Hardware, Software, Operator Pt. 1: Good Nutrition.

The mind is a marvelous contraption. I tend to think of the mind in terms of a computer: the hardware is the brain; the software is the mind; and the person operating the software/computer is the soul.

Good mental health consists of tending to all three areas.

Let us take them one by one:

The Brain, The Machine Itself.

The brain is an organ of the body that feeds off oxygen (O2) and Glucose (C6H12O6).  Just as with any organ of the body, nutrition is important. I stumbled upon the importance of good nutrition as a role in sustaining and boosting mental health quite by accident. I am a traditional Roman Catholic, and, during Lent, I undertook the traditional fasts of the Church. The weight fell off me during that time, and , as Kate Moss once said: "Nothing tastes as good as skinny feels."

Of Late though, I find myself, very often, to be too mentally or emotionally exhausted to fast on Fridays and Ember Days and the Days of Lent, and the weight piled back on. I fast whenever I can, but, admittedly, this is not very often.

I was admitted into Mental Hospital in Winter 2011.  Whilst there I noticed that bowel movements had become extremely difficult indeed. For months afterwards I needed recourse to strong laxatives.

Once, whilst back at home during an incredibly difficult bowel movement, I said to myself: right, that is it, I am purchasing that Alicia Silverstone Book from Amazon. Silverstone - you may remember her from such  films as Clueless (1995) and Batman and Robin (1997) - has written a book on becoming a vegan.  Here is the Amazon Link:

 http://www.amazon.co.uk/The-Kind-Diet-Simple-Feeling/dp/1609611357/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1390938524&sr=8-1&keywords=alicia+silverstone


To be honest, I have only skimmed through it. It reads charmingly. It is almost as though Cher from Clueless wrote it in places, and I mean that in a complimentary way.

I am trying to cut down on meat. Alternating between meat-free days and carnivorous-feasting days. My constipation has resolved itself, and I have not taken a dulcolax in months. It is on meat-free days that I feel at my most energetic and least depressed.

I hope to gradually become Vegetarian/Vegan. I shall do it in stages as recommended by Mz. Silverstone. Cut out red meat - especially pork - and then chicken. Be a Piscavorian (1), then a vegetarian, and then vegan.  I managed to be vegetarian/piscavorian for a whole week, but I live with a very carnivorous family, and constantly slip into my meat-eating ways.

Good diet is important for good mental health. I shall continue this article later.

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(1). The term 'piscavorian' comes from the Latin noun 'piscis' meaning 'fish' and the Latin verb ' vorō, vorāre vorāvī, vorātum,' meaning 'to eat.' A 'piscavorian' is one whose diet consists of fish, but no meat such as beef, chicken, pork etc.