To boost your mental health, focus on eating plenty of fruits and vegetables along with foods rich in omega-3 fatty acids, such as salmon. Dark green leafy vegetables in particular are brain protective. Nuts, seeds and legumes, such as beans and lentils, are also excellent brain foods.
These foods are not rich sources of nutrients crucial for brain health. When considering brain health, fish and seafood are among the most nutrient dense foods that one can eat. This food category is rich in all of the nutrients discussed so far namely: omega-3 fatty acids and B vitamins. Is Robert eating any fish or seafood? It may be reasonable to consider asking him this question. Moreover, greens such as kale, beans, and legumes are excellent sources of folate, as are fiber, and B-vitamins. Are these foods part of his diet?
How Diet Affects Mental Health
Another aspect on the frontier of the link between diet and mental health is the microbiome. Fermented foods have been part of the human diet since the Paleolithic period and they remain part of the dietary practices of most known traditional diets today.41
These types of foods are commonly referred to as probiotic since they contain microorganisms that positively influence health. Prebiotics, on the other hand include non-digestible fiber, which stimulates the growth and or activity of these beneficial microorganisms. The impact of the microbiome on mental health is an emerging area of research42 that is beyond the scope of this article. Suffice it to say that the microbiome provides another link between diet and mental health since short-term dietary changes can induce species level changes to intestinal microbes.43
Robert is provided with education regarding the importance of adequate nutrition for his mental health and encouraged to make some changes to his diet in line with the considerations discussed above. He is glad to hear about steps he can take on his own to improve his mental wellbeing and his self-efficacy increases. You work with Robert to find some nutrient-dense and convenient breakfast options such as scrambled eggs or a nutrient-dense smoothie. He decides to start eating breakfast.
Thus, the food one eats is directly linked to brain structure and function, and thus affects the working of the mind. Many studies have found that diets that are too rich in refined sugars are toxic to brain functioning because the high content of simple sugars stresses the pancreas and induces insulin resistance. The high sugar levels with compensatory insulin responses stimulate the counter-reactive surge of autonomic neurotransmitters like cortisol and glucagon.
Not only do people eat differently when anxious or depressed, but these changes may occur in either direction. Conversely, depression may be the result, at least partly, of poor eating habits, or may become worsened by the inability of the patient to stop eating comfort foods and choose a healthy diet. Such inability may be financial, psychological, or iatrogenic.
Some studies have confirmed that diets that are richer in healthier carbohydrates and fats, and lower in refined and highly processed foods, such as the Japanese and Mediterranean diets, are linked to a reduction in the incidence of depression by anywhere between a quarter to over a third, compared to the standard American diet.
Inflammation of the nervous system is also important in the pathogenesis of mental illness, and this is also linked to the diet. Many biomarkers of inflammation, such as C-reactive protein (CRP) and tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α) were associated with a dietary pattern that was linked to a higher risk of depression over the next decade or so. This pattern included high simple sugars (sweetened drinks and refined flours), red meat and margarine (saturated fats), and little green or yellow vegetables, coffee, wine, or olive oil, which are all features of the stereotypical Western diet.
This important molecule is implicated in the plasticity and survival of neurons, and neurogenesis. It is reduced in many mental health conditions including depression, PTSD and schizophrenia, and is affected by many antidepressants that are commonly prescribed.
Of course, depressive tendencies or stressors may prevent the beneficial effects of healthy food from manifesting themselves as reduced inflammation or improved mood. Secondly, only some depressed individuals show this inflammatory tendency, which may mean that diet plays this role in only a proportion of people, perhaps with other inflammatory conditions or due to constitutional factors.
Not only does the Mediterranean (and similar) diet affect the availability of the basic building blocks of the brain and neurotransmitters, including myelin, the neuronal membrane, and monoamine neurotransmitters, but it modulates key chemicals like BDNF to alter neuroplasticity, mutes system inflammation, and determines the health and state of the gut microbiome.
In a child's life, the period from conception until two years old is crucial for growth and development. In addition to the development of vital organs and regulatory systems, this phase also determines a child's personality, mental health, and socio-emotional growth. Hence, optimal nourishment must be provided during pregnancy and the first years of a child's life.
Similar to any non-communicable disease, a child may develop depression and anxiety at an early age. Often these mental health conditions are found in children as young as 5 to 9 years of age. It has been observed that early-life nutritional deficiencies make a child susceptible to mental health conditions. Maternal diet has also been linked with mental health conditions (e.g., Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder- ADHD) and neurodevelopment of the offspring.
Typically, personal traits are presented as five different traits that include conscientiousness, imagination, extraversion, neuroticism, and benevolence. These character traits are referred to as the big five personality traits. Few studies have analyzed the association between early childhood diet and later mental health status.
The authors of the current study have previously developed the New Nordic Diet (NND) score, which helps determine the level of adherence to a healthy and sustainable dietary pattern. The present study is based on the data obtained from the Medical Birth Registry of Norway (MBRN) and the Norwegian Mother, Father, and Child Cohort Study (MoBa).
Additionally, an association between early diet and mental health conditions, particularly anxiety and depression in later childhood, was investigated. It was observed that children exposed to a less healthy and sustainable diet in early life were susceptible to psychiatric symptoms in the later stage.
During pregnancy, the mother's adherence to the NND was associated with lower scoring on the depression scale when the child was eight years old. However, no significant association with anxiety was observed. A healthy and sustainable maternal diet was linked with higher trait scores on conscientiousness, extraversion, benevolence, and imagination and lower scores on neuroticism.
A key strength of the study is the analysis of a large, well-described, prospective population-based birth cohort, which presents the possibility of adjusting for potential confounders. In addition, the tool used to assess a child's mental health and personality trait is reliable and valid.
The current study emphasized the importance of maternal pregnancy diet as well as early childhood diet on a child's mental health, i.e., the incidence of anxiety and depression and personality development. To date, no study has reported the association between early life diet and the five big personality traits.
Bose, Priyom. (2023, January 10). How does early life diet affect a child's mental health and personality?. News-Medical. Retrieved on February 10, 2023 from -medical.net/news/20230110/How-does-early-life-diet-affect-a-childs-mental-health-and-personality.aspx.
Bose, Priyom. "How does early life diet affect a child's mental health and personality?". News-Medical. -medical.net/news/20230110/How-does-early-life-diet-affect-a-childs-mental-health-and-personality.aspx. (accessed February 10, 2023).
Bose, Priyom. 2023. How does early life diet affect a child's mental health and personality?. News-Medical, viewed 10 February 2023, -medical.net/news/20230110/How-does-early-life-diet-affect-a-childs-mental-health-and-personality.aspx.
Many of us are well aware of the benefits that eating a balanced diet has on our physical health, but do you know how it benefits our mental health? More and more research is coming to light on the impact food has on both our overall mental wellness, as well as specific mental illnesses like depression and anxiety.
On the face of it, our diets may seem to be sufficient but our digestion, absorption, health history and inherited health traits can affect the amount of nutrients our body needs. One or more of these factors can tip the balance towards poor mental health. A personalised approach to diet and lifestyle can also help you regain physical and mental well-being.
Nutritional sciences have been recognized as being of paramount importance for the prevention of non-communicable diseases. Among others, mental health disorders have been hypothesized to be influenced by dietary risk through a variety of molecular mechanisms. The improvements in the technology and implementation of-omics sciences in terms of nutrition have created the possibility of studying the relation between diet, gut microbiota and mental health. The gut-brain-axis represents the core rationale setting the stage for a relatively new discipline of study defined as "nutritional psychiatry". Research on this matter will help to better understand the relation between food and mood, sleep quality, cognition, and mental health in general.
The winner? The Mediterranean diet, which according to the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition features abundant fruits and vegetables, olive oil, dairy products like yogurt and cheese, cereals, beans, fish and poultry, and moderate amounts of red meat and wine. (Sometimes it seems to be the best diet for just about everything: it may help you live longer, and it recently won the top spot in an exhaustive, expert-led analysis of 40 diets based on metrics like being heart-healthy, plant heavy, and easy to adhere to.) 2ff7e9595c
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