Depression, Anxiety, and Food
Changing your diet seems like an obvious solution when trying to lose/gain weight and get physically healthier, but it might not even be the third thing that comes to mind when thinking about how to feel mentally healthier. In fact, it might not even come to your mind at all! We, as a society, have accepted that the food we consume will become energy, fat, or muscle, but we don’t think any further than that. We never seem to consider that our food will be going to our brains too!
Mental health and physical health are not mutually exclusive; they are very much interconnected, and thus, our diet plays a major role in how we feel, both physically and mentally. Just think about the last time you were really hungry. Did you notice yourself becoming more irritable, impatient, and unable to concentrate? A lot of people refer to this jokingly as being “hangry,” but there’s a very real reason why this happens. Studies have shown that hunger causes the body to release the stress hormones cortisol and adrenaline, which preps us for action but can also enhance any negative emotions you may have already been feeling (Daley, 2018).
When you finally do get a chance to take your lunch break, what you put on that plate will make a difference. Studies have demonstrated that a diet consisting of fast, processed, and fried foods is linked with depressive symptoms and stress (Sánchez-Villegas et al., 2011). This doesn’t necessarily mean a poor diet will cause mental health issues. In fact, this could just mean that those suffering from depression make poor food choices. We can’t determine a cause-effect relationship because so many other factors play a role in mental health. However, neurotransmitters like serotonin and dopamine, which are integral for mood stability, are created from amino acids that can only be supplemented from our diets. Additionally, studies have also found that the most common nutritional deficiencies among those suffering from mental disorders are of omega–3 fatty acids, B vitamins, minerals, and amino acids. And when patients were treated with nutritional supplementation, their depressive symptoms decreased (Rao, Asha, Ramesh, & Rao, 2008).
Unfortunately, America has forgone the amazing healing power of whole foods in favor of convenience. Eating fried, processed, and sugary foods seems to be putting more than just our physical health at risk. Although a healthy diet and supplementation is not a cure for mental health issues, its potential to improve mood and reduce symptoms should not be ignored.
References
Daley, J. (2018, June 13). Being Hangry Is Real, But You Can Control It. Retrieved September 01, 2020, from https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/being-hangry-real-you-can-control-it-180969357/
Rao, T. S., Asha, M., Ramesh, B., & Rao, K. J. (2008). Understanding nutrition, depression and mental illnesses. Indian Journal of Psychiatry, 50(2), 77. doi:10.4103/0019-5545.42391
Sánchez-Villegas, A., Toledo, E., Irala, J. D., Ruiz-Canela, M., Pla-Vidal, J., & Martínez-González, M. A. (2011). Fast-food and commercial baked goods consumption and the risk of depression. Public Health Nutrition, 15(3), 424-432. doi:10.1017/s1368980011001856
