Food for Better Mental Health

Have you ever noticed that when your eating habits are not good, your mental health isn’t the best either? You’d be surprised how much of your diet and what foods you’re putting into your body affect your mental well-being, specifically in regard to depression, anxiety, and mood. As we know, eating healthy has many benefits in regard to physical health such as better cardiovascular health, lower risk of diabetes, and lower blood pressure but how much do we typically factor in mental health into that equation?

Our gut microbiome is often referred to as our “second brain” as it is a part of our bodily system that creates neurotransmitters that are sent through either our central nervous system or blood to our brain, thus affecting our mental health. Neurotransmitters play such a large role in depression, anxiety and mood. “Recently, studies have emerged focusing on variations in the microbiome and the effect on various CNS disorders, including, but not limited to anxiety, depressive disorders, schizophrenia, and autism” (Clapp, 2017). Microbes in the gut serve various important functions. They produce vitamins and nutrients, with 90% of the body’s serotonin, a neurotransmitter that transmits messages between nerve cells, being produced in the gut. These microbes play roles in metabolism, support the immune system, and influence our genes too. What happens in the gut has powerful effects on what goes on in the brain.

So what can we incorporate into our diet to help improve our mental health? Research has shown that good eating habits such as the Mediterranean diet has had a correlation to better mental health compared to the way people in America typically eat (Firth, 2020). The Mediterranean diet mainly consists of plant foods like vegetables, fruits, herbs, nuts, beans, and whole grains. It includes moderate amounts of dairy, poultry, eggs, and seafood. Red meat is consumed only occasionally for the Mediterranean diet.

Depression can look like low energy, lack of interest in things that used to excite you, hopelessness, isolation, changes in eating, and sleep issues. If you think you might be depressed, reaching out for help and getting into therapy is helpful and additionally adding some things to your diet could benefit you as well. Foods high in vitamin D can help to fight depression, especially during the winter season when we are getting less sunlight intake and become more vitamin D deficient. Additionally, omega-3 and folate is a vitamin that affects depression as well.

Anxiety can manifest in a number of ways but can look like nervousness, increased heart rate, feelings of dread or worry, and inability to concentrate. Stress can be a large contributing factor to anxiety and there are foods that can be added to what you are eating to help decrease anxiety symptoms. Magnesium, zinc, B vitamins, omega-3, are all things you want to look for in the food you are consuming to help combat anxiety.

Below listed are foods suggested for each vitamin described earlier:

Vitamin D Foods
Fatty Fish (salmon, mackerel, tuna)
Cod Liver Oil
Mushrooms
Egg Yolks
Sardines
Fortified cereals

Omega-3 Foods:
Fatty Fish (salmon, mackerel, sardines)
Flaxseeds
Chia Seeds
Walnuts
Fish Oil

Folate Foods:
Leafy Greens (spinach, kale)
Legumes (lentils, chickpeas)
Avocado
Citrus Fruits (oranges, lemons)

Magnesium Foods:
Nuts (almonds, cashews)
Seeds (pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds)
Leafy Greens (spinach, Swiss chard)
Whole Grains (brown rice, quinoa)

Zinc Foods:
Meat (beef, pork, lamb)
Shellfish (oysters, crab)
Seeds (pumpkin seeds, hemp seeds)
Nuts (cashews, almonds)
Dairy Products (cheese, yogurt)

B Vitamins Foods
Whole Grains (brown rice, oats)
Legumes (beans, lentils)
Leafy Greens (spinach, kale)
Nuts and Seeds (sunflower seeds, almonds)
Meat (chicken, turkey, beef)

References