“How Eating Right Affects our Physical & Mental Well-being” was the topic of a lecture-forum that featured Dr. Marie Piodena-Tupas, FPCP, as resource person held via Zoom on December 6, 2023 at 9:00 AM.
“Good food, good mood,” captured the substance of Dr. Tupas’ talk wherein she emphasized the vital role that nutrition plays not only on one’s physical well-being but also on one’s mental health. She said that nutritious food support healthy communications to the brain in preventing and reducing chronic inflammation.
“So what happens to the brain center when we are persistently taking in the wrong type of food?” She presented a schematic illustration on how nutrition influence cognition and emotion to prove her point.
“Overeating, obesity, high-fat diet consumption, and poor early life diet can produce an inflammatory response in peripheral immune cells that affects our sense of satiety, and the way we think and feel,” she emphasized.
She also talked about the brain-gut axis which are pathways by which the brain and the digestive tract communicate. Disruption within the gut can mirror problems on mental health.
“Eating the right kinds and adequate amount of food would help stabilize our brain centers leading to better mood and behavior,” she pointed out.
In the face of mental health issues that we face today, Dr. Tupas said that, “Proper nutrition management should be considered as one of the key factors in the care of individuals with depression, anxiety, and those with other mental health conditions.”
The lecture-forum was organized by the UPV Healthy Lifestyle and Wellness Committee and was attended by over a hundred participants online.
