It is a commonly held belief that our bodies and minds are two very separate entities, functioning independently of each other. This is unfortunate, as well as being counterproductive to good, holistic health because it could not be further from the truth. In reality, our bodies and our minds are closely linked and are very much co-dependent.

As an experienced clinical psychologist, I have spent many years helping people manage any mental health issues they may face. I have always emphasised to my clients that a healthy mind cannot be achieved without a healthy body, but it wasn’t until I began my own journey into truly healthy eating that I realised just how important it was. It was at this point I realised that purely addressing mental health issues is a limiting exercise.

By way of example, bring to mind an event from your life that has a strong emotion attached to it – it could be anxiety, sadness, joy, anger – now hold that image in your mind and tune into the sensations within your body. Now notice where that emotion exists in your body and how it feels.

Emotions do not exist only in our minds, they live in our bodies. Anxiety, depression, anger, trauma, they all reside in our bodies and it is usually the sensations within our body that are the most distressing parts of these experiences. Think of common phrases we use to describe emotional experiences – ‘gut wrenching’, ‘broken hearted’, ‘like a weight being lifted off my shoulders’ – they all describe sensations within our bodies.

When we aim for overall wellbeing, we need to consider both physical and mental health. You can’t have one without the other. If we are trying to manage and heal mental health problems such as anxiety, depression, stress, trauma, even bipolar disorder or schizophrenia, we will be most successful if we combine some form of therapy (always with someone registered, qualified and suited to your individual needs) with a diet that ensures our bodies are well nourished and functioning optimally (and yes, therapy may include medication).

Poor nutrition and consuming additive-laden processed ‘foods’ (though some barely warrant that description) add an extra burden to our bodies that are already struggling to cope with the issues that we are dealing with. These food choices can contribute to lethargy, insomnia, anxiety, mood problems, headaches and hyperactivity, to name just a few. In short, building from a shaky base is counter-productive, and unlikely to produce best results.

When we choose unprocessed wholefoods, good quality fruit, vegetables, proteins and healthy fats (coconut oil, olive oil, avocado etc) our bodies and brains are comprehensively nourished. It’s no surprise, then, that they function better, which improves our sleep, our immune system, our energy levels, and ability to cope more readily with anger, anxiety or stress.

We can be proactive with our own mental health by controlling what we put into our bodies and noticing how it makes us feel (energetic, focused, anxious, lethargic). We can certainly observe the behavioural changes in our children based on what they have eaten, while recognising that their formative years are crucial to their future physical and mental well being. We need to make sure they are equipped with the solid foundations of health that give them the best opportunity at a long and enjoyable life.

Irrespective of our past diets, upbringing and experiences, we need to recognise there is a lot we can be doing immediately to ensure that our minds and bodies, and those of our children, are working as nature intended – cohesively rather than combatively.

 Monique Phipps is a Clinical Psychologist with 13 years experience and a mum of 3 young children. Her family eat an additive free, wholefood diet.

You can connect with her on her Facebook Page and blog.

Perhaps he is just more cunning than I give him credit for, but he really is as useless as a chocolate teapot!

On the other hand, my little helpers, Mr 9 and Miss 7, are more than happy to help out with the cooking. True, it’s a far easier sell when there’s a cake bowl to lick,  but Mr 9 is on board whether it’s a savoury or sweet concoction. I call him ‘my little chef’, which prompts him to ask if he can go get a job in a restaurant and start making ‘real’ money. Mmm, child labour … kids have rights too! You have no idea how it warms my heart to see him collecting chicken bones (unprompted) so I can use them for stock.

Miss 7’s ears prick when ‘baking’ is mentioned. She is also very concerned about her memory and requests I feed her more fish (and now chia seeds!).

They even know the ingredients and proportions that go into making a healthy smoothie, muffin, or biscuit. It has now reached the point where they are actually schooling my husband on kitchen basics.

The other day I was greeted with the look of a (more than usually) stunned mullet after asking hubby to separate the egg whites and yolks. The look on his face suggested this was not one of his underhanded excuses, but was a look of genuine bewilderment. He couldn’t have looked more confused if I had asked him to recall something I said two minutes ago.

Now, hubby is no stranger to egg-related incident and controversy, so while this was not a surprise (in a kind of surprising way), it did add an element of humour to the situation.

One person who I knew could help was Mr 9 – “Stand aside, Dad, let me show you how it’s done”. He may have said “Muppet”, but I can’t be sure …

“Make sure you ….”, hubby couldn’t help himself, before Mr 9 interjected with the talk to the hand movement.

“Ah … ah … watch and learn.”

I am so proud of my little chefs. I love knowing that they are well on the way to looking after themselves. And, loving it!

So here’s my tip: resist the temptation to shoo them out of the kitchen in the interest of time. After all, time with your kids is a precious experience, particularly when you are imparting life skills such as cooking, sharing, creating, measuring, and how to best nourish themselves.

You can be sure they’ll never forget it.

If  you want to read more about the benefits of having your kids in the kitchen check out my blog “What’s Cooking Kids”

Bren x