Nutritional Psychiatry: How to Improve Brain Health and Mood through Diet

Dubai, United Arab Emirates (CNN) — Are we really what we eat? Decades of research support this statement that you become what you eat, and the very important health effects support good nutrition.

Healthy food choices increase people’s overall life expectancy and reduce their risk of developing a wide range of medical problems, including heart disease and cancer.

The health effects of food don’t stop just on the body, they extend to the mind as well, affecting not only our risk of future brain conditions (such as stroke and dementia), but also our ability to concentrate, as well as our mood and mental health.

But it’s not easy to know what to eat for brain health. Many of us have been told that foods like berries, salmon, nuts, and leafy greens are called “brain foods.”

Nutritional psychiatrist, Dr. Uma Naidu, has dedicated her career to discovering foods that improve brain function and positively impact the way we feel.

Naidoo described this emerging and fast-growing field as “the intersection between nutrition and mental health.”

Naidu explained that the number of blueberries or pieces of salmon that we should eat per day to improve our mood is not clear, but following the standard American diet, which many people consume, does not help our mental health.

This American diet is calorie-dense, nutrient-poor, full of refined carbohydrates, bad fats, and added sugars, and lacking in foods like fresh fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and protein from good sources.

“Any time we can add leafy greens, whole foods to our plates… and move away from processed junk foods a little bit, we’re going to be healthier,” Naidu said, adding that ultra-processed foods are designed to trick our brains so that we lose the ability to stop eating.

What can you do to fuel your brain and improve your mood? Here are 5 tips Naidu offers:

Eat whole foods

Naidu noted that 80% of your diet should focus on whole, high-fiber foods, such as vegetables, fruits, nuts, seeds, legumes, whole grains, healthy fats, and high-quality protein from good sources. For the remaining 20%, there is room to “enjoy whatever you want.”

“Following the 80/20 rule allows for dietary discipline with some flexibility, so that we get all the nutrients we need to calm the mind while avoiding feelings of guilt,” Naidu noted.

Enjoy the variety of food options

To improve the quality of nutrients in your diet, Naidoo recommends eating different colorful plant foods, as they contain different brain-boosting nutrients, such as plant polyphenols.

People are asked to adopt different types of vegetables, legumes, lentils, and beans.

Naidu stressed the importance of including fruit “to get those natural sugars into your body instead of eating a piece of candy, which is not the healthiest option.” “I want people to understand that we need sugar for our bodies and brain cells, so the source of the sugar is important,” she explained.

Naidoo noted that plant-rich food also provides plenty of fiber “to support a healthy and thriving microbiome, which impacts a healthy body and mind.”

Rely on green foods

Fruits and vegetables of all colors are great, but Naidu pays special attention to green.

She added: “We all know that vegetables are good for the body, and in nutritional psychiatry, we know that vegetables are good for the mind as well,” explaining that they contain folic acid, a B vitamin, which is a building block for important neurotransmitters such as norepinephrine, serotonin, and dopamine.

“Folic acid has been associated with reduced symptoms of depression and improved overall cognition, which supports a clear mind,” Naidu said.

She suggests eating between 4 and 6 cups of vegetables such as spinach, kale, arugula, or dandelion greens daily.

Develop self-awareness of what you eat

Naidu advises that you should listen to your body, saying, “An important aspect of mental health is mindfulness and the ability to acknowledge how you feel things, and act accordingly.”

“If something doesn’t make you feel good or perform well after eating it, you can probably find better food choices,” she explained, adding: “Pay attention to your mental health symptoms and your body in response to different foods, and use that body intelligence to guide you.”

Avoid foods that cause anxiety

Naidoo pointed out that inflammation is one of the root causes of stress and poor mood.

“When inflammation in the gut occurs due to added/refined sugars, processed foods, and industrial seed oils (soybean, corn, grapeseed), the mind becomes fatigued, stressed, and anxious,” she said.

2023-11-07 11:03:21

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