Well here we are with my first weekly comment section and I would like to welcome everyone who reads this and encourage you to tell others so they too can update themselves with new ideas about the Hallelujah Diet and Lifestyle.

This past week I did another lecture for “In the Kitchen with Judy, as she talks about Disease Prevention” and the topic was Mental Health.  As I was preparing for this lecture I had a few calls from people wanting to know what mental illness I was going to talk about.  As with all my lectures over this past year my comments are about preventing the disease hence the title Mental Health.  How can we maintain good mental health?  So here is a preview of this class.

Some 20% of the population will experience a mental disorder at some time in their lives. This means that every single family in Canada will in some way be affected.  Maintaining your mental health is a lot like staying physically fit: it requires a little personal effort every day.  You’ll reap the benefits in the same way that daily physical exercise makes you stronger and fitter.

Some simple ways to practice mental fitness:
The idea is that a lot of small, concerted actions can add up to a significant overall effect.

  • Learn how to cope with negative thoughts
  • Live for today learning from yesterday and planning for tomorrow rather than living in the past and blaming yourself for past mistakes and worrying about things that might not happened in the future.
  • “Collect” positive emotional moments.
  • Have a hobby it will help bring balance to your life.
  • Treat yourself well.
  • Keep a daily journal by writing the positive things in your day, plan for your next day, week, month and year.
  • Regular physical activity is good for the mind. It can even reduce depression and anxiety.

Diet is important not only for physical health, but also for optimal mental development and functioning. Nutrition can play an important role in the prevention and management of many kinds of difficulties in behaviour, learning and mood.  These include:

  • Everyday difficulties in behaviour, learning or mood that affect children & adults – at home, school or workplace.
  • Developmental conditions – such as ADHD, dyslexia, dyspraxia, and autistic spectrum disorders.
  • Mental health conditions – such as anxiety, depression, bipolar (manic-depressive) disorder and schizophrenia.

What should you eat? Foods for better mental health are the same as those for good physical health: lots of raw vegetables and leafy greens, some raw fruit, moderate amounts of nuts, seeds and legumes and 3-5 servings of freshly made vegetable juices each day.

Flax Veggie Pizzas: make the flax pizza crust (see Judy’s book page 40) then spread with the raw tomato sauce below and garnish with slices of your favorite raw veggies (mushrooms, zucchini, and peppers, just to name a few). Then dehydrate for 1-3 hours and serve as you would any pizza but because you dehydrated at less than 110F it is raw!

Some of my information was gathered from the websites of the Canadian Mental Health Association and Mental Health Canada.