The link between a healthy diet and optimum physical health has long been established. More recent research has focused on the connection between diet and mental health. It's no surprise that the same nutrients which positively or negatively affect physical health also affect mind, mood and behavior. Although more research is needed, some mental conditions can be improved by the addition of certain foods, nutrients, or neurotransmitters.
Foods That Help
When Harvard Medical School researchers looked at data from 13,000 participants in the Nurses Health Study, age 70 and older, they found a positive correlation between women eating green leafy vegetables like spinach and romaine lettuce, and cruciferous vegetables like broccoli and cauliflower, with slower cognitive decline.
Over 60 percent of the human brain is made up of fat, and more than one third of this fat is made up of omega-3 fatty acids like those found in fish oil. Omega 3's, also found in coldwater fish, flax seeds and walnuts, have been shown to help with improving mood in depressed people and attention span in those with ADHD.
Complex carbohydrates, folic acid, selenium, and trytophan also seem to ease depression symptoms. High intakes of vitamins C and E, especially among smokers, create a lower risk of Alzheimer's.
Foods That Hurt
Fernando Gomez-Pinilla, a UCLA professor of neurosurgery and physiological science, analyzed over 160 studies of food and the brain. According to Gomez-Pinilla, junk food and fast foods affect the brain's synapses in a negative way. Molecules tied to memory and learning are affected. Diets high in trans-fats and saturated fats affect cognition, studies indicate.
British psychiatric researcher Malcolm Peet found a strong association between high sugar consumption and increased risk of depression and schizophrenia symptoms. Sugar suppresses a key growth hormone in the brain as well as promotes chronic inflammation.
The Mental Health Foundation of the United Kingdom published a paper, "Feeding Minds", which found a correlation between diet and both schizophrenia and Alzheimer's disease. Schizophrenics were low in polyunsaturated fatty acids and antioxidants. There was also a correlation between increased incidence of dementia in those with high saturated fat intake.
Neurotransmitters
There are four brain chemicals, known as neurotransmitters, which affect our moods. Dopamine/norepinephrine helps with energy and mental focus. GABA is a natural sedative. Endorphins are nature's pain-killers, while Serotonin stabilizes moods and promotes sleep. If we inherited enough of these from our parents and they occur in balance with each other, all is well. When we are depleted or have an imbalance we sometimes turn to alcohol and drugs, sweet and starchy foods for the drug-like effects of temporary calmness or energy. According to Julia Ross, author of "The Diet Cure", by replenishing the amino acids neurotransmitters are made of, you can stop unhealthy food cravings almost immediately. Ross recommends L-glutamine and L-tyrosine as two essential amino acids for repairing the system. After a few months of supplementation, just eating properly, with plenty of protein and vegetables, will cause your body to run smoothly, including your mental processes.
References
- National Insitute on Aging: A Healthy Diet May Be Important to Brain Health as Well as Body Health
- "Life Extension Magazine": Safely Manage Depression with Omega-3 Fatty Acids
- PsychCentral: Healthy Food Can Improve Mental Health
- "Psychology Today": Dietary Sugar and Mental Illness: A Surprising Link
