In this episode of Reframing Your Reality, Alia Crum of Stanford explains how our beliefs about food and exercise affect our bodies. What happens in the mind, doesn’t stay in the mind. It’s directed to and manifested in the body.
Here are some findings:
- Allergens, like peanuts, have less side effects when we believe the body’s immune system is working well in response to them.
- Believing that we’re not getting enough exercise, even when we are, negatively affects the exercise we get.
- Our beliefs about the nutritional quality of food determines how much nutrient value we receive.
They suggest finding a balance between:
- Informing yourself of the values of healthy eating behavior, and
- Identifying mindsets that make you want to do those behaviors.
They conclude by recommending to always do both the mental and the physical:
- Investigate mindsets that support the body, and also eat well and exercise.
Being inspired by what you eat, how you exercise, and what you do–for their own sake–may be the best mindset to have while we’re figuring this all out.
