How your diet can Improve your Mental Health

Our brain is a very powerful organ in our body. It constantly regulates your thoughts, movements, breathing, and heartbeat, and coordinates your senses - it works 24/7, even while you're sleeping. For all the work your brain does daily, it requires a constant supply of energy and oxygen in order to carry out its function efficiently.

That energy comes from the foods you eat. What you eat can directly affect your brain's structure and function, and ultimately your mood. Foods that are rich in vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants are necessary to nourish the brain and protect it from oxidative stress and free radicals. Free radicals are unstable molecules that are made during normal cell metabolism. They can cause damage to our cells, such as DNA, etc. This damage may increase the risk of cancer and other diseases.

If your brain is deprived of quality nutrition, and there is a buildup of damaging inflammatory cells within the brain space, leading to brain tissue injury, we should therefore expect the consequences. Research shows that there are many consequences and correlations between what you eat and how you feel, and ultimately how you behave.

How does food affect your mental health:

The neurotransmitter, serotonin, helps to regulate sleep and appetite, mediate moods, and also inhibit pains. Serotonin also plays a key role in body functions such as digestion, nausea, wound healing, bone health, blood clotting, and sexual desire. Serotonin is produced mainly in your gastrointestinal tract, and it is influenced by our "good" gut bacteria. These bacteria protect the lining of your intestines and provide a barrier against toxins and "bad" bacteria; they also limit inflammation, improve how well you absorb nutrients from your food; and activate neural pathways between the gut and the brain.

Studies show that diets, like the Mediterranean diet and Japanese diet, have been shown to lower the risk of depression and improve mental health. According to research, scientists account for this difference because of the components of these diets, rich in vegetables, fruits, unprocessed grains, fish and seafood, and moderate amounts of lean meats and dairy. These diets are voided by refined sugars and foods.

Nutritional psychiatry: We need to start focusing on what we eat and how it makes us feel - not just in the moment, but the next day. If we cut back on processed foods, sugars, and oily-greasy foods, we can experience a difference in how much better we feel physically and emotionally.

Here are some tips we can try:

1. Eat regularly and small portions of food. If we miss a meal, we tend to want to make up for it by eating a large meal. This is not healthy for many reasons. And not eating regularly can lower your blood sugar level - low blood glucose level can make you feel tired and bad-tempered.

2. Stay hydrated. Your brain is made up of 73% water, so if we do not drink enough water, systems begin to slow down, and they can no longer function properly.

3. Incorporate healthy fats into your diet. These include olive oil, nuts, seeds, fish oil, avocado, milk, and eggs. We need to avoid trans fat - found in processed or packaged foods - as these have negative impacts on your health.

4. Whole grains, fruits, and vegetables should be in your meals daily. These contain the vitamins and nutrients your brain and body need to function well.

5. A balanced protein diet is needed - it contains amino acids necessary for mood regulation by the brain.

6. Probiotics can help improve your gut health.

7. Reduce the amount of caffeine you use, This can directly affect your mood, and sleep patterns, increase anxiety, and make you more irritable.

8. Include physical activity. Exercise improves mental health by reducing anxiety, depression, and mood symptoms and also by improving self-esteem and cognitive function. Exercise can also improve your self-esteem and prevent social withdrawal.

Most importantly: We need to maintain a BALANCE!

Mediterranean Diet has been found to be the most beneficial, well-balanced diet, in regards to improving mental health and overall physical health.

Do your own research, and see what diet plan best works for you. Recently, there are videos trending on the famous social media platform, TikTok, where people are sharing their health journey.

We need to find ways to enjoy the healthy habits we dislike. And I find sharing your journey with someone else, whether on a social media platform or just with a friend, can boost your motivation to stick to your diet plan.

Start your journey today to improve your Mental Health!



Kind regards,
Bayhill Psychiatric Associates & Team

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Our mental resilience is an evolving system — constantly adapting to our circumstances and how we make use of our abilities. We thank you for your interest in our articles. And thank you for providing positive feedback about Dr. Sultana's services! We are pleased to see you are taking an interest in mental health and helping all of us.

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