food before and after visiting the gym, snacks in the bar, special meals when we have guests everywhere there is always food. The final, beautiful, colorful look – feeds our eyes. Fancy packages in magical colors can bring an emotion inside us, to evoke a sense of taste that can take us back in time or stop time. Taste has the ability to detach us from everything we know about food, or it will not allow us to refract and perceive any knowledge related to its composition, properties and effects. No matter what concept we believe in regarding our food it does not leave an imprint only on our body, it is the gearbox to the engine of the mind and thoughts, heart and emotions, deeds and actions.

Nutrition is one of those topics that can be greatly underestimated and neglected, because food is too basic and not always a sufficiently classy topic for a high-level conversation, unlike culture, politics, arts..

There is no need to do a constant research over the biochemistry encyclopedias and look for new facts. We need to know the basic rules that guide our body and know the ways in which we can interfere with them less and even help them when necessary.

The overlapping areas between psychology and nutrition are large. They are examining the relationship between our daily eating habits, nutrients, lifestyle patterns, and our mood, behavior and mental health. Eating itself is often influenced by psychological patterns. And the balance between trace elements - essential vitamins and minerals and macronutrients is essential and crucial for the biochemical and physiological continuous processes in the body.

The body and brain are built entirely of molecules derived from food, air and water. Ongoing biochemical reactions in our body are directly affected by what you consume. The brain and the body's systems that process emotions are connected to the endocrine system and its products are our hormones, as well as the nervous system and the immune system. And one of the main consumers of the energy produced in our body is His Majesty - The brain.

Individual approach to nutrition is essential, as our daily food choices are at a strategic position in the structure and activity of our brain. A diet providing the important elements that the brain needs could support its functions, both in the short and long term.

The human brain is the main control center of the body. Having many important responsibilities that require a huge amount of energy and most of all a quality source of that energy. Our brain uses more than 20% of the total calories in the body and its optimal function requires certain nutrients to maintain high activity.

Depending on the food choices, we can feed each one of our systems and to provide them what they need, or vice versa and block them with unmanageable foods, that will lead to nutritional deficiencies. The choices we make are actually powerful because they are repetitive actions and thus allow their effect to accumulate and to have the power to influence us.

Perfect diet with established rules that will be ideal for our brain and rest of our body does not exist. And there are no one or two specific foods that can provide what is needed in the long run. Nor alternating two or three combinations of super foods that are known to have beneficial properties.

The most important thing is our eating habits and diet. When we make a conscious choice of foods on a daily basis that are known for the health-promoting properties of our brains, then the results and benefits will inevitably come. And most importantly, these are the results that stay with us in the long run.

Stay healthy and be always connected with your sources of energy!




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