There has been a growing concern for mental health issues around the world. In the United States, one in five people experiences an anxiety disorder. Researchers found very interesting correlations between mental health and the diets we consume. We have been fascinated by the effects of lifestyle practices and mental health outcomes for many years.
If we talk about the effect of the diet we consume on mental health conditions, the results are very interesting. As a bad diet may contribute towards aggravating mental issues, a good diet helps to mitigate mental health disorders or at least assist to minimize them.
Effect of a bad diet on mental health
In a study by Dr Johnny Figueroa, a researcher here at Loma Linda University Health, he used a rad model of obesity and evaluated that what is the impact of early life obesity, as in the kids, on mental health outcomes in animals. In this study, they had two different sets of diets. The first diet was a normal diet, which is used for a normal rodent or rat and that was given to the first group of rats. The other group of rats in the experiment were eating a high saturated fat diet that is very similar to the standard American diet and is obesogenic. So, they basically had one set of rats eating very healthy and another set eating fast food every night.
The results were very interesting. The group of rats with high saturated fat diets tended to be more passive, they didn't move as much, and usually, they tended not to explore as much as normal rats did. So those rats didn't ever experience any type of trauma, but what they were eating elicited this response. Afterwards, when they expose them to stress, the saturated fat and high sugar diet rats showed really high impairments in brain function compared to the healthy diet rats. This indicated a clear relationship between the diet used and the response to the stress situations.
The researchers also established that a bad diet for children as well as for adults can affect vulnerability to stress and stress-related disorders similar to that in the animals as mentioned before.
One of the things that we want is to see if we can reverse that process. Yes, we can through lifestyle interventions diet, exercise and normal sleep approaches that can really restore the brain, bring it back to a normal state, and contribute to the health of patients.
Nutritional psychiatry as mental health doctor
When we think about mental health conditions like depression and anxiety and things like schizophrenia, we have robust treatments for all of these. New science connects food with mood, and oftentimes treatment can overlook this critical factor about what people eat. Nutrition is one of the most important components that we have in terms of the overall lifestyle that we follow in our normal routine. Many people made the wrong choices and are eating foods that are really bad for their and their children's health.
Here comes ‘nutritional psychiatry. What is nutritional psychiatry? Nutritional psychiatry is the practice of treating mental health disorders in children and elders using food and food supplements. There is a lot of new nutritional psychiatry science which really looks at how food and food choice and dietary patterns influence our risk of illnesses like anxiety and depression and then how maybe it is useful in helping patients to get out of the illness.
When we think about beating depression and anxiety, there are lots and lots of things when we can do. Even if people have a response to medications or even if really psychotherapy helps them to get into full remission from an illness, lifestyle is an important tool to mitigate the negative effects and to maintain good mental health. Along with other factors, nutrition is one really most important aspects of lifestyle that must be considered as seriously as we do for other factors.
Tips for Healthy Eating
Try always to avoid snack foods, such as potato chips as they can affect your concentration ability. Similarly, sugar-filled snacks including candies and soft drinks should be passed up as they can cause an uncontrolled fluctuation in your energy levels.
Include healthy fats in your diet to improve your brain functioning. Healthy fats can be found in olive oil, avocado and coconut oil.
Consume healthy snacks such as nuts, fruits, boiled eggs and baked potatoes etc.
Don’t include the unhealthy item in your shopping list, just stick to healthy food items, no matter how hungry you are.
Be clear about what and when to eat. Avoid eating in a distracting environment, like watching TV, as this may cause unconscious overeating. Eat in a relaxed mode, observe what you are eating, chew slowly and enjoy the food.