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The Better Brain: Overcome Anxiety, Combat Depression, and Reduce ADHD and Stress with Nutrition

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The Better Brain: Overcome Anxiety, Combat Depression, and Reduce ADHD and Stress with Nutrition [Kaplan, Bonnie J., Rucklidge, Julia J.] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. The Better Brain: Overcome Anxiety, Combat Depression, and Reduce ADHD and Stress with Nutrition

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The Happiness Diet: A Nutritional Prescription for a Sharp Brain, Balanced Mood, and Lean, Energized Body

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The Happiness Diet: A Nutritional Prescription for a Sharp Brain, Balanced Mood, and Lean, Energized Body [Graham, Tyler G., Ramsey M.D., Drew] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. The Happiness Diet: A Nutritional Prescription for a Sharp Brain, Balanced Mood, and Lean, Energized Body

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Take our free online questionnaire to find out how you can improve your child's diet to help support their learning and development. Access our free educational resources such as recipes, healthy weaning and shopping ideas.

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Help those on low incomes, with debilitating mental health conditions, access nutritional support. Learn about how the Step Forward Fund has improved the lives of individuals through personalised dietary and lifestyle changes.

Access our educational resources on nutrition guidance for a wide range of mental and cognitive health conditions

Learn from experts in the field of nutrition and mental health via live online and public events, as well as recorded seminars and webinars.

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Through our cognitive function test, we help those concerned with their memory and brain health take positive steps to prevent Alzheimer's disease

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Food for the Brain - Nutrition, Mental Wellbeing and Cognitive Health

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Take our free online questionnaire to find out how you can improve your child's diet to help support their learning and development. Access our free educational resources such as recipes, healthy weaning and shopping ideas. Take our free online cognitive function test and receive our top prevention steps to optimise your cognitive health and help prevent the development of Alzheimer's.

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Stomach Cancer Awareness Month

The International Agency for Research on Cancer estimates that, by 2040, there will be 3.12 million new cancer cases in the United States. Research shows that many of these cases could be prevented. Here are some general guidelines to help reduce your cancer risk through a healthful lifestyle.

Read the Article

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Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics: eatright.org

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Stomach Cancer Awareness Month The International Agency for Research on Cancer estimates that, by 2040, there will be 3.12 million new cancer cases in the United States. Research shows that many of these cases could be prevented. Here are some general guidelines to help reduce your cancer risk through a healthful lifestyle.

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12 Foods That Fight Depression and Anxiety

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12 Foods That Fight Depression and Anxiety

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12 Foods That Fight Depression and Anxiety

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Feed Your Mental Health | Drew Ramsey | TEDxCharlottesville

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Mental Health Benefits of Mindful Eating

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Mental Health Benefits of Mindful Eating

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Find out how mindful eating can enhance your mental well-being.

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From a young age, we're taught that eating well helps us look and feel our physical best. What we're not always told is that good nutrition significantly affects our mental health, too. A healthy, well-balanced diet can help us think clearly and feel more alert. It can also improve concentration and attention span.

Conversely, an inadequate diet can lead to fatigue, impaired decision-making, and can slow down reaction time. In fact, a poor diet can actually aggravate, and may even lead to, stress and depression.

One of the biggest health impairments is society's reliance on processed foods. These foods are high in flours and sugar and train the brain to crave more of them, rather than nutrient-rich foods such as fruits and vegetables.

A lot of the processed foods we eat are highly addictive and stimulate the dopamine centers in our brain, which are associated with pleasure and reward. In order to stop craving unhealthy foods, you've got to stop eating those foods. You actually start to change the physiology in the brain when you pull added sugars and refined carbohydrates from your diet.

Stress and Depression

Sugar and processed foods can lead to inflammation throughout the body and brain, which may contribute to mood disorders, including anxiety and depression. When we're feeling stressed or depressed, it's often processed foods we reach for in search of a quick pick-me-up. During busy or difficult periods, a cup of coffee stands in for a complete breakfast and fresh fruits and vegetables are replaced with high-fat, high-calorie fast food. When feeling down, a pint of ice cream becomes dinner (or you skip dinner altogether).

According to the American Dietetic Association, people tend to either eat too much or too little when depressed or under stress. Eat too much and you find yourself dealing with sluggishness and weight gain. Eat too little and the resulting exhaustion makes this a hard habit to break. In either case, poor diet during periods of stress and depression only makes matters worse. This cycle is a vicious one, but it can be overcome.

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.

A Healthy Gut

Researchers continue to prove the old adage that you are what you eat, most recently by exploring the strong connection between our intestines and brain. Our guts and brain are physically linked via the vagus nerve, and the two are able to send messages to one another. While the gut is able to influence emotional behavior in the brain, the brain can also alter the type of bacteria living in the gut.

According to the American Psychological Association, gut bacteria produce an array of neurochemicals that the brain uses for the regulation of physiological and mental processes, including mood. It's believed 95 percent of the body's supply of serotonin, a mood stabilizer, is produced by gut bacteria. Stress is thought to suppress beneficial gut bacteria.

Mindful Eating

Paying attention to how you feel when you eat, and what you eat, is one of the first steps in making sure you're getting well-balanced meals and snacks. Since many of us don't pay close attention to our eating habits, nutritionists recommend keeping a food journal. Documenting what, where and when you eat is a great way to gain insight into your patterns.

If you find you overeat when stressed, it may be helpful to stop what you're doing when the urge to eat arises, and to write down your feelings. By doing this, you may discover what's really bothering you. If you undereat, it may help to schedule five or six smaller meals instead of three large ones.

Learn more about mindful and emotional eating.

Sometimes, stress and depression are severe and can't be managed alone. For some, eating disorders develop. If you find it hard to control your eating habits, whether you're eating too much or too little, your health may be in jeopardy. If this is the case, you should seek professional counseling. Asking for help is never a sign of weakness or failure, especially in situations too difficult to handle alone.

Brain Food

Your brain and nervous system depend on nutrition to build new proteins, cells and tissues. In order to function effectively, your body requires a variety of carbohydrates, proteins and minerals. To get all the nutrients that improve mental functioning, nutritionists suggest eating meals and snacks that include a variety of foods, instead of eating the same meals each day.

Here are the top three foods to incorporate into a healthy mental diet:

Complex carbohydrates - such as brown rice and starchy vegetables can give you energy. Quinoa, millet, beets and sweet potatoes have more nutritional value and will keep you satisfied longer than the simple carbohydrates found in sugar and candy.

Lean proteins - also lend energy that allows your body to think and react quickly. Good sources of protein include chicken, meat, fish, eggs, soybeans, nuts and seeds.

Fatty acids - are crucial for the proper function of your brain and nervous system. You can find them in fish, meat, eggs, nuts and flaxseeds.

Healthy Eating Tips

Steer clear of processed snack foods, such as potato chips, which can impair your ability to concentrate. Pass up sugar-filled snacks, such as candy and soft drinks, which lead to ups and downs in energy levels.

Consume plenty of healthy fats, such as olive oil, coconut oil and avocado. This will support your brain function.

Have a healthy snack when hunger strikes, such as fruit, nuts, hard-boiled eggs, baked sweet potatoes or edamame. This will give you more energy than packaged products.

Develop a healthy shopping list and stick to it.

Don't shop while hungry, since you'll be more apt to make unhealthy impulse purchases.

Think about where and when you eat. Don't eat in front of the television, which can be distracting and cause you to overeat. Instead, find a place to sit, relax and really notice what you're eating. Chew slowly. Savor the taste and texture.

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From a young age, we're taught that eating well helps us look and feel our physical best. What we're not always told is that good nutrition significantly affects our mental health, too. A healthy, well-balanced diet can help us think clearly and feel more alert. It can also improve concentration and attention span.

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How Food May Improve Your Mood (Published 2021)

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The sugar-laden, high-fat foods we often crave when we are stressed or depressed, as comforting as they are, may be the least likely to benefit our mental health.

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How to Eat More Mindfully | The Science of Happiness

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When you're on the couch binge-watching a TV show, chances are you're doing something else at the same time - like reading a book, scrolling on your phone or munching on snacks.

Eating while doing something else can lead to unhealthy habits, though. "We're not focusing on what we're eating and how the food tastes or savoring our foods," says dietitian Maxine Smith, RD, LD.

Yet this kind of idle noshing is common. " Mindless eating is quite easy to do. Food is such a part of everyday life and is so readily accessible," notes Smith.

But when done on a regular basis, mindless eating just isn't a good habit. You might consume more unhealthy food than you realize, or get into the habit of eating when you aren't even hungry.

Embracing a practice known as mindful eating can get you back on track.

What is mindful eating?

Smith says the concept of mindful eating evolved out of mindfulness theory and practices, which encourages people to slow down, live in the moment and pay attention to their actions.

"Mindful eating focuses on the why and the how of eating, versus what's promoted by many diets, which are more what to eat, how much to eat, maybe even when to eat," Smith says, "It's much more of an internal versus external approach to eating."

Mindful eating is rooted in being thoughtful and analyzing your choices. "Part of mindful eating is to consider the why - what is my intention for eating?" Smith explains. This kind of contemplation is important because it leads to more deliberate - and personalized - food choices.

"You're really thinking about your values and why it's important for you personally to eat healthfully," Smith says. "It may be to improve your health. It may be to improve your energy and digestion. It could be because your clothes aren't fitting well, and you don't want to go out and buy a new wardrobe."

Learning how to eat mindfully also reflects a shift in perspective. "It's a very empowering approach versus a deprivation approach," Smith says. "You're regaining control over food rather than letting it take control of you."

The benefits of mindful eating

In general, mindful eating leads us to pick more nutritious foods, which has the added bonus of improving our overall eating habits. But embracing mindful eating techniques has multiple benefits beyond just good health.

Promotes better enjoyment of - and appreciation for - food

Remember how good your first taste of ice cream is each summer? Mindful eating can give you that positive feeling year-round - and, as an added bonus, you can achieve satisfaction through smaller portions.

"One of the biggest benefits of practicing mindful eating is that we actually enjoy food more, but in smaller amounts," Smith says. "If you learn to savor foods, and engage with all of its different sensory aspects, you'll be satisfied with a kiddie cone versus a double scoop ice cream cone."

As an added bonus, mindful eating practices can also help you have more gratitude for the food on your table. "The practices include focusing on an appreciation for food and where it came from, as well as appreciating everybody that helped produce that food," Smith says. "You'll also develop a sense of thankfulness for all the ways that it's benefiting our bodies, so you have a more positive appreciation for food."

Helps curb cravings

Smith describes the practice of mindful eating as being like " reformatting the hard drive of your brain. You'll start responding differently to different eating cues." For example, you might notice you're letting go of unhealthy food cravings and, instead, forming new, healthy ones.

Improves your digestion

Your mouth contains enzymes that help you start digesting food while you're chewing. When you're mindfully eating, you're encouraged to eat more slowly and chew your foods thoroughly. As a result, you digest food earlier - and more effectively. "If someone has digestion problems, eating more slowly can immensely help with that," Smith says. "A lot of mindful eating practices include chewing foods well, which also helps with the digestive processes."

Helps regulate eating patterns

In the past, you've probably started snacking even when you're full, or eaten so much at dinner you feel uncomfortably stuffed. Mindful eating is a way to get your eating habits back on track by helping you listen better to signs that you're hungry or full. "Practicing mindful eating guides us when to start and stop eating based on internal cues," Smith says. "It also helps with emotional eating and disordered eating patterns." This includes common eating disorders like binge eating, she adds.

Supports weight management

Another byproduct of listening to your body's internal cues is developing better weight management techniques. Instead of measuring your hunger by external measures, such as the amount of food on your plate or calories you're consuming, you're relying on what your body is telling you.

"Mindful eating can be extremely freeing," Smith says. "If we say we're never going to eat something again, it puts the food on a pedestal and makes it even more desirable," Smith notes. "But if we incorporate some of that into our eating patterns and eat it mindfully, we might find out, 'Oh, we're satisfied with just a little bit of that and it's not all that enticing as our brain is making it out to be.'"

Have a more positive attitude toward food - and ourselves

Over time, it's easy to develop an unhealthy relationship with food. Mindful eating helps undo long-held negative habits or attitudes. "Mindful eating is a loving and non-shaming approach to eating," Smith says. "You're replacing those dos and don'ts of eating, or applying moral implications to food, with an attitude of exploration and curiosity."

How to practice mindful eating

Because so much mindful eating involves changing your brain and outlook, there are some concrete steps you can take to begin following mindful eating.

Practice mindful eating exercises

Believe it or not, you can do mindful eating exercises to help get your brain in gear. "We have done classes where a person practices being mindful while they're eating a particular snack," Smith says. "They're tuning out all distractions, paying attention to all the sensory implications and aspects of the food, and practicing savoring it."

Along with this, developing a non-judgmental approach to what you eat - in other words, food is neither "good" nor "bad" - is key. "You also want to pay attention to how that food may help you feel in the short term," Smith says. "Does that food provide me with energy, or does it provide me with a strong craving to eat more of that food? But you're not judging that food as good or bad."

Change your attitude toward food

Having a positive attitude about eating is also crucial, Smith stresses. "If you have a negative attitude, or if you feel deprived, you are very likely to fail," she says. "So if you say, 'I can't have something to eat,' catch yourself saying that and change it into a positive statement: 'I choose not to eat that.'"

Put together a daily food plan

Go into every day with a dedicated food plan that spells out what you want to eat for each meal. Smith says this plan should cover healthy foods, as well as foods that might not be as nutritious. "You can have those occasional indulgences, but they're planned indulgences," Smith says. "If you go into the day with a plan, include some of those higher-calorie or less-healthy foods, maybe in smaller amounts or less often." She adds that this proportion is OK because you can get most of your needed daily nutrients if you're eating healthfully "about 80%, 85% of the time."

Just be sure not to put too much pressure on yourself by expecting perfection every day.

"Use that plan more like a GPS," Smith says. "If we want to get to a place, we're much more likely to arrive there, and arrive there promptly, if we have that GPS. We may have a few diversions along the way, but the sooner that we get back on track, the better. And having a meal plan going into the day is going to help us get there a lot sooner."

Schedule smaller meals

Between busy work and family schedules, you might find yourself eating only one or two big daily meals instead of spreading out your eating over a full day. "Your stomach can actually become distended (bloated) and then you require more food to have that sense of fullness," Smith says.

To undo this habit, schedule smaller meals about three hours apart. "These may be a small mini-meal, such as a yogurt and a piece of fruit and a small handful of nuts," Smith says. "It doesn't have to be a formal meal. It's more having something to carry you over, so you don't go too long without eating and go into the next meal ravenous." You may need to schedule more of these meals at first until you get used to this routine, or take snacks with you if you know you're going to be on the go.

Seek out people for accountability

Smith says in-person and virtual support groups are an invaluable way to help keep you accountable as you go through a mindful eating journey. "Nobody better knows what you're going through than others that are in the same situation," Smith says. "Others have experienced and practiced strategies that may have been beneficial for them, and they may pass that knowledge on to you."

The combination of expert and peer support in these groups is also beneficial, she adds. "There's nothing more important than feeling understood, that somebody else has been in your shoes before. And, believe me, there are a lot of others that are experiencing the exact same things you are."

How to stick with mindful eating

It can feel overwhelming to try taking on mindful eating practices by yourself. "As I mentioned before, food is everywhere," Smith says. "Everybody is trying to get us to eat more." Having a support system cheering you on - a loyal friend or a family member - and supporting what you're doing can help.

"There are a lot of food pushers out there," Smith says. "When you take the time to explain to them why you want to make some changes, if you make it very personal, they can often be very supportive."

That means instead of saying you're looking to lose weight or alter your appearance, note that mindful eating can also benefit them. "I have found that if you focus on appearance or just weight, you'll probably not get that much support because they're going to start comparing themselves to you and saying, 'Well, you don't need to lose any weight,'" Smith says. "On the other hand, if you say, 'Gosh, I really want to have more energy. I'm getting tired early and then I only want to take a nap when I get home from work. I really want to go out with you and have fun,' you're providing some benefit for them."

Suggesting an alternative gift besides food - like weekly flowers from the store instead - can also help.

"People want to show love towards other people through food," Smith says. "That's often one of the biggest barriers. A person doesn't want to say "no," because that's almost like rejecting that person's love toward them. Let them know that if you want to do something special, this is how they can do it."

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When you're on the couch binge-watching a TV show, chances are you're doing something else at the same time - like reading a book, scrolling on your phone or munching on snacks. Eating while doing something else can lead to unhealthy habits, though.

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Eating is an essential part of human life and it turns out that not only what we eat but when we eat can impact our brains. Irregular eating times have been shown to contribute to poor mental health, including depression and anxiety, as well as to cardio-metabolic diseases and weight gain.

Fortunately, it is possible to leverage our eating rhythms to limit negative mood and increase mental health. As a doctoral student in the field of neuropsychiatry and a psychiatrist studying nutrition and mood disorders, our research focuses on investigating how eating rhythms impact the brain.

Here's how it all works: The circadian clock system is responsible for aligning our internal processes at optimal times of day based on cues from the environment such as light or food. Humans have evolved this wiring to meet energy needs that change a lot throughout the day and night, creating a rhythmic pattern to our eating habits that follows the schedule of the sun.

Although the main clock manages metabolic function over the day-night cycle, our eating rhythms also impact the main clock. Digestive tissues have their own clocks and show regular oscillations in functioning over the 24-hour cycle. For example, the small intestine and liver vary throughout the day and night in terms of digestive, absorptive and metabolic capacity.

When the main circadian clock in the brain is out of sync with eating rhythms, it impacts the brain's ability to function fully. Even though the brain is only two per cent of our total body mass, it consumes up to 25 per cent of our energy and is particularly affected by changes in calorie intake. This means that abnormal meal times are bound to have negative health outcomes.

Food and mood

Although the underlying mechanisms are still unknown, there is overlap between neural circuits governing eating and mood. Also, digestive hormones exert effects on dopamine, a neurotransmitter that plays a large role in mood, energy and pleasure. Individuals with depression and bipolar disorder have abnormal dopamine levels. Altered eating rhythms are thought to contribute to the poor maintenance of mood.

Irregular eating may even play a role in the complex underlying causes of mood disorders. For example, individuals with depression or bipolar disorder exhibit disturbed internal rhythms and irregular meal times, which significantly worsen mood symptoms. In addition, shift workers - who tend to have irregular eating schedules - demonstrate increased rates of depression and anxiety when compared to the general population. Despite this evidence, assessing eating rhythms is not currently part of standard clinical care in most psychiatric settings.

Optimizing eating rhythms

So, what can be done to optimize our eating rhythms? One promising method we have encountered in our research is time-restricted eating (TRE), also known as intermittent fasting.

TRE involves restricting the eating window to a certain amount of time during the day, typically four to 12 hours. For example, choosing to eat all meals and snacks in a 10-hour window from 9:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. reflects an overnight fasting period. Evidence suggests that this method optimizes brain function, energy metabolism and the healthy signalling of metabolic hormones.

TRE has already been shown to prevent depressive and anxiety symptoms in animal studies designed to model shift work. The antidepressant effects of TRE have also been shown in humans. Eating on a regular schedule is also beneficial to reduce the risk of health issues such as obesity, diabetes and cardiovascular disease.

Circadian rhythms in a 24-hour world

We live in a 24-hour world filled with artificial light and round-the-clock access to food. That makes the effects of disturbed eating rhythms on mental health an important topic for modern life. As more research provides data assessing eating rhythms in individuals with mood disorders, incorporating eating rhythm treatment into clinical care could significantly improve patient quality of life.

For the general population, it is important to increase public knowledge on accessible and affordable ways to maintain healthy eating. This includes paying attention not only to the content of meals but also to eating rhythms. Aligning eating rhythms with the schedule of the sun will have lasting benefits for general well-being and may have a protective effect against mental illness.

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When you eat matters: How your eating rhythms impact your mental health

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Eating is an essential part of human life and it turns out that not only what we eat but when we eat can impact our brains. Irregular eating times have been shown to contribute to poor mental health, including depression and anxiety, as well as to cardio-metabolic diseases and weight gain.

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How diet and mental health are linked, what you should eat, sharing meals with other people, and eating disorders.

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Feed Your Brain: A Guide to Eating for Optimal Mental Health

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Feed Your Brain: A Guide to Eating for Optimal Mental Health

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by Tonya M. Peavy, Psy. D., and Le'andra R. Scott, B.A.

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Feed Your Brain: A Guide to Eating for Optimal Mental Health

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Over 40 million adults in the United States, ages 18 or older, experience at least one episode of a mental health crisis such as depression, stress and anxiety, psychosis, memory loss or debilitating inattentiveness. In the United States, it is less common to discuss the similar association betwe...

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by Drew Ramsey, MD

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Eat to Beat Depression and Anxiety: Nourish Your Way to Better Mental Health in Six Weeks

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Eat to Beat Depression and Anxiety: Nourish Your Way to Better Mental Health in Six Weeks [Ramsey M.D., Drew] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. Eat to Beat Depression and Anxiety: Nourish Your Way to Better Mental Health in Six Weeks

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by Uma Naidoo, MD

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Did you know that blueberries can help you cope with the after-effects of trauma? That salami can cause depression, or that boosting Vitamin D intake can help treat anxiety?
When it comes to diet, most people's concerns involve weight loss, fitness, cardiac health, and longevity. But what we eat affects more than our bodies; it also affects our brains. And recent studies have shown that diet can have a profound impact on mental health conditions ranging from ADHD to depression, anxiety, sleep disorders, OCD, dementia and beyond.
Dr. Uma Naidoo is a board-certified psychiatrist, nutrition specialist, and professionally trained chef. In The Food-Mood Connection, she draws on cutting-edge research to explain the many ways in which food contributes to our mental health, and shows how a sound diet can help treat and prevent a wide range of psychological and cognitive health issues.
Packed with fascinating science, actionable nutritional recommendations, and delicious, brain-healthy recipes, The Food-Mood Connection is the go-to guide to optimizing your mental health with food.

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The Food Mood Connection [Naidoo, Dr Uma] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. The Food Mood Connection

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Why Diet Might Be a Big Deal for Mental Health

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Five nutrition tips for better mental health

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RDN on Food for Mental Health: Teaching the How, Why, Where and When

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How the food you eat affects your brain - Mia Nacamulli

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Dairy Council of California: Healthy Eating Made Easier

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HealthyEating.org from Dairy Council of CA offers educational resources to elevate the health of kids + parents through healthy eating.

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Nutrition Resources for Online Learning

Access easy-to-use, turnkey nutrition resources to support distance learning, hybrid and in-person education models this school year.

Share to Google Classroom

Need help integrating resources into distance learning (e.g. Google Classroom, Seesaw, Zoom)

Curriculum Resources for Educators

Nutrition lessons to support distance/blended learning or classroom instruction by grade

Student Pre + Post-Assessment Nutrition Surveys for all grade levels

Slides for Synchronous or Asynchronous Learning

These instructional slides were created by the Orange County Department of Education (OCDE) to facilitate virtual learning and support Let's Eat Healthy curriculum.

Slides for Student Workbook Activities

These Google slides were created by Madera Unified so students can type directly into their workbooks. This supports virtual instruction and learning with Let's Eat Healthy curriculum.

Additional Nutrition and Physical Activity Resources

Learning activities, resources, games and videos for home, school or community-based organizations

Explore nutrition education games, activities and quizzes that support the formation of healthy eating habits

Test what you know about the five food groups in the MyPlate Match Game

Use these short, simple videos with Let's Eat Healthy Builders, K-8 curricula or resources; before, during or after a lesson.

Take your students on a California dairy farm tour by signing up for a virtual field trip today!

Educational YouTube Playlists

Market Mystery Read Aloud Book

Helps with understanding the MyPlate 5 food groups as well as where food comes from- from farm to farm, from farm to city, and from farm to market

An excellent reading and vocabulary building tool for Kindergarten, 1st, 2nd, and 3rd graders

Subscribe to our YouTube Channel

Visit Healthy Eating here!

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No image available And {{products.length - 5}} additional items, click here to review your cart. Access easy-to-use, turnkey nutrition resources to support distance learning, hybrid and in-person education models this school year.

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Nutrition, mental health: The Center for Nutritional Psychology

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AN ONLINE RESOURCE for mental health and healthcare professionals, nutritionists, parents, and interested individuals Our vision CNP's vision for the future of mental healthcare is a one that includes the role of diet in supporting mental health.

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F or most of her life, the woman would not let herself eat cake. She feared that if she started, she would never be able to stop. The presence of cake at every birthday party she attended tormented her. She grew so preoccupied with thoughts of cake that she had food fantasies about eating it.

The woman's unhealthy relationship with food eventually led her to Michele Smith, a licensed professional counselor who operates a private practice called The Runaway Fork in Westfield, New Jersey. With Smith's guidance, the woman decided to conquer her fear by eating a sheet cake while she was alone.

The client took her first bite, but it wasn't the experience she had fantasized about. It tasted artificial and waxy. She thought perhaps it was only the frosting that she didn't like, so she took another bite, this time focusing more on the cake itself. It only confirmed the horrible taste from her first impression. The woman ended up throwing out the entire cake.

The client's craving for cake had caused her years of suffering, yet when she finally ate it mindfully, she discovered that she didn't even like it, says Smith, who is also a licensed mental health counselor in New York.

"There's all this unnecessary suffering around food, weight and body," Smith continues. At the same time, "there seems to be a lack of services available for everyday people who do not have eating disorders [but] who want to discuss and heal their relationship with food, body and weight."

For this reason, Smith, a certified mind-body eating coach and a member of the American Counseling Association, created her private practice to help people who struggle in their relationship with food. She doesn't have a precise phrase to explain this special niche she has carved out with her counseling practice, but she says it differs from nutritional counseling, which focuses on helping clients figure out what to eat. Instead, Smith attends to who clients are as "eaters." This includes connecting their relationship with food to other life domains and psychosocial factors - such as anxiety, depression and trauma - that professional clinical counselors work with every day.

Researchers are not completely sure how food fits into the overall mental health equation, but recent studies suggest a strong connection. In general, food can promote wellness in three ways: 1) by providing the brain with nutrients it needs to grow and generate new connections, 2) by tamping down inflammation and 3) by promoting gut health.

In 2017, the world's first study of dietary intervention for clinical depression, called the SMILES trial, found that a modified Mediterranean-style diet (which encourages whole grains, fruits, vegetables, legumes, low-fat/unsweetened dairy, raw unsalted nuts, lean red meat, chicken, fish, eggs and olive oil, while discouraging sweets, refined cereals, fried foods, fast foods and processed meat) resulted in a significant reduction in depression symptoms when compared with the typical modern diet loaded with fast food, processed foods and refined carbohydrates.

A randomized controlled trial published last year in PLOS ONE supports the findings of the SMILES trial. Researchers found that adults who followed a Mediterranean-style pattern of eating for three weeks reported lower levels of anxiety and stress and a significant decrease in their depression symptoms.

These and other findings suggest that counselors should no longer think of mental health in isolation but rather as part of a complex system that includes what people eat.

A missing piece of the mental health puzzle

Lisa Schmidt, a licensed associate counselor, certified whole foods dietitian nutritionist, and instructor in the School of Social Work at Arizona State University, points out that people seldom think about what they eat. "The act of eating is considered a nuisance. It's something people don't have time for until they're just so hungry, they have to eat something, and when you get to that point, you often make very poor nutritional choices," she says.

For instance, people may grab fast food and eat it in the car on the way to their next meeting or to pick up their kids. Then, when they have trouble sleeping later that evening, they assume it is related to their feelings of anxiety, thus overlooking any possible connection to food, Schmidt adds.

"Most people don't know that the kind of foods we choose [to eat] can help us regulate our nervous system and perhaps is the missing link in mental health care," Schmidt notes.

Schmidt, an ACA member in private practice in Scottsdale, Arizona, says that mood-related disorders often have a food component to them because nutrition-poor diets affect mood. The standard American diet, often aptly referred to by its acronym SAD, frequently leads to people being hungry and tired and having dysregulated moods, she continues. People often alternate between periods of escalation, during which they fuel themselves with caffeine, processed sugar and refined carbs, and periods of starvation. This unhealthy pattern leads to dysregulated moods, Schmidt explains.

In addition, stress (which is common in fast-paced, disrupted lifestyles) dysregulates people's nervous system responses. When people are stressed and in fight-or-flight mode, their bodies secrete glucose into the bloodstream, fueling them to run away from real or imagined danger. Then the pancreas secretes insulin as it tries to regulate blood sugar levels, Schmidt explains. These swings in blood sugar levels affect mood and can lead people to become "hangry" - hungry and angry, she adds.

Two researchers at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill recently set out to study the underlying mechanism behind the complicated "hangry" reaction, and their results challenge the theory that hanger is the result only of low blood sugar. They found that hunger-induced feelings can lead to tantrums and anger when people are in stressful situations and are unaware of their bodily state. In other words, hunger pangs might turn into other negative emotions in certain contexts.

This suggests that people should slow down and pay attention to both their physical and their emotional cues. Smith advises her clients to carefully set the scene before eating, telling them that eating should be stress free, relaxing and pleasant. To achieve this, they might consider using a candle or playing calming music. They shouldn't be using their phones, watching television or walking around, she says. And although some families use dinner as a time to reprimand their children, there shouldn't be any arguing while eating, Smith adds.

Because the quickest way to relax the body and mind is through breathing, Smith instructs clients to take as many deep breaths as they need to calm down before they begin eating. She also recommends that clients put their forks down between bites or use their nondominant hand to help them slow down and fully experience their food.

Mindful eating also involves approaching the meal with all of the senses, Smith says. She often illustrates this type of eating in session by having clients - especially those prone to eating quickly or eating distractedly as they work or stare at a screen - engage their senses while eating a Girl Scout Thin Mint cookie. During this activity, Smith asks clients to forget about their ingrained diet rules, negative self-talk, or whatever else might be in their heads and focus on their bodily experience of eating.

First, she has clients look at the cookie so the brain will register that food is present. Next, she has them touch the cookie and notice its texture. Then Smith asks them to smell the Thin Mint because scent affects our pleasure or displeasure with food. Once clients put the cookie in their mouths, they slowly roll it on all parts of their tongues without biting into it. When they finally bite the cookie, they listen to the sound it makes and notice how it tastes and when the taste starts to diminish. At the end of the exercise, Smith asks clients to rate their experience as pleasant, unpleasant or neutral.

This simple exercise is an eye-opening experiment for most of Smith's clients, who often admit they would normally just throw the cookie in their mouths and not think twice about it. When people learn to slow down and eat mindfully, they become better at noticing when they are full or if they are no longer tasting their food. Smith says one of her clients discovered through the exercise that she actually didn't like Thin Mint cookies, even though she had eaten them all of her life.

It's one thing to tell clients what mindful eating is; it's another thing for them to experience and feel it for themselves, Smith says. "Mindful eating as a practice can be helpful at reawakening [our] appreciation for food," notes Schmidt, author of Sustainable Living & Mindful Eating. "As we wake up to how we feel and what we experience, we have the possibility of change."
The emotional toll of restrictive eating
"Every diet is some form of food restriction," Smith asserts. "When you eliminate certain foods or when you deem certain foods bad or forbidden, you're actually going to create the overeating through that sense of deprivation." For example, the night before someone starts a no-carb diet, he or she might binge on bread as a "farewell" (often referred to as "Last Supper" eating). People on diets never reach habituation, so when they are exposed to restricted foods, they may overeat them, which only reinforces the idea that they can't be trusted around a particular food, Smith adds.

Licensed clinical professional counselor Heather Shannon wrote a book chapter on nutritional stress management strategies for volume one of the book Stress in the Modern World: Understanding Science and Society. She says the all-or-nothing, judgmental thinking that is common with most diets often creeps over into character judgment: "I'm bad because I ate that carb" or "I feel horrible that I cheated on my diet by eating that cupcake," for example.

Shannon, who offers coaching and teletherapy as a psychotherapist at Lotus Center in Chicago, had one client who was fit and healthy but fixated on losing three pounds. One morning, the client woke up feeling great, but the second she stepped on her scale and saw she had gained one pound, her mood changed. She went from feeling wonderful to feeling horrible in two seconds.

Fixating on an outcome, such as the number on the scale or the number of times a person has gone to the gym that week, is a big part of anxiety, Shannon says, and it opens up the possibility of good and bad labeling (e.g., "I'm bad because I went to the gym only once this week"). Instead, she helps clients focus more on their habits and which habits make them feel good, healthy and connected to their bodies. "If you're treating your body really well, then whatever the results are is how your body is supposed to be," she says.

Smith, a certified intuitive eating counselor, helps clients let go of the dieting mentality and reawaken their intuitive eater. In the intuitive eating model, there are no "good" and "bad" foods. Smith describes it as "a non-diet, flexible style of eating where you follow your internal sensations of hunger and satiety to gauge what, when and how much you eat."

Smith points out that not every client will automatically be ready to put all foods back on the table. Under those circumstances, counselors can instead help raise awareness around dieting and how it may be interfering in clients' lives. For instance, counselors might ask: How has your diet affected or changed your relationships with others? How much time and money have you spent on diets? How has it affected your social life and mental health? What in your life has changed because of dieting?

Schmidt also tries to help clients adjust their mindset around food. "Nourishment is not determined by one episode," she says. "It's an eating pattern over time." For this reason, she advises clients to follow the 80-20 rule, in which 80% of the time people make choices that are whole foods (mostly plant-based), and then they don't need to worry about the 20% of the time that they have a treat or indulge.

"We eat for reasons that are other than just to feed our bodies," Schmidt says. "We eat as part of celebrations, and food is pleasurable. So, adopting a very restrictive, Spartan way of eating" - particularly one that demonizes any particular food group - "... can become disordered eating and cause problems for some people. ... And research shows eating this way will fail 95% of the time."

Instead of adopting the latest diet fad, people should find a way to eat that they can follow for the rest of their lives and that simultaneously supports their health and mood, Schmidt says.

Using foods to cope with moods

If clients understand biological hunger and still reach for food without feeling hungry, then they are often engaging in emotional eating, Smith says. This may mean that a client eats because of unresolved trauma or grief. Maybe the client has perfectionist tendencies and uses food to manage his or her anxiety. Or perhaps food is the way a client copes with being in a marriage or job that makes them unhappy.

Smith works with clients to figure out what they are feeling - such as anxious or lonely, for example - when they experience emotional hunger. "This is where the mental health piece comes in," she says. "You're talking about eating, but the root cause of the eating is really psychological issues. ... They're people pleasing. They need boundaries. They need to be assertive. They need to say no to people and they can't, so they use food to cope."

Shannon, author of the ACA blog posts " Nutrition for Mental Health" and " How Does What You Eat Affect How You Feel? " finds the internal family systems approach effective for uncovering underlying issues associated with emotional eating, especially if clients have a playful side. She first helps clients identify the part of themselves that is overeating by asking what this eating part of them feels like in their bodies. One client might feel it in their stomach, whereas another client might sense it as a coach whispering in their ear.

Shannon also instructs clients to personify the part of them that is overeating by naming it (for example, the Snacking Part, Cake, or even a human name such as Maria). Then, both she and the client can easily address and reference this personified part.

Shannon might ask the part, "What is going on when you overeat?"

And the part almost always provides an answer. For example, "Well, I feel like I work too hard, and I need this because it's my pressure release valve" or "I feel like I can't count on people, so I'm counting on food."

Smith and Shannon both caution against having clients keep a food journal that tracks food intake or weight. They say that activity takes clients out of themselves rather than tuning inward. In addition, they warn, it can promote obsessiveness. But they agree that clients can benefit from journaling about their emotions and feelings associated with food. For example, a client could write down what he or she feels right after overeating as a way of identifying what emotions are associated with the behavior.

Schmidt has clients keep a food and mood journal, but not to track food intake or to promote weight loss. Instead, the goal is to help clients build an awareness of when they're eating and how they feel before and after eating. This ultimately gives them a better understanding of how food affects their mood and how mood can affect their eating habits.

She provides an extreme but not unusual example: While journaling, a client noticed that they did not eat anything until 2 p.m. They felt terrible but only had 10 minutes to eat, so they ingested a protein bar and soda. Immediately afterward, they felt good, but an hour later, the client was starving, mad and stressed again.

"Most people ... spend less than two minutes a day thinking about what they're going to eat. They just react," Schmidt says. "So, building awareness of all our habits, including our fueling habits, is really important."

In addition, if people are not fueling their bodies in a healthful way, it will create difficulties for them, Schmidt says. Chronic pain, substance abuse, anxiety and depression are all issues for which food is a huge component, she asserts. Schmidt had a client who would eat seven to nine bowls of Froot Loops for breakfast while in recovery from drug use. People recovering from substance use may often transfer their addiction to food, especially highly processed, sugary types of foods, she says.

Smith encourages her clients to approach their relationship to food with a compassionate curiosity. Clients can view nutritional changes as an experiment to figure out how their bodies react or what works best for them, she explains. Also, if clients haven't fully mastered their new coping skills and continue to engage in emotional eating, then Smith advises them to be compassionate with themselves and say, "I'm reaching for food, and I know I'm not hungry. I look forward to the day when I can cope with my emotions without using food."

Smith has noticed that many counselors shy away from discussing any issue related to food with clients, reasoning that it falls outside their scope of practice and because becoming a certified eating disorder specialist or nutritionist requires specialized training. But she encourages counselors to rethink this mindset. "It's not out of [counselors'] scope of practice to talk about people's relationship with food. It's such a critical part of everybody's day. So, to not look at it is missing a big part," Smith says.

"You don't have to talk about the grams of protein per se, which is out of our scope ... to really help somebody," she continues. "Because [clients are] dying to talk about it, and they need that space. And it's connected to so many other life domains [e.g., trauma, grief, anxiety, depression, stress] which counselors are more than equipped to talk about."

As a certified health coach, Shannon says she would never prescribe foods for clients or tell them what they should or shouldn't eat, but that doesn't prevent her from talking about food in session. In fact, on her intake form, she screens for potential issues with food by including general questions such as: What do you generally eat for breakfast, lunch and dinner? Do you snack or skip meals? Do you overeat or under eat? Then, in her first session with clients, she discusses this information and asks follow-up questions to gain a better understanding of clients' relationship with food and the way this could be affecting their mental health.

"Even if you're not a nutrition expert, we all know some basic stuff. We all know whole foods are better than processed foods. We all know excess sugar is not helpful," Shannon says. For this reason, she recommends that counselors screen for basic nutritional information to see if food might be a piece of the client's mental health puzzle.

Rather than telling clients what to eat, Shannon takes a behavioral approach and asks, "What are you eating, and how is that working for you? What do you think might work better?" Sometimes, she will also provide clients with helpful resources and advise them to talk to their doctor or a nutritionist about other options they could pursue.

Schmidt finds that discussing alcohol use with clients can serve as a great segue into talking about their diet in general. In her experience, alcohol often comes up with clients who have mood disorders, and because alcohol is a nervous system depressant, it is not advised for these clients. While discussing their alcohol use, Schmidt will ask other questions about their diet, such as if they eat breakfast consistently or if they eat lots of processed, high-sugar foods. From there, she might suggest that clients try to limit the amount of food with added sugars that they eat and experiment with eating fresh fruit as a snack or dessert most days of the week. Schmidt will also use the Healthy Eating Plate (created by Harvard Health Publications and nutrition experts at the Harvard School of Public Health) as a way to help clients visualize how to build meals that support balanced moods.

Schmidt recommends that counselors interested in the food-mood connection experiment with their own eating habits to see how this affects their mood. "It is particularly difficult for a counselor who has a poor diet to talk about the food-mood connection with a client," she says. Similar to how counselors practice meditation themselves before teaching it to clients, Schmidt believes counselors should first reorganize their own way of eating to include mostly foods derived from plants, to limit caffeine, and to limit or eliminate alcohol.

After counselors have experimented on their own with the food-mood connection, Schmidt says, then they can ask clients to do a chain analysis. For example, if a client is having panic attacks, the counselor might ask, "What do you remember doing just before the panic attack? Did you have anything to eat or drink? If so, what did you eat or drink?" Maybe the client will say that he or she remembers drinking coffee or alcohol before the panic attack happened. The counselor could follow up and ask whether the client noticed any change in how he or she felt after drinking three cups of coffee or drinking alcohol to excess before having a panic attack. This technique will help clients connect their dietary choices, which are ultimately under their control, to the way their mood is affected, Schmidt says.

Smith acknowledges that counselors' scope of practice does limit just how far they can go in addressing food issues with clients. For instance, counselors cannot provide nutritional advice to clients. "That creates this barrier that is hard to get around," she says. "So, then, you do have to reach out to other professionals like nutritionists and dietitians and really work as a team." She says counselors can either work with a nutritionist to determine what nutritional treatments and approaches are best for the client, or work with clients to ensure they are advocating for their own dietary preferences (such as using plans that focus on well-being instead of weight loss) with the nutritionist or speaking up when they feel a certain nutritional approach is harming or not helping them.

But at what point should counselors refer to a nutritionist? Counselors have referred clients to Schmidt, in her role as a nutritionist, because they suspected their clients had an eating disorder or were binging on foods. Schmidt thinks it is a good idea to also refer to an eating specialist if clients talk about food or their bodies frequently in counseling, are extremely overweight or underweight and the condition is disruptive for them, or have suddenly lost a significant amount of weight.

When finding referral sources, Schmidt recommends that counselors look for professionals trained in the Health at Every Size approach, which promotes size acceptance and serves as an alternative to the weight-centered approach.

Smith agrees that "the focus always has to be on wellness, not weight loss." She advises counselors against referring clients to dietitians, nutritionists or doctors who track calories, encourage weigh-ins, or engage in fat shaming. Instead, she suggests looking for health professionals who teach intuitive eating and operate from a weight-neutral model .
Adding in the nutritional piece
People routinely look for mental shortcuts or a magic bullet to solve their problems, and this tendency extends to food consumption. From research, we know that people will tend to eat 30% more of a food that they deem "healthy," Schmidt notes. Researchers even have a name for this tendency to overestimate the overall healthfulness of an item based on a single claim such as being low calorie or low in fat: the health halo effect. This halo effect appears to encourage people to eat more than they otherwise would because they feel less guilty about consuming the food.

Clients often come to see Smith because they are confused and don't know what to do. They have dieted for years with little or no success, and they are confounded by all the conflicting nutritional advice. For Smith, it comes down to a core question: "How does this [food] feel in your body?"

"You're making peace with food," she says. "This is your journey of one, and only you can know whether pizza feels good or depleting and when and under what circumstances." Counseling can help clients tune in to their own unique nutritional needs and preferences and connect this piece to how their mood is affected, Smith says.

Schmidt advises counselors to focus on the big picture and not get caught up in one particular approach to eating. Instead, it is about helping clients make their own connections between what they are eating and how it affects their moods.

Also, because everyone is unique, the nutritional advice that has benefited a counselor personally may not help the counselor's clients. However, the majority of clients (and all people) need to eat more fruits and vegetables, so if counselors encourage them to do that, it could have a huge impact on clients' health and mood, Schmidt asserts.

"Having a personal connection to food and its life-giving properties is one of the most amazing gifts we can give ourselves, as well as elevating the status of food and eating for our clients," Schmidt says. "Helping clients understand that the process of food and feeding is a central part of their recovery is a message that's independent of what they should be eating."

"Nutrition is always a piece of the puzzle," Shannon adds. "So, by understanding the nutrition ...
even a little bit, you're going to be potentially twice as effective working with your clients."

****

Lindsey Phillips is a contributing writer to Counseling Today and a UX content strategist. Contact her at hello@lindseynphillips.com or through her website at lindseynphillips.com.

Letters to the editor: ct@counseling.org

****
Opinions expressed and statements made in articles appearing on CT Online should not be assumed to represent the opinions of the editors or policies of the American Counseling Association.

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Digesting the connection between food and mood - Counseling Today

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F or most of her life, the woman would not let herself eat cake. She feared that if she started, she would never be able to stop. The presence of cake at every birthday party she attended tormented her. She grew so preoccupied with thoughts of cake that she had food fantasies about eating it.

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By Amy Magill on March 13, 2018

It is well known that unhealthy eating patterns can cause mood swings. Blood sugar fluctuations and nutritional imbalances are often to blame. Without a steady source of fuel from the foods we eat, our mind and bodies don't function well. Here's how some unhealthy eating habits can alter your mood and emotional well-being:

1. Skipping meals. Missing a meal, especially breakfast, can lead to low blood sugar. This will likely leave you feeling weak and tired.

2. Cutting out entire food groups. If you reduce the variety of foods in your diet, it can be more difficult to get all the essential nutrients you need. Low levels of zinc, iron, B vitamins, magnesium, vitamin D, and omega-3 fatty acids are associated with worsening mood and decreased energy.

3. Eating too many refined carbohydrates. High intakes of unhealthy, processed carbohydrates, such as white bread and pastries, cause blood sugars to rise and fall rapidly. This can lead to low energy and irritability.

Beyond mood and general well-being, the role of diet and nutrition on mental health is very complex and has yet to be fully understood. However, research linking the two is growing at a rapid rate. In recent years, evidence shows that food can contribute to the development, prevention, and management of mental health conditions, including depression and anxiety disorders.

Researchers are also taking a closer look at why diet may influence mental health. Studies are exploring diet's effects on gut microbiota (organisms in the intestinal tract), neuroplasticity (brain's ability to modify structure, wiring and function), oxidative stress (cellular damage) and chronic inflammation.

While we still have much to learn about the effects of dietary patterns on mental health issues, evidence suggests that eating a healthy diet can have a protective effect. In fact, many believe that good nutrition is as important to mental health as it is to physical health. Here are some positive changes you can make to improve your eating to support your mental health:

1. Eat at set intervals throughout the day

2. Choose less refined sugars and eat more whole grains

3. Include protein at each meal

4. Eat a variety of foods

5. Include omega-3 rich foods, like oily fish, in your diet

6. Reach and maintain a healthy weight

7. Drink plenty of fluids, especially water

8. Get regular exercise

Following a healthy eating plan can keep you energized and help you to feel your best. While good nutrition is an important component of your emotional well-being, it is not a substitute for proper medical care and treatment. If you have concerns about your mental health, talk to your health care provider.
Amy Magill, MA, RD, LDN enjoys providing tips on how manage your moods as well as your food choices as Manager of Clinical Programs and nutrition writer for Walgreens. Find a variety of vitamins at Although it is intended to be accurate, neither Walgreen Co., its subsidiaries or affiliates, nor any other party assumes for loss or damage due to reliance on this material. Walgreens does not recommend or endorse any specific tests, physicians, products, procedures, opinions, or other information that may be mentioned in the article. Reliance on any information provided by this article is solely at your own risk. Walgreens.com to supplement a nutritious diet.

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What is the Relationship Between Food and Mood? - Mental Health First Aid

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There exists a relationship between food and mood, although the role of diet and nutrition on mental health is very complex and yet to be fully understood.

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Mental Health Foundation - Mental health and nutrition briefing

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Research connects nutrition and mental illness.

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How to Manage Your Mood with Food - Kids

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How to Manage Your Mood with Food - Kids

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How to manage your mood with food | 8 tips

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Think about it. Your brain is always "on." It takes care of your thoughts and movements, your breathing and heartbeat, your senses - it works hard 24/7, even while you're asleep. This means your brain requires a constant supply of fuel. That "fuel" comes from the foods you eat - and what's in that fuel makes all the difference. Put simply, what you eat directly affects the structure and function of your brain and, ultimately, your mood.

Like an expensive car, your brain functions best when it gets only premium fuel. Eating high-quality foods that contain lots of vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants nourishes the brain and protects it from oxidative stress - the "waste" (free radicals) produced when the body uses oxygen, which can damage cells.

Unfortunately, just like an expensive car, your brain can be damaged if you ingest anything other than premium fuel. If substances from "low-premium" fuel (such as what you get from processed or refined foods) get to the brain, it has little ability to get rid of them. Diets high in refined sugars, for example, are harmful to the brain. In addition to worsening your body's regulation of insulin, they also promote inflammation and oxidative stress. Multiple studies have found a correlation between a diet high in refined sugars and impaired brain function - and even a worsening of symptoms of mood disorders, such as depression.

It makes sense. If your brain is deprived of good-quality nutrition, or if free radicals or damaging inflammatory cells are circulating within the brain's enclosed space, further contributing to brain tissue injury, consequences are to be expected. What's interesting is that for many years, the medical field did not fully acknowledge the connection between mood and food.

Today, fortunately, the burgeoning field of nutritional psychiatry is finding there are many consequences and correlations between not only what you eat, how you feel, and how you ultimately behave, but also the kinds of bacteria that live in your gut.

How the foods you eat affect your mental health

Serotonin is a neurotransmitter that helps regulate sleep and appetite, mediate moods, and inhibit pain. Since about 95% of your serotonin is produced in your gastrointestinal tract, and your gastrointestinal tract is lined with a hundred million nerve cells, or neurons, it makes sense that the inner workings of your digestive system don't just help you digest food, but also guide your emotions. What's more, the function of these neurons - and the production of neurotransmitters like serotonin - is highly influenced by the billions of "good" bacteria that make up your intestinal microbiome. These bacteria play an essential role in your health. They protect the lining of your intestines and ensure they provide a strong barrier against toxins and "bad" bacteria; they limit inflammation; they improve how well you absorb nutrients from your food; and they activate neural pathways that travel directly between the gut and the brain.

Studies have compared "traditional" diets, like the Mediterranean diet and the traditional Japanese diet, to a typical "Western" diet and have shown that the risk of depression is 25% to 35% lower in those who eat a traditional diet. Scientists account for this difference because these traditional diets tend to be high in vegetables, fruits, unprocessed grains, and fish and seafood, and to contain only modest amounts of lean meats and dairy. They are also void of processed and refined foods and sugars, which are staples of the "Western" dietary pattern. In addition, many of these unprocessed foods are fermented, and therefore act as natural probiotics.

This may sound implausible to you, but the notion that good bacteria not only influence what your gut digests and absorbs, but that they also affect the degree of inflammation throughout your body, as well as your mood and energy level, is gaining traction among researchers.

Nutritional psychiatry: What does it mean for you?

Start paying attention to how eating different foods makes you feel - not just in the moment, but the next day. Try eating a "clean" diet for two to three weeks - that means cutting out all processed foods and sugar. See how you feel. Then slowly introduce foods back into your diet, one by one, and see how you feel.

When some people "go clean," they cannot believe how much better they feel both physically and emotionally, and how much worse they then feel when they reintroduce the foods that are known to enhance inflammation.

Adapted from a Harvard Health Blog post by Eva Selhub, MD

Image: Pablo_K/Getty Images

About the Author

Eva Selhub MD, Contributing Editor

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Nutritional psychiatry: Your brain on food - Harvard Health

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Nutrition and Mental Health (Food and Mood) - Nutritionist Resource

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Eating a diet that is well-rounded and nutrient-rich can help to improve mood, increase energy levels and help you think clearer. There are several elements at play here, from the amount of carbohydrate you eat to the way deficiencies in vitamins and minerals affect mental health.