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How and what we eat
can affect our mood –
and the other way round!
Balanced eating and dietary habits positively affect our wellbeing, supply our bodies with the energy we need and contribute to a healthy body image.
Eating a meal with family or friends in a relaxed atmosphere is a pleasure that may also cre-ate tranquillity. A balanced diet with lots of fresh fruit and vegetables, along with as little pro-cessed food as possible, will be good for both physical and mental health. In onerous life situ-ations, or when under stress, the quantity and composition of our diets sometimes temporari-ly change, meaning that we take in insufficient nutrients. For example, people often eat faster when they are stressed, and crave high-calorie foods more than usual. But with a little atten-tion to your own eating patterns and dietary behaviour, it is entirely possible to boost your health even during difficult times.
Eat yourself healthy!
Eating a healthy, balanced diet means, on the one hand, consuming food and drink in quanti-ties corresponding to your personal requirements. On the other hand, a balanced diet in-cludes many different foods in the correct proportions.
The aim is to obtain all necessary nutrients in your food, so that the body is optimally supplied and can function properly. Your body’s needs vary depending on your stage of life. For ex-ample, the energy requirements of people aged over 65 are lower than those of younger people. For a healthy, balanced diet, it is accordingly important to know what your own body needs. The Swiss Society for Nutrition (SGE) provides specific recommendations for a healthy, balanced diet for every age group.
The food pyramid
The Swiss food pyramid illustrates the proportions of foods we should consume from different food groups. You can eat large amounts of the foods in the lower pyramid levels, while those in the upper levels should be eaten in small quantities. There are no forbidden foods, but the right amount is important. The plate model depicts what a main meal (whether breakfast, lunch, or dinner) could consist of.
Almost as important for mental health as a balanced diet are the positive feelings of pleasure in food. With “My Pyramid”, the Swiss Society for Nutrition would like to inspire us to eat a var-ied diet and to enjoy a range of different foods. It has a tool that you can use to create a per-sonal pyramid with your individual favourite foods. Your pyramid can then be printed out or shared on social media with friends.
If you would like to learn more about varied, balanced, and tasty food and drink, then the “MySwissFoodPyramid” app is the very thing. The app is based on Swiss dietary recommen-dations and was developed by the Federal Food Safety and Veterinary Office (BLV). It is aimed at everyone over the age of 16 and can be downloaded free of charge onto your smartphone.
Further information
| “My Food Pyramid – the Swiss Society for Nutrition” |
| Further information plus links for downloading the “MySwissFoodPyramid” app |
Tell me what you eat and I’ll tell you
who you are.
News on the subject
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Food during the corona time
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Cherries: round, red and healthy!
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Fluid requirement: how much water should we drink?
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Eat carrots, be healthy – beta-carotene and its effects
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Damsons: small, healthy energy bombs!
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Pumpkins and squash
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The sun vitamin for strong bones and positive moods
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Fruit: apples are delicious and healthy!
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Kiwi – a small fruit bursting with vitamins!
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Rhubarb: poisonous or healthy?
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Raspberries: small, red, healthy power berries
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Basil: herb and medicinal plant
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Superfoods: from distant exotic climes or local and rustic
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Apricots – the healthy summer fruit
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Artichokes: a healthy delicacy and new superfood
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World Breastfeeding Week: What you need to know about breastfeeding
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“World Coffee Day” – liquid gold!
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Sugar: how ill will it really make you?
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Kombucha – is fermented tea really healthy?
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Ayurveda – or knowledge of life
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Chestnuts: healthy and delicious!
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Does chocolate make you happy?
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Diet and the mind: can the right food make you happy?
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Tea is healthy, but does it help with stress?
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Kale: a healthy winter vegetable packed with vitamins
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Jerusalem artichokes: the healthy tuber enjoying a renaissance!
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Baby turnip – just a carrot in May?
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Mid-morning and mid-afternoon snacks – how to make them healthy
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Peas: small, round, green and healthy!
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Colourful, versatile and healthy – why colour and variety are great on your plate
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Mindful Eating: eating for wellbeing
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Beetroot: the red power root
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Work-eat balance: how do you manage to eat a balanced diet in your hectic working life?
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Mental health in competitive sports – we are all only human
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Strawberries: how healthy is the “queen of the garden”?
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Cauliflower – our favourite brassica
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Walnuts: a healthy snack for body and brain
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The fig: a sweet power fruit with healthy extras
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The fascinating influence of colours on our food, health and shopping habits
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The power of the parsnip: a healthy root vegetable
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Picky eaters, or little food critics: how should we deal with them?
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Leek: a healthy winter vegetable
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Kaki: the orange vitamin powerhouse
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Nutri-Score: what’s behind the eye-catching colours?
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Chicorée: Bittere Schönheit mit gesundheitlichem Nutzen
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Licht im Dunkeln: So überwindest Du den November Blues
Tips and tricks
Take your time over your food, and eat consciously and slowly.
Prepare your meals yourself
In the workplace, put a glass of water on your desk where you can see it easily, as a regular reminder to drink enough.
Try to eat regularly.
What’s available in Zug Canton
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Health promotion – exercise and diet for children and young people
As part of the canton-wide action programme for diet and exercise, the Health Promotion De-partment of Zug Canton is supporting various different projects to promote a healthy diet for children, young people and families.
Health promotion – exercise and diet for children and young people -
Dietary advice
For everyone tackling their eating patterns and dietary behaviour, or who would like to change their eating patterns, support is offered by various nutritionists in Zug Canton’s mu-nicipalities. The Swiss Association of Nutritionists (SVDE) provides a list of nutritionists’ con-tact details.
List of freelance nutritionists SVDE
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References
Elmadfa, I. (2015).
Ernährungslehre (3. Aufl.). Stuttgart: Verlag Eugen UlmerLassale C. et al. (2018).
Healthy dietary indices and risk of depressive outcomes: a systematic review and meta-analysis of observational studies. Molecular Psychiatry.Zuk, K. (2015).
Gesund essen – eine ausgewogene Ernährung. In Krebsliga Schweiz (Hrsg.), Ausgewogene Ernährung: So senken Sie das Krebsrisiko (S. 6-14). Bern: Krebsliga Schweiz