What you eat has a very real impact on your emotional wellbeing over time and distance. 

Emotions are contagious and our brains release electrochemical molecules that create these emotions, based on how we feel and the electric energy we expose ourselves too.

There are many circumstances in life that bring about mental and emotional pain. And whilst it is true that time heals all wounds, there are things you can do to help support and restore emotional wellbeing and the role of food should not be underestimated.

A critical thing that can accelerate the healing process is being around happy, supportive people.

You can also feed your emotions in a positive or negative way via the food you eat. 

Food and drink is not just for nutrition or relieving hunger and thirst, it is a measure of exchange between you and your body, particularly when you consider the impact at the subatomic, atomic, electric and molecular levels and the impulses that either create energy and health, OR trauma and dis-ease. 

Whole Foods & Emotions

There is not a synthetic medicine in this world that can compare to the power of plant whole foods for healing the body, mind and emotions.

By nature, we are emotional beings. 

So it stands to reason that what we eat - which is a big part of our life - has a big say, not just on how we look, but how we feel.

Human experience shows that the incredible health benefits of eating a diet rich in fresh fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds and whole grains delivers far more than just protein, fibre, vitamins and minerals.

These foods provide electrical frequencies of light that stimulate the cells and our entire physical and emotional structure and wellbeing.

Learn more in What Are Whole Foods? 7 Benefits Of A Whole Food Diet

The important thing to re-discover is that whole foods are at the foundation of impulse and its regulation.

Again, impulse leads to emotion and emotion is sent at the speed of light throughout our entire central nervous system. The nerves attach to our entire bodily architecture. The nerve messages lead to cellular nourishment if the emotion is a healthy positive virtue or to cellular chaos if the emotional signal is a negative toxic, potentially deadly one.

Whole foods carry the biochemicals to release negative molecular residues and strengthen positive construction.

Whole foods can lift us, calm us, recharge us, amplify us and expand our creative imaginative inventive potentials in many aspects of life.  On the other hand, toxic life-less foods can overwhelm us and cause chaos to form inside our bodies, which can show up as any number of chronic health problem or disease.

Colours For Emotional Healing

One of the most misunderstood and underestimated aspects of foods from the plant kingdom is the variations in COLOURS of these foods and how they target and lift different body systems and parts of your anatomy.

All of these foods reflect the 7 colours of the rainbow, which is why "rainbow fasting" can be so effective in amplifying positive energy and releasing negative patterns that make you feel angry or frustrated.

Embracing the colours of food available from the full rainbow spectrum regularly, is strongly recommended for maximum benefit, especially because of the impact that this variety of colour has on the mind, emotions and on the determination of health or disease. 

Interestingly, different colours affect emotions differently.

Meanings of colour have been established over time throughout the human experience based on these colours and how they made people “feel”.

An example of this is red peppers are “for warmth”; cucumbers "keep us cool", and strawberries represent "love" etc.

Nature does this by design, to signify the foods that we need to support or uplift our emotional imbalances.

If you want to feel a certain way or enhance certain specific qualities in yourself, start by eating an abundance of the colour that resonates with your needs and by clothing yourself in more of that colour shade.

The brain responds wonderfully.

Let's take a look at the colours of the rainbow that reflect the foods from nature's table, what they represent and how they can feed your emotions:

Red

Red is the colour of heart, fire and blood, so it is associated with energy, war, danger, strength, power, determination as well as passion, desire and love.

Being a very emotionally intense colour, red enhances human metabolism, increases respiration rate and raises blood pressure.

In heraldry, red is used to indicate courage.

#1 Benefit of Red: Confidence. A sense of control and mastery of one’s body, behaviour and world; the sense that you are more likely than not to succeed at what you undertake and that others will be helpful.

Important constituents of emotion: Lycopene and Anthocyanins

Commonly available red foods include:

• Apples
• Cherries
• Strawberries
• Cranberries
• Pomegranates
• Raspberries
• Red grapes
• Watermelon
• Tomatoes
• Red cabbage
• Red onions
• Red Capsicum
• Chillies

Orange

Orange combines the energy of red and the happiness of yellow. Orange is associated with joy, sunshine and the tropics and represents enthusiasm, fascination, happiness, creativity, determination, attraction, success, encouragement and stimulation.

Orange increases oxygen supply to the brain, produces an invigorating effect and stimulates mental activity.

In heraldry, orange is symbolic of strength and endurance.

#1 Benefit of Orange: Curiosity. The sense that finding out about things is positive and leads to pleasure.

Commonly available Orange foods include:

• Oranges
• Mangoes
• Tangerines
• Peaches
• Nectarines
• Papaya
• Rockmelon
• Squash
• Carrots
• Pumpkin
• Orange Capsicum
• Sweet Potatoes

Yellow

Yellow is the colour of sunshine. It’s associated with joy, happiness, intellect and energy.

Yellow produces a warming effect, arouses cheerfulness, stimulates mental activity and generates muscle energy.

In heraldry, yellow indicates honour and loyalty.

#1 Benefit of Yellow: Intentionality. The wish and capacity to have an impact, and to act upon that with persistence. This is related to a sense of competence, of being effective.

The Orange/Yellow Group Of Whole Foods

Important Constituents of Emotion: 700 + Carotenoids (Beta-carotene is but 1) Bioflavonoids and Vitamin C

Commonly available yellow foods include:

• Bananas
• Pineapples
• Lemons
• Corn
• Squash
• Yellow Capsicum

Green

Green is the colour of nature. It symbolises growth, harmony, freshness and fertility. Green has strong emotional correspondence with safety.

Green also has great healing power and symbolising cleanliness or detoxification. It is the most restful colour for the human eye; it can improve vision. Green suggests stability and endurance.

In heraldry, green indicates growth and hope.

#1 Benefit of Green: Self-control. The ability to modulate and control one’s own actions in age-appropriate ways; a sense of inner control.

Important constituents of emotion: Lutein and Indoles

Commonly available Green foods include:

• Kale 
• Spinach
• Lettuce
• Watercress
• Rocket
• Silverbeet
• Avocado
• Asparagus
• Beans
• Zucchinis
• Green Capsicum
• Kiwi Fruit
• Apples
• Honey Dew Melon
• Limes 

Blue/Purple Spectrum and Indigo, Violet

Blue is the colour of the sky and sea. It is often associated with depth and stability. It symbolises trust, loyalty, wisdom, confidence, intelligence, faith, truth and heaven; hence the name true blue.

Blue is considered beneficial to the mind and body. It slows human metabolism and produces a calming effect. Blue is strongly associated with tranquillity and calmness.

In heraldry, blue is used to symbolise piety and sincerity.

Purple combines the stability of blue and the energy of red. Purple is associated with royalty. It symbolises power, nobility, luxury and ambition. It conveys wealth and extravagance. Purple is associated with wisdom, dignity, independence, creativity, mystery and magic. Purple is the colour of imagination.

#1 Benefit of Blue: Relatedness. The ability to engage with others based on the sense of being understood by and understanding others.

#1 Benefit of Indigo: Capacity to communicate. The wish and ability to verbally exchange ideas, feelings and concepts with others. This is related to a sense of trust in others and of pleasure in engaging with others.

#1 Benefit of Violet: Cooperativeness. The ability to balance one’s own needs with those of others in group activity, family and friends, etc.

Important constituents of emotion: Anthocyanins and Phenolics

Commonly available Blue Spectrum foods include:

• Blue Potatoes
• Egg Plant
• Purple Cabbage
• Purple Onions
• Plums
• Grapes
• Figs
• Blackberries
• Blueberries

White/Brown

White is associated with light, goodness, innocence, purity and virginity.  It is considered to be the colour of perfection. White means safety, purity and cleanliness.

White can represent a successful beginning.

In heraldry, white depicts faith and purity.

#1 Benefit of White/Brown: White light contains and supports all seven colours and skills, holistically, (generally not specifically).

Important constituents of emotion: Allicin (onion, garlic)

Commonly available white/brown foods include:

• Cauliflower
• Potatoes
• Parsnips
• Turnips
• Mushrooms
• Onions
• Garlic
• Ginger

If you'd like some guidance in doing a rainbow diet for 7 days, check out our "7 Day Raw Food Discovery" video series/pdf download where Don Tolman talks about food colours here

Emotional Health

Healing physically and emotionally requires that you remove the external toxins taken internally that cause dis-ease, starting with your diet and personal care routine.

Beyond that, we find that the causative factors of illness are not strictly dietary problems.  Instead, they can relate directly to the mental and emotional ups and downs you experience as well.

Your thoughts are powerful, dynamic forces that influence how you feel and react throughout most aspects of your life.  These thoughts, control the emotions that dictate the foods you choose to eat (and your susceptibility to illness), the programs you watch, your willingness to stay physically active, to set and pursue goals, how you show up for others who need you...the list goes on.

Ultimately, what we think and feel about ourselves on a consistent basis determines who and what we become. Whether we realise it or not, our conscious and unconscious attitudes, or belief systems, and feelings, or emotions, powerfully affect the cells, tissues and organs of our physical bodies.

This along with the conditions we experience in the world around us.

Learn more in 5 Ways To Heal With The Power Of The Mind

Awareness 

The first and most important step in healing any problem is to become aware of and acknowledge that there is a problem.

Denial can lead to ongoing trauma, which if not dealt with can snowball into bigger challenges down the road.

Once we recognise and learn to release the attitudes that inhibit our expression of being conscious, we then remove the root causes of our dis-ease. In this way, symptoms will fade away and we will establish permanent healing.

There is not a magic pill that can compare to the power of gratitude, a shift in perspective, sunshine, whole foods, fasting and physical touch can provide for healing and supporting your mind, body and emotions. 

Learn more in Fasting: What You Should Know

By consciously choosing simple natural remedies, you can free yourself of the blockages, commonly referred to as pain and dis-ease.

Dietary and bodily hygiene opens the door for love to enter and negative emotions to resolve and be released. When you let go of guilt, for example, you are then free to love yourself and life more fully.

When you find it in your heart to let go of resentment and anger, you are then free to love other people more fully and will experience greater harmony in all of your relationships.

This is the basic formula necessary for healing ourselves on an individual level and for healing our world on a global level.

Take care of your emotions by embracing all of the colours of foods that mother nature offers, whilst practicing basic self care steps that will help free you from emotional struggle and pain.

Tolman Self Care.