Why Happiness is an Essential Nutrient to Health

In the world of nutrition most people speak in the language of micro and macronutrients. They pay attention to how many carbohydrates and proteins they ingest and they know they should avoid sugars. For their micronutrients some will attempt to eat a variety of fruits and vegetables and others add supplements to fill the gap in their diets. And sometimes, just sometimes if you come across a well researched health enthusiast you can have a conversation on not only macro and micronutrients, but on phytonutrients from live foods as well. The one thing I believe that most Wellness Practitioners, Nutritional Consultants, and even Medical Doctors miss the boat on is the conversation surround the effects emotion on health. Now I am not saying that there isn't dialogue on food and emotions but the talk surrounding the topic usually goes something like this:

"We are what we eat. The foods we eat have profound effect on our emotions and thus our mental state."

Now while I am not saying that this statement of observation is not true I will dare to say that it is somewhat like saying "the reason you have a cold is because your nose is running" rather than saying "your nose is running because you have a cold." I believe in the world of conventional health and nutrition the perspective on emotions and health are somewhat backwards.

Allow me if you will the opportunity to show you the true source of our complex emotions and how they affect the human body. Feelings are truly the body's amplification of our emotions. Our emotions however are truly a neuropeptidal response to our thoughts. Our thoughts, (which quantum physicist researchers have shown), carry unique vibrational patterns of energy which translates in our bodies into various chemicals or neuropeptides. These neuropeptides then travel along our nervous system to various parts of the body and we interpret this as a "feeling". It is important to note that this same nervous system (carrying the message of our thoughts in the previous explanation) is what regulates things like our breath, blood flow, and even how you absorb the nutrients from the foods you eat. So in response to your very physical feelings you will eat certain foods and these foods will in turn serve to amplify your mood or feelings; this is why I said earlier that it is not completely incorrect to say that foods affect your emotions.

Now that I've said all of that I can get off the soap box and finally say this: it is not cliche to say that the way you feel is important to your health. The way you feel is truly everything in re