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The love for our food goes back to time immemorial. It's now a recognizable fact that optimizing our nutrition is a safe and viable way to avoid, lessen or treat mental health concerns. Poor nutrition is a significant and modifiable risk factor for the development of mental illness.
The brain is made up of fats, glucose, lipids, amino acids and several other micronutrients. Each component has a distinct impact on functioning, development, mood and energy. The late-lunch laziness or late-night alertness you might be feeling could simply be the effect of food on your brain.
How Food Impacts Mental Health?
Have you noticed yourself turning towards comfort food when you're stressed or anxious?
Food plays a key role in our everyday life - from biophysical development to physical development - and also in our mental health. On that note, here's a look at five ways food can impact our mental health:
1) Boosts Brain Health
Of the fats in our brains, the superstars are Omega 3 and 6. These essential fatty acids have been linked to prevent degenerative brain conditions, which come from our diets. Other trans and saturated fats may compromise brain health.
Meanwhile, proteins and amino acids, the building blocks of growth and development, determine how we feel and behave. Amino acids contain precursors to neurotransmitters, the chemical messengers that carry signals from one end to another and affect our mood, sleep, attentiveness and weight.
They're one of the reasons why we may feel calm after eating a large burger or more alert after a protein-rich meal.
2) Reduces Risk of Illness
With the rapid proliferation of fast food chains and instant delivery services, we have become prone to eating foods that are bad for health.
We focus a lot on physical ailments like obesity and diabetes. Nutritional psychiatry looks at how food, food choice and dietary patterns influence our risk of illnesses like anxiety and depression.
Research shows that individuals who eat a dietary pattern that's more Mediterannean, Japanese or Norwegia and are made of more whole unprocessed foods, tend to get less depression and anxiety.
3) Promotes Antioxidant Production
Chemical reactions in our body split oxygen molecules into free radicals. These radicals are like scavangers and feed off other cells in the body. That puts the body under stress and causes inflammation.
Antioxidants are molecules that fight these free radicals and prevent inflammation. There's a strong link between inflammation and mental illness. The link is especially strong for depression, but studies have also found a connection with ADHD, bipolar disorder and schizophrenia.
Omega 3 is known to have anti-inflammatory properties and reduced depressive symptoms.
4) Boosts Production of Key Chemicals
A brain protein that aids in strengthening connections between brain cells is known to vary in response to certain foods and dietary patterns. The quantity of this chemical can be raised by a diet high in minerals like zinc and omega-3 fatty acids.
Good nutrition fills the gut with good bacteria, creating a biome. Inflammation, which impairs mental health and cognitive function, declines with improved gut health. A high-fat or sugar diet, on the contrary, is bad for your gut, and therefore your brain.
5) Impact on Illness
There are some foods that exacerbate our mental illness. We often reach out for items made of sugar in times of distress, which temporarily calm us down.
However, studies have shown that they have no positive long-term impact on our mood. Another delicacy we reach out to is coffee, which often worsens anxiety. Some of the symptoms you may experience after drinking coffee are very similar to those experienced during anxiety.
Although we relish processed food, they can have an adverse effect on our mental health. That's because they have high amounts of sugar and fat, which create spikes in our insulin level and cause anxiety.
Takeaway
As food plays an important part in our mental health, we should not miss an opportunity to celebrate it.
Granted, we have studies showing beneficial effects of omega 3 fatty acids and polyphenols on mental health - but food is so much more than nutrients. It’s memories, social relationships and a sense of belonging. Nevertheless, for some, food can also be the most challenging factor in their mental health journey. If you struggle with your mental health around food, don’t hesitate to seek support.
Even though diet is an important factor in our mental health, it's not a cure-all. Diet is one potential factor in mental health, so it's completely possible to have a nutrient rich diet and have a mental illness. Although mental health is complex, the connection between food and health goes a long way.
