Nutrition psychology. Rational versus dysrational thinking. The cases for upbringing and nutrition

The human mind is what the brain does, and it’s a complex interplay between, on the one hand, non-declarative mental processes like motivation, emotions (plural), and most of human cognition, and on the other, declarative cognition. At least two factors are crucial for this interplay to work properly: early upbringing, nutrition. Most physical and mental health issues emerge, I think, because of mental fallacies. This is also known as dysrationalia or natural stupidity. You will get obese by consuming sugar, and ultra-processed alternatives to real food, The World, overall, in better shape than ever, Domestic violence is typically a female phenomenon.

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The human mind is what the brain does, and it’s a complex interplay between, on the one hand, non-declarative mental processes like motivation, emotions (plural), and most of human cognition, and on the other, declarative cognitions.

Simplified, the declarative part is represented by the Executive functions, a plethora of ~15 subsets like:

“metacognitive executive functions”: problem solving, planning, concept formation, strategy development and implementation, controlling attention, working memory, and the like; that is, executive functions as they are usually understood in contemporary neuroscience; and (2) “emotional/motivational executive functions”: coordinating cognition and emotion/motivation (that is, fulfilling biological needs according to some existing conditions) (Ardila, 2008).

Included in the EFs, or intertwined, is prospective thinking, that is, the ability to use memory and perception to experience the future by elaborating intentions and scenarios forward in time (Gilbert och Wilson, 2007; Locke och Latham, 2002).

At least two factors are crucial for this interplay to work properly:

1. early upbringing (first 4 years of living).
   
   
2. nutritions, >30 micronutrients, tryptophan, choline, and animal source omega 3 fatty acids, like DHA and EPA.

It is good that the father is at home with the children (LaFlamme et al. 2012). A research team at Imperial College has published a study showing that children who interact with their father at three months have better cognitive ability at the age of two (Sethna et al. 2017). A systematic review shows a positive effect of the father-relationship on the cognitive development of school children (Rolle et al. 2019). The father-relationship benefits children's emotional and social adjustment (Vieno et al. 2009, 2014). My own master's thesis in social psychology, which deals with children's emotional relationships with their respective parents, indicates that children who grow up with both parents or only with their father have better emotional and social adjustment and cognitive development (including visuospatial perception and numeracy) compared to children who grow up with only their mother (Österberg, 2004):

“A compilation of 28 studies on the effects of father absence on children's cognitive ability (Shinn, 1978) indicates that father absence as a function of divorce is negatively related to intellectual competence in children; which has also been demonstrated in previous studies (Blanchard & Biller, 1971; Crescimbeni, 1965; Ferri, 1976; Hetherington et al., 1978, 1982; Radin, 1976; Radin et al., 1994; Santrock, 1972; Sutton–Smith et al., 1978). Shinn (1978). The results of the comparative study are consistent with the hypothesis that children's interaction with their parents forms a platform for cognitive development, and that a reduction in this interaction inhibits cognitive development” (p.2)”.

Humans’ need to consume >30 micronutrients, tryptophan, choline, and animal omega 3 fatty acids, like DHA and EPA from the same plate on a regular basis (Österberg, 2019; 2020, 2021 a, b; 2022, 2023).

So what happens when these two factors fail?

Most physical and mental health issues emerge, I think, because of mental fallacies. This is also known as dysrationalia or natural stupidity. Due to social impact, we tend to rely on information which is prototypical, available, and easy to access. For example,

1. Fat makes us fat, because fat on the plate is prototypical to fat on the body.
   
   
2. Legacy media reiterate that the World is on the brink of doom.
   
   
3. Men are blamed for domestic violence.

Here are some interesting examples.

1. 1950 Doroty Miller (1990-1992), who claimed that the world will be consumed by a flood (Festinger et a. 1956).
   
   
2. 1950 - 1980. Diet-heart hypothesis, and dietary guidelines (Teicholz, 2023).
   
   
3. 1990 - Sweden recruited a Norwegian feminist who claimed that only men are perpetrators of domestic violence (Bergkvist, 2002).

What does science say? You will:

1. get obese by consuming sugar, and ultra-processed alternatives to real food.
   
   
2. The World, overall, in better shape than ever.
   
   
3. Domestic violence is typically a female phenomenon (references in this science blog).

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Executive coaching for CEOs/managers and workshops to facilitate Organizational Performance, Learning, and Creativity for Problem Solving | Lectures: Nutrition for physical and mental health | Course/lecture: children's emotional and social adjustment and cognitive development | Language training - Swedish | Academy Competency | CV | Teaching skills and experience | Summary of research project | Instagram | Linkedin | YouTube-channel | TikTok | Twitter