I am delighted to introduce Kate Chaytor -Norris as our guest this month. Based in North Yorkshire, Kate is an experienced nutritional therapist, trained at the Institute for Optimum Nutrition in London, one of the foremost leading educational establishments to focus upon all aspects of nutrition and health from both a holistic and scientific perspective.
Creativity is something we are passionate about here at Alice & Astrid, Kate shares with us her expert advice and tips on how we can boost our creativity through the power of food.
JUST LAUNCHED, Kate's new book, I Wish My Doctor Had Told Me This: There is more to our healing than medication, it is well worth a read, packed full of valuable information, you can find the link to buy it online below.
TOP FIVE FOODS FOR CREATIVITY- Kate Chaytor - Norris
The word creativity for some is intimidating, it conjurs up the idea that we have to be creating great masterpieces – this simply is not true – creativity could be day-dreaming, weeding, doodling, cooking, humming, writing a shopping list, it is how we approach the task that counts. Creativity boosts our mental health, our immune system and makes us smarter. When we are being truly creative we are operating from our parasympathetic nervous system - the rest and digest one. In this state the body is more relaxed and can heal and repair, it also helps to balance our mood by boosting our dopamine levels. In order to be creative it helps to have our body in balance and our brain nourished so here are my top foods to boost creativity.
Oily fish - salmon, mackerel, sardines – increases our essential fats – vital for a healthy brain
Nuts and seeds – almonds, brazil nuts, hazelnuts, walnuts, pumpkin ,flax, sesame, chia, hemp and sunflower seeds – also increases our essential fats
Coffee – can perk up a sluggish brain – however don’t overdo it, too much will stress the body
Eggs – a perfect form of protein – the building blocks of the body – let’s face it an egg contains everything to create a life. They particularly have good levels of choline which is used in the brain chemical acetylcholine – this is the brain chemical that runs the parasympathetic (rest and digest) nervous system – it is key that this is switched on when we want to be creative.
Dark Chocolate (at least 70%) – high in flavanols, which have been proven to help with blood flow to the brain and improving general cognition, attention, processing speed and memory. Obviously always eat chocolate responsibly!
Available to Buy online now
Kate Chaytor-Norris DipION, mBANT, CNHC
Nutritional Therapist and Nutrigenomics Practitioner
PSYCH-K® Facilitator
www.nutritionyorkshire.com