Did you know that food can affect your mood? Sure, having a ‘treat’ can release feel-good endorphins to make you happy, but we’re talking about something even more significant here. There’s evidence to suggest a strong link between diet and long-term emotional stability.
Nutritional psychiatry explores the gut-brain connection and provides a promising approach to procuring better mental health. With the right food on your plate, you might just be able to ease symptoms of depression and anxiety naturally – thank you, microbiome!
What is Nutritional Psychiatry?
Nutritional psychiatry is an approach to mental health that recognizes the connection between healthy food and a healthy mind. While we all know that food fuels the body, we sometimes forget that this same fuel is used to support mental functioning and guide emotions, too. In other words, certain ingredients can trigger the body to feel sluggish and simultaneously bring down mental health.
Food as Medicine for the Mind
Food is an important puzzle piece in the big picture of mental health. And for those who struggle with depression, anxiety and other mood disorders, a greater focus on food can be a helpful strategy for improving mental health – a strategy that’s relatively easier for some folks to access than intimidating and/or pricey treatments like medication and therapy.
Mental health plays a significant role in a person’s ability to achieve happiness, maintain relationships, and experience success. As mental health awareness continues to grow, many communities are shifting the focus to education and helping everyday individuals understand how to care for their mental health using a variety of strategies – including their mealtime habits.
List of Antidepressant Nutrients
- Folate
- Iron
- Omega-3 fatty acids
- Magnesium
- Potassium
- Selenium
- Thiamine
- Vitamins A, B6, B12, C
- Zinc
The Gut-Brain Connection
Serotonin – the neurotransmitter that regulates mood, sleep and appetite – is actually produced in the gastrointestinal tract, so the state of the microbiome is important here. The gut relies on the ‘good’ bacteria that make up the microbiome to block out toxins, limit inflammation, improve the absorption of nutrients during digestion, and keep neural pathways between the gut and brain working properly.
The stronger and healthier the microbiome, the better chance your body has at allowing serotonin to do its magic and allow your mind to function its best.
How to Create a Healthier Microbiome
So, if the microbiome is so important, what can I do to make mine healthier? Here’s where diet comes in! Diets that include both prebiotics and probiotics are better at supporting a healthy microbiome. Prebiotics are soluble fibers that help support the probiotics already living inside the large intestine.
Onions, leeks, asparagus and bananas are great sources of prebiotics, while probiotics can be found in fermented foods like yogurt with active cultures, pickles, kefir, sauerkraut, kimchi and kombucha. Yum!
Traditional Japanese and Mediterranean diets both reflect the importance of supporting a strong microbiome – and the effects on mental health are measurable. One study compared these two traditional diets with a typical Western diet high in processed foods and found that the risk of developing depression was 25% – 35% lower for folks who embraced these traditional, gut-friendly diets.
Mental health is multifaceted, so be sure to include food in your plan for better mental health.
