shows what you eat affects our brain and mind health.

Improve your Mental Health through your Diet

Nutrition plays a big role in our mood and general wellbeing. A healthy diet can be difficult to maintain regularly if you are not feeling great. So it can be a vicious cycle as you may end up eating things that taste nice to you and so make you feel better in the short term, but that food actually makes you feel worse in the long term. 

Certain steps can be taken however to help improve your mental health through your diet. Here are some simple steps to take:

  1. Keep your blood sugar level balanced 

What we eat and when we eat impacts our blood sugar balance which in turn affects our mood and energy levels. If we don’t keep our body fuelled then our blood sugar dips which can impact our brain and mood. Sugary foods, alcohol, caffeine and refined carbohydrates all disrupt our blood sugar balance. Research has suggested high sugar intake increases the risk of depression, schizophrenia and anxiety levels.

To keep your blood sugar balanced, try to incorporate protein and fat in your meals alongside carbohydrates. For example: 

  • eggs
  • fish 
  • beans 
  • chicken 
  • tofu
  • nuts and seeds 

are all great sources of protein and it’s a good idea to include one of these in a meal.

A lot of people skip breakfast as they cannot find the time or simply find themselves not hungry in the morning to eat. However breakfast is an important meal and helps keep your blood sugar balanced throughout the day. This will not only support your mood but improve your energy levels too.

  1. Look after your Gut Health

If you have problems with your gut health, this could also be impacting your mental health and wellbeing.

Our gut is home to an ecosystem of bacteria, called the microbiome, which is influenced by the food we eat. Alcohol, junk food and sugar can reduce levels of beneficial bacteria and cause bad bacteria to thrive. This imbalance in gut bacteria is called dysbiosis. Medications, stress and traumatic events can also disrupt the microbiome and cause dysbiosis. Symptoms such as bloating, constipation, flatulence and loose stools can all be signs that you have dysbiosis. This imbalance can affect our ability to breakdown foods and absorb nutrients, which inturn can affect the functioning of our immune system and nervous system. This is important as neurotransmitters (used by our nervous system), influence our mood.

The bacteria in our gut communicates with the brain via the vagus nerve, sending information signals back and forth. Therefore gut bacteria can reinforce or prolong an emotional state and research suggests that depression and other mental health conditions are strongly linked to gut bacteria. So learning how to nurture and maintain a healthy microbiome is really important for our mental health and overall wellbeing. 

To maintain a healthy microbiome in your gut, try to eat a wide variety of vegetables as studies have shown a high consumption of vegetables is associated with lower risk of depression and anxiety. 

  1. Eat Healthy Fat

Healthy fat is important for our brain function because 60% of our brain is made from fat. So try and eat healthy fats to help improve your brain health and function. Examples of healthy fat foods are: 

  • oily fish
  • beef
  • lamb 
  • free range eggs
  • You can also consider taking fish oil

To understand more about your gut health and any underlying issues you may have, you should contact your healthcare provider for advice. 

How eating certain Foods can transform Your Mental Health

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