3 Reasons Cooking is Good for Your Health

(Newswire.net — August 7, 2014) Surrey, BC — 

This may sound like another article about the importance of healthy eating. In a way it is, but really it is about the benefits that the act of cooking can have on your health. Cooking is a valuable skill to have, and whether you’re a gourmet chef or can barely boil pasta, the enjoyment you get from preparing a meal can be beneficial to your health in more ways than one.

 

Here are 3 reasons why cooking is good for your health:

 

It Reduces Stress

 

According to Debbie Mandel, author of Addicted to Stress, “cooking is a great de- stresser because it serves as a creative outlet. And while stress can numb your senses, cooking activates them”. [1] Because cooking requires you to focus on the task at hand, your brain is able to shift from worrying to concentrating on the process of creating a meal or recipe. In other words, the enjoyment you receive from cooking can be a boost to your health- in more ways than one. This is perfect if you’re in the middle of a stressful situation at work or in your personal life.

 

Nurturing Others Makes You Feel Good

 

Says Carole Lieberman, psychiatrist: “If you’re cooking for people you care about, you get nurtured by their appreciation.”[2] In other words, nurturing others makes you feel good. By tending to the needs of others by providing them a home- cooked meal, you enjoy the benefits from preparing the meal and the happiness it brings others. What goes around comes around, and love and happiness are wonderful things to share.

 

It’s Good For Your Heart In Many Ways

 

While whipping up a healthy meal is good for your heart and body, the focus and attention required to prepare a dish can provide a much- needed distraction from heartbreak or other challenging life events.  When Nikki Cascone, the chef/ owner of  24 Prince, lost her father, she threw herself into cooking: “It was the first time I had experienced the loss of someone close to me… cooking was comforting then and (continues to be) now… I almost start meditating (when I cook)”[3]. And because it provides instant results (once the meal is ready of course), you can enjoy the fruits of your labour upon completion. Swapping feelings of sadness and stress for warm and fuzzy contentment? Sounds like a recipe for happiness.

 

Are you going through a stressful time- such as the purchase of a home? Or are you trying to qualify for a mortgage? Andreia Brazil specializes in helping individuals qualify for a mortgage when they have been denied by banks. She combines her passion for cooking with her love of helping people in her business- visit her website and contact her today and find out why she’s called The Cooking Mortgage Mama!