297: How To Gain Emotional Health: The Power of a Plant-Based Diet 🌱

POPP Ep 297 - Emotional Health

[00:00:00] Jarrod: At Power On Plants, we talk about feeling your best with abundant physical energy. But your mental energy and mood are just as important. Can eating more plants help that? Hang around and find out.

[00:01:20] Anita: Hey there, Sunshine. We are so happy to have you hanging out with us again today for this episode and if this is your first time joining us, welcome to the family. Listen, we don't believe there's any better place that you could be right now because it's our heart to show up for you week after week sharing the things that we know can help you be set free from the lies about what it takes to be healthy so that you can finally feel your best and do all the things that you were created to do. If our body doesn't feel good, it's going to keep us from accomplishing the things that we were born to do in this world. Maybe that's raising your children or being able to start a business, which many of you have been able to do since you've been listening to the podcast. Since you've been working with us, we see you breaking free able to do these things that you know you've been called to do, and that lights us up. But there's more than just a physical aspect.

We think about our physical body, but what about your mental capabilities? Your ability to think clearly and to feel good, to have the right perspective about things?

Jarrod and I know that many of you deal with or have dealt with things like depression and anxiety before and those things can be just as frustrating and just as much of a hindrance to you moving forward in your calling.

[00:02:51] Jarrod: We mentioned having mental clarity, which I think about that with cognitive ability, your intellectual ability, but just as important is your emotional health. Just like you were saying, anxiety, depression, and the list can go on and on.

But your emotional health is also very important because this is at the heart of what drives things that you do, because intellectually if you're doing well, but emotionally you are not, then that is going to greatly adversely affect how you do, how you walk out your daily life. If you have the capacity to start that business, take care of your children, go into work, just all the things that you do on a daily basis.

The other day I was thinking of an example. Now it's not exactly a car example, but it's in the vehicular category here. So I have a question for you, Anita. When you were younger, did you ride the bus?

[00:03:43] Anita: Once.

[00:03:45] Jarrod: Only once?

[00:03:46] Anita: One time I rode the bus.

[00:03:47] Jarrod: Really?

[00:03:47] Anita: Yeah, I came home asking my mom about certain words that she had never taught me and I asked her the meaning of them and from that point on I never rode the bus.

[00:03:59] Jarrod: That is funny. I think I do vague recall you mentioning that before.

[00:04:03] Anita: It's the truth. This is real life. That's what happened. It's the story.

[00:04:07] Jarrod: Now when the bus drove up what condition was it in? Do you remember? Do you have any kind of vague recollection of what it looked like?

[00:04:15] Anita: It just look like a typical bus.

[00:04:18] Jarrod: Typical bus. Was it rusty? Was it in generally good repair? Did it drive up and sound okay?

[00:04:25] Anita: I remember it was in generally good repair. Now, the roads we drove down to get to the school were not in generally good repair, because they took all these back roads. Because I live like five miles west of a small southern town where basically there was one traffic light at that time. Now the town's grown, they have all kinds of stuff there, but I lived five miles west of that town.

So imagine all the little dirt roads with potholes and things, the difficulties along the way that made it difficult to get there. But the bus was in decent repair.

[00:04:54] Jarrod: Nothing about that made your worry, "is thing even gonna get me there"?

[00:04:57] Anita: No, I got on the bus expecting to arrive at school.

[00:05:00] Jarrod: Okay, so then when you come on to the bus what did the driver look like? Do you remember the driver?. Was it

[00:05:08] Anita: A man.

[00:05:09] Jarrod: a surfer dude wearing headphones?

[00:05:11] Anita: He just looked like a bus driver. He was like a regular dude. Like, he would just be driving, driving the bus. He was, I remember him being nice. I don't remember him having much control over the people in the bus, though. He did drive us and he did get us there. But, You know, he just drove the bus.

That's what he did.

[00:05:31] Jarrod: But did he seem okay? Emotionally okay. Did he seem like there was any concern there?

[00:05:35] Anita: No, I wasn't worried about his emotional state. I felt secure in the fact that he could get us to school

[00:05:42] Jarrod: That's excellent. because in this example, I had the mental image earlier when I was thinking about today's podcast that the driver is like our emotional health, and then the bus is like our bodies. So our bus, our body, could be in great repair, good paint job, no rust, engines running smoothly. But if that bus driver looked like maybe he'd been crying, maybe his wife just said, I'm breaking up with you honey.

It was in a bad emotional state. You wouldn't be concerned about the bus getting you there because of a mechanical issue, but maybe the person driving the bus, you might be fearing for your life thinking, is this guy gonna be able to make it over the mountain on this thing?

Yeah,

[00:06:25] Anita: now in my mind I'm thinking I need to assess the emotional well being of my bus drivers in the future, or my taxi cab drivers, or my Uber drivers.

This is such a great example

[00:06:35] Jarrod: Well, I feel like it highlights the importance of the driver. What is driving our lives? Now, we want to get our temples correct and in good health our bodies running well, but we also don't want to neglect our emotional health. So if you're struggling with things like anxiety, depression, then Then we need to look at the things that can help us, because we want not just our bodies to be healthy and functioning at optimal capacity. We want our mind, our soul, we want the seat of who we are, our thoughts and our emotions to be functioning at the best that they can.

[00:07:08] Anita: Absolutely, 100%. We want to feel our best and we need to look at our soul, our mind, our emotions, and our desires, and sometimes our physical condition can affect our ability to have proper emotions, to feel good, to not be depressed, to not be anxious or worry.

Sometimes there is a physical element to this. We're not going to get into the spiritual element. There can be a big spiritual element. I'm going to be dealing with some of that in the course as well. But we need to look at what are the physical things. Could there be some physical things behind these struggles with depression and anxiety and worry? And the answer is, yes, there can.

[00:07:52] Jarrod: the great thing that we know is that foods can help this. And guess what? They happen to be whole plant foods.

[00:08:00] Anita: Imagine that.

[00:08:02] Jarrod: Is this just conjecture? Is this just the rantings of Jarrod just pushing the whole plant based lifestyle? Come on now, you know me better than that.

I'm not going to come at you with some anecdotal information. There is science to back this up. Studies have been done that show this time and again, the effect that whole plant foods can have on our mental and emotional health. So I want to highlight a couple of these, because there have been observational studies.

There, in Canada, was done a study, a population based study, where they showed that the greater intake and consumption of fruit and veggies was associated specifically with lower rates of depression and anxiety. It was concluded that the plants are rich in antioxidants, which led to less oxidative damage within the body and thus lower inflammation, which not only affects the body, but affects the brain. And they believe that was the pathway in which that helped improve the mood, helped to decrease risk of anxiety and depression.

Now again, that was more of an observational study. So they took a population, they asked them questions. What do you eat? How do you feel? What's your mental health like? And then they take all that data and then they make those associations. And they did find that people that eat more of the nutrient rich plant foods, had a lower risk, which is exciting.

That right there in and of itself is exciting. So that then raises the question, well, if it's the antioxidants doing this, what if, and you know we're totally against this, but what if you take these antioxidants out, put it in a tablet form, would it have the same effect? So they,

[00:09:40] Anita: I'm curious to know what they would think about that after listening to us. If you've been listening for a while, what would your answer be? Are you screaming "no"? "No, don't remove it! Don't remove" from it's whole package. That's what you should be screaming right now, if you've listened long enough if that was your answer and your gut reaction, then you know you've been with us for a while. You've seen the truth about these things. Because pulling something out that's good is not generally a good thing. That's not what we see happening when we look at the science. So what did the science show here?

[00:10:13] Jarrod: Well, we know that when you strip things from its natural source that you don't get all of the other cofactors, all the other beneficial molecules and things that go along with it so that you get total health.

[00:10:26] Anita: Well, the things that got put in there make the whole package work together for your good.

[00:10:33] Jarrod: So in this specific study, they were looking at a higher carotenoid intake. Now what are carotenoids? I mean, it sounds like carrots and carotenoids are in carrots, but they're also in other foods. But these are pigments that are involved with photosynthesis.

They include things like beta carotene, which is the precursor for vitamin A. Lycopene, which we hear about being in things like tomatoes and lutein, which is good for eye health. I actually remember your mother taking lutein many years ago.

[00:11:01] Anita: She did, for eye health.

[00:11:03] Jarrod: And she was taking it in supplement form, but we didn't know at the time.

Otherwise we would've just said, Hey Martha, just eat a diet rich in these plant foods and you'll get it.

[00:11:13] Anita: But you don't know what you don't know. We say that all the time until you do.

[00:11:19] Jarrod: Until you do. And what they found is that only the plant sources were protective. Antioxidant supplements were not helpful, and actually it was believed that they could even be harmful.

[00:11:30] Anita: I heard recently, and I wish I could go back and find this interview. If any of you have seen this and know where it is, send it to me. Email it to anita@poweronplants.com. But recently, I watched an interview online, and it was a panel of the plant based doctors, all the top guys. You know who I'm talking about if you've been plant based for any length of time.

And the majority of them who answered a question about taking multivitamins or vitamins in general, just one off vitamins here and there, not really knowing what you're low in or any of those things. And even not taking them knowing what you're low in, they were all recommending getting the whole plant food.

And this is exactly why, what Jarrod's sharing here today. And as believers, it should not surprise us. And it's actually exciting , because it's additional proof for our faith. I mean, if God says these were the original foods you were made to eat, these foods would ultimately be for our highest benefit. Doesn't that just make sense? And that is what the studies show time and time again. That's what this panel of doctors was saying without bringing faith into it. Just, this is what we know, this is what we see from the research.

When you eat the whole plant foods, you tend to do better, your body absorbs these nutrients better. It just works better to get the whole food and not take these one off vitamins or pills, which they were saying sometimes, not only are they not beneficial, they can actually be harmful.

They specifically said that on the panel. Which is why I wish I could go back and find that again. I've searched for it. I haven't found it yet. But when I do, I'm going to be letting you know. But if you find it before me, and you know where that is, and you've seen it before, again, email that to me at anita@poweronplates.com because I want to watch it again. It was really good. But it goes back to the point of exactly what you were saying. Getting the whole foods, and that's what they found in this study, the whole foods and not the extracted nutrient, was what was actually bringing the benefit.

[00:13:24] Jarrod: So to recap that last study, the carotenoids were associated with a lower risk of depressive symptoms, but also they said high processed food diets are linked with a higher risk of depression five years later. So you may not go out and eat a cheeseburger right now and think, oh, I'm feeling anxious, I'm feeling depressed, but when this is done, day after day, marched out over time, it leads to these problems.

And really, like you said, it should not be a surprise to us. So as I was studying this too, there were a couple of other nutrients that came up that I thought was very interesting, very fascinating. And there are so many different elements to how a whole food plant based diet helps our mood, helps our intellectual ability.

[00:14:07] Anita: And it just never gets old discovering them all, does it? We discover new ones every day when we pick up new research studies to look at and we talk about them and we think this is just amazing in such a mind blowing way. It really is amazing when you see all the proof that is there for the fact that these foods are healing and your body was naturally created to heal and when your body that was naturally created to heal is not getting constantly bombarded with the junk and also is getting constant influx of these foods. We know that happens when you learn how to make it taste great.

And you can make it quick and simple so it works with your busy schedule and all that stuff comes together in a beautiful, simple way and it becomes your lifestyle so that you're no longer dreaming of cheat days or you're no longer thinking that diets are the answer. You get freed from all these things that just aren't true and you learn how to make this lifestyle enjoyable.

You can get not only more energy, less pain, reversal of these most common diseases of our time that Jarrod and I see happen, not just in our own body has this happened, but with our clients and our patients time and time again, but it's not just your physical body, it's your mental and emotional well being as well that is affected by getting the wrong foods in there and the lack of the nutrients that your body needs. But the solution can sometimes be a lot simpler than what we think

[00:15:32] Jarrod: And deliciouser.

[00:15:33] Anita: And deliciouser!

[00:15:35] Jarrod: It's a word now. I claim it.

[00:15:37] Anita: I love it.

I'm backing you on that one for sure because listen, there is nothing delicious er than whole plant foods we might need a new hashtag or

[00:15:46] Jarrod: Especially the Power on Plants way.

[00:15:48] Anita: It is, it just, well, and I agree with you, it makes such a huge difference because we've learned over time the way to make this sustainable. If it's not sustainable, if you don't enjoy it, if it has a long list of ingredients and it's painstaking and then you sit down to eat it and it tastes bland like cardboard would taste. Or it's supposed to be something like a muffin or a cupcake, and it's dry and tasteless. Who's going to want to do that the rest of their life?

Like, you are not going to be able to force yourself to do something. Most likely, you're not that strong willed that you're going to force yourself to do something just because you think it's good for you. You can do that for a time. You might do that for years. But ultimately and eventually,

will most likely stop doing that thing that you know in your mind is good for you and that you've seen the results of for whatever excuse that comes up. Because my doctor asked me, why are you doing that? We actually literally have had a family member whose doctor asked them, why are they doing this when they were reversing their type 2 diabetes?

Are you kidding me? And so sometimes a small excuse like that, when you have not set it up to become a lifestyle that you love, and that had not happened in this case. It was just kind of a trial thing and it had not quite happened in the way that it needed to happen where you're following step number one and step number two.

And those steps are so simple, but you need these steps to develop the lifestyle. We call this our success path, the Power On Plants success path. We've identified five different steps that when they're followed, make this life sustainable in a way that you actually enjoy. But it's so exciting to me, because it frees you in so many ways.

Your enemy does not want you to be freed. Especially if you're a believer. He does not want you to be free. Why? Because you're going to start feeling like walking in the truth more. You're going to start thinking clearly and be able to hear the voice of the Lord better.

You're going to be able to go out and share things more effectively because you're not at home, because you're sick and don't feel like leaving your home. You're going to build the business that you've been dreaming of for years. You're going to grow the business you're currently in to the next level.

We see this happen time and again. We help people get to the place that this is happening for them. This is normal. This is normal. It's not normal for you to go around feeling anxious and worried and depressed or hurting in your body so much that you find it hard to move or having to spend all your time sitting in offices waiting for appointments to get meds that stack upon each other and give you side effect after side effect.

What if the answer was as simple as learning the things that are sabotaging you? And learning how to get the things that will benefit you into their place that you'll like just as much or even better than what you called your old favorites. This goes back to what we talked about on our last podcast episode, which you have to listen to.

Because what food tastes better than feeling good feels? That's what we went over in that podcast episode, and it is crucial that you listen to that and wrap your mind around that understanding. What if the answer was just as simple?

There can be other things that work here, but one of the big keys for you is so very simple. Learning how to get those things out that have been keeping you stuck, and getting the foods in their place that will make you feel amazing in the way that works realistically with your lifestyle. That. It's the great news here.

I know that you had a couple more things shared that you have found in the research. There is so much there in the research. the good stuff.

[00:19:36] Jarrod: Yeah, there's a ton of stuff, but I found a couple specific ones that I thought would be good to highlight, that I thought were worth mentioning. First were the B vitamins.

Folate was mentioned that low folate levels can definitely contribute to depression, but the B vitamins in general.

[00:19:52] Anita: Does that mean you need to go out and get a B vitamin supplement?

[00:19:55] Jarrod: Well, actually, no. What they found is that low folate levels increase the risk of depression, but folic acid, which is the oxidized version of folate, the reason why they have that is that it's shelf stable. Folate by itself doesn't last as long as folic acid, but they found that taking folic acid itself in a supplement form did not help, but getting foods rich in folate did. That bumps up the folate level that helped to decrease the risk of depression?

[00:20:28] Anita: And some of those foods are...

[00:20:31] Jarrod: Well, they're present in tons of different plant foods, but specifically for folate, the cruciferous vegetables, your broccoli, your cauliflower, your kale, your cabbage, peas, beans, green leafies. I mean, we love our green leafies. So those are all very rich sources of B9, but also other B vitamins.

[00:20:51] Anita: And we could go on and on listing. So what's the moral of this story? Eat more whole plant foods, the five power foods that we talk about all the time. Fruits and vegetables, whole grains, nuts, seeds, and legumes. But Jarrod's giving you some specific ones that if you heard them and you think, you know, I don't get a lot of those.

Then learn the ways to do that and one of the best ways that you can gain inspiration and ideas for new foods to add to your life is to come into our free community Podcast Insiders Experience at poweronplants.com/pie and ask away. What do you guys do to get your folate? What are your favorite, or if you know one that Jarrod already named,

like leafy greens. I don't get enough of those. Come in and ask how. Grab your free guide. We have a free guide about how do you get more leafy greens into your life. It can be just that simple.

But isn't it amazing that it doesn't have to be difficult? And that sometimes the answers we're looking for in medications or supplements can be right there in the delicious whole plant foods. Waiting for us all along.

Jarrod has shared some more gold nuggets with you today, these from the nutritional research. So you can see that this is not just anecdotal information. We do not share that. We look at the nutritional facts, the research that's there that shows that these foods can be the simple answer that you've been looking for all along.

[00:22:26] Jarrod: And what we've shared today only scratches the surface. I mean, there's more and more of how the plant based foods help us help our bodies to thrive. And like you said before, I love it. It's fascinating. And I think it's just further evidence of how our Creator has made us. We're so complex and yet wonderfully made and everything just works, but it works so much better on plants.

[00:22:51] Anita: Doesn't it though, doesn't it though?

Friend, we've loved having you with us today and we cannot wait to hear your favorite thing that you learned from this episode. So take a quick moment right now to share that nugget that you gleaned with us by leaving a quick review on Apple podcast. It would help us so much to continue bringing these episodes to you. If they're making a difference in your life, drop us a note there and let us know.

And we look forward to getting to know you more inside of Podcast Insiders Experience and hanging out with you again, next time on Power On Plants.