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Nutrition & Mental Health

"Everyone thinks of changing the world, but no one thinks of changing himself" - Leo Tolstoy

Why is Mental Health important?

Mental Health is responsible for our emotional, social, and psychological well-being. Mental health allows people to handle their stress, make healthy decisions, and handle others around them. It is important in every stage of our life.

Brain on Food​




 
The brain is responsible for our thoughts and movements, such as breathing and senses. It even works hard when you're sound asleep. For your brain to function correctly, it requires fuel. That "fuel" comes from food.
 The burgeoning field of nutritional psychiatry is finding many correlations and consequences between not only what we eat, how we feel, and behave, but also with what bacteria lives in our gut (Eva Selhub, MD, 2020).
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B-Vitamins

  • B vitamins, especially niacin, folate, vitamin B6, and vitamin B12 affect mental health
  • "​Recent studies on the dietary intervention of niacin, especially nicotinamide riboside (NR), suggested that NR exerts neuroprotective effects, and restores cognitive decline by the regulation of beta-secretase 1 degradation and expressions of mitochondrial metabolism-related genes"
  • A study reported in Neuropsychobiology, nine vitamins were supplemented, 10 times in excess of normal recommended dietary allowance for one year "improved mood in both men and women" (Benton et al., 1995).

Nutrition Check on Mental Health

  • In a study that contained 120 adolescents and children, consuming fast food was associated with a higher prevalence of diagnosed hyperactivity disorder (Pediatrics, Vol. 139, No. 2, 2017)
  • Excessive consumption of fat, inadequate vitamin ingestion, and nutritional disproportion results in overactivity of inflammation and stress hormones (Gonzalez et al., 2014)
  • Eating the proper food makes a difference for those who suffer from any mental illness. Don't believe me? Click below
     
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Omega 3 Fatty Acids

  • Due to Omega 3 FA's anti-inflammatory properties, it affects serotonin and dopamine transmission. In addition, it plays a significant role in our brain.
  • Omega-3 has been suggested to prevent psychiatric conditions including borderline personality disorder, schizophrenia, and attention deficit disorder (Mischoulon, 2020).​
What is a safe dose?
For depression, the dose range is from less than one g/day to 10 g/day. However, be careful with Omega-3 with bipolar depression. For bipolar depression, Omega-3 is recommended in combination with mood stabilizer prescriptions (Mischoulon, 2020).

Still not sure what to eat?

Explore more on Diet & Mental Health and see what is good for you

Reference

Lim SY, Kim EJ, Kim A, Lee HJ, Choi HJ, Yang SJ. Nutritional Factors Affecting Mental Health. Clin Nutr Res. 2016 Jul;5(3):143-52. doi: 10.7762/cnr.2016.5.3.143. Epub 2016 Jul 26. PMID: 27482518; PMCID: PMC4967717

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Clay, R. A. (2017, September). The link between food and mental health. Monitor on Psychology, 48(8). https://www.apa.org/monitor/2017/09/food-mental-health

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Muscaritoli M. The Impact of Nutrients on Mental Health and Well-Being: Insights From the Literature. Front Nutr. 2021 Mar 8;8:656290. doi: 10.3389/fnut.2021.656290. PMID: 33763446; PMCID: PMC7982519.

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Rao TS, Asha MR, Ramesh BN, Rao KS. Understanding nutrition, depression and mental illnesses. Indian J Psychiatry. 2008 Apr;50(2):77-82. doi: 10.4103/0019-5545.42391. PMID: 19742217; PMCID: PMC2738337.

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