For centuries, humans have recognized food and nutrition as a tool to heal many chronic and acute diseases. It was Hippocrates in 400 BC, who advised people to prevent and treat disease first and foremost by eating nutrient dense foods. The quote, “let medicine be thy food and let food be thy medicine” was one of the first known proposals suggesting the use of nutritional science for physical health and wellness. Unfortunately, at that time and for many more years to come; this philosophy only applied to the physical body.
Many early cultures viewed mental illness as a curse or punishment from God. As a result, mental health has been slow to acquire the same privileges as physical illness, with food and nutrition being an afterthought for its treatment and prevention. That is, until 2005 when the term “nutritional psychology” was coined.
Diet is now considered as a risk factor in the prevention and treatment of mental illness. Though research is still in its infancy stage, it suggests that small, easy to implement changes can aid in the treatment and prevention of mental illness. These new findings speak volumes to how far we have come as a scientific community to not only recognize mental illness as a science but establish successful treatment methods beyond therapy and medication.
At this point you may be wondering, “what about my diet is affecting my mental health, and how do I improve it?” The answer as we understand it today primarily involves the communication between your brain and gut. Both your gut and brain send signals to one another that influence the health of your entire body, especially your mental health. Registered dietitian, Monica Marcello, explains “Once we fully understand and embrace the connectedness of our physiology, we can nourish ourselves in a way that promotes optimal health for both the physical and mental.
Research suggests that you can both prevent and treat mental health, namely depression, by doing the following.
- Eat whole food, plant focused meals, that are unprocessed
- Making the most of your diet by eating plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables (about 8 different veggies and 3 different fruits per day)
- Making extra virgin olive oil your primary source of fat
- Enjoy a daily serving of probiotics (fermented sauerkraut, Kimchi, miso, kefir, kombucha, yogurt (only some brands)
- Enjoy a daily serving of prebiotics (shallot, onion, asparagus, watermelon, garlic)
In the diet and mental health episode featuring Monica Marcello, MS, RD, CDN, we cover all of this and more! Be sure to tune in and get the information you need to better your mental health starting from the gut!
By Monica Marcello, MS, RD, CDN from RVNAhealth.
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