Nutritional Psychiatry: How Food Affects Your Brain and Mood
'22.02.2021'
Source: Featured
Over the years, neuroscientists have tried to refute the old assumption that human consciousness is determined solely by the activity of the brain. For example, research into the gut microbiome has shown that mood and overall mental health are closely related to the functioning of the microbial ecosystem in the digestive system. Featured.
Как write the researchers, "Experimental changes in the gut microbiome may affect emotional behavior and related brain activity, and play a pathophysiological role in brain diseases, including autism spectrum disorder, anxiety, depression and chronic headache."
According to research by microbiologist Sarkis Mazmanyan of the University of California, even Parkinson's disease appears to be linked to gut bacteria. According to the scientist, 70% of all neurons of the peripheral nervous system (that is, not the brain or spinal cord) are located in the intestine, and the intestinal neurons are directly connected to the central nervous system through the vagus nerve.
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Our gut also supplies the brain with fuel, and this requires a “constant supply,” notes Dr. Eva Selhub..
“This 'fuel' comes from the foods you eat. And what is contained in it is of great importance. Simply put: what you eat directly affects the structure and function of the brain and, ultimately, your mood, ”the expert is convinced.
Such research results have led to the emergence of a new field of food psychiatry, which you can learn about in a fascinating lecture by the professor of clinical psychology Julia Rucklidge (you can turn on the translation of subtitles in the video settings):
We were originally taught that nutrition and diet do not have a huge impact on mental health. Rucklidge, like most of her colleagues, believed that only drugs and psychotherapy could eliminate or alleviate mental disorders. But when faced with evidence to the contrary, she decided to pursue her own research. She found compelling evidence of a dramatic reduction in depression and psychosis after dieting.
This is not to say that medications and psychotherapy do not play an important role in the treatment of mental problems, and of course, they should not be replaced solely by making dietary adjustments. how сообщает Joyce Kawai, it is known that many mental disorders are caused by inflammation of the brain, which ultimately leads to the death of brain cells. Inflammation, in particular, is caused by a lack of nutrients such as magnesium, omega-3s, vitamins and minerals.
Diets that are mostly sugar and highly processed foods also cause inflammation.
“Numerous studies have found a correlation between diets high in refined sugars and impaired brain function,” writes Dr. Selhub. "It contributes to the onset of emotional disorders such as depression."
Processed foods that are high in carbohydrates and low in nutrients have created an epidemic of malnutrition in a large segment of the population that believes they have a lot of food. In parallel, there were corresponding epidemics of depression and other mental illness.
Food psychiatry is not a fad or program that claims to recreate the diet of primitive people. Although the potential evolutionary discrepancy between our ancestral past (Paleolithic, Neolithic) and the modern nutrient medium deserves study, write the authors of the article published in the journal Physiological Anthropology. Many other contemporary factors, such as economics and the level of medicine, play a role in our attitude to nutrition and mental health.
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Instead of looking back to prehistoric times, scientists are studying the eating systems in "traditional" societies (not dependent on mass-produced foods) in the Mediterranean and Japan. Studies have found that there are 25-35% lower rates of depression.
“Their diet is high in vegetables, fruits, unprocessed grains, fish and seafood, and a small amount of lean meat and dairy products,” writes Eva Selhub.
There is probably no perfect dietary formula. All processes are individual. Dr. Selhub recommends avoiding processed foods and sugars, and experimenting with adding and subtracting foods while assessing how you feel. Food experiments like these are probably best done after consulting a doctor.
By changing their eating habits, a person can affect their entire ecosystem, known as the microbiome. This will require rethinking your culinary preferences and habits. Unfortunately, due to subjective and objective reasons, not everyone can afford it. However, for millions of people with mental illness, nutritional psychiatry can be a life-changing treatment.
