We live in a world of drastic food variety and accessibility. There are endless options of different types of cuisines, which all contain food from around the world that are all grown and processed in plenty of different ways. Grocery stores are lined with shelves of options and international isles, and a mere drive down Sheridan Road will show restaurants serving food from all over the world. With all of these choices at our disposal—between organic and inorganic, home-grown and imported, fast food or home-made— what we decide has become more important than ever, especially for our cognitive health.
In our fast-paced day and age, often people tend to rely on fast food in order to grab a bite on-the-go, and especially for the American public, this practice has had detrimental effects. In America, “...the federal government recommends that we have at least two to five cups of fruits and vegetables a day, for example, surveys show that the average American eats only three servings a day, and 42 percent eat fewer than two servings a day” (Woolston). 2020 was the first year in American history that the adult obesity rose above 40% (now standing above 42%), meaning that we are the most obese we have ever been and are still spiraling. These dietary decisions impact the body in numerous ways, especially our cognitive abilities and its ties to the development of depression, anxiety, binge eating disorder, and other diseases.
Something very important to approach is the question, “Why are harmful diets so popular?”. Research done by Dr. Wambura Fobbs modeled obesity in mice, and what she found is that when mice were choosing between their standard chow and a high-fat version of food, mice overwhelmingly preferred and over-consumed the high fat version of food. Her research found that even during the time of day that mice do not typically eat much, the ones who consumed the standard chow ate just a little (which was normal), while the mice exposed to the high fat diet ate nearly half of their typical daily consumption of calories in that time frame. The predictability of mice feeding patterns shows just how drastic the impact of high fat food availability was for the mice, and this change in feeding behavior eventually led to obesity in these mice (Fobbs et al.). The implications of Fobbs’s research results in the development of obesity can further extend into research on the role diet has in causing, worsening, mitigating, or preventing disease, particularly certain psychiatric conditions.
In a depression-prevention study conducted by the University of Pittsburgh, researchers recruited participants showing early signs of mild depression in hopes to prevent them from progressing into major depression, which was known to be 20-25% likely. Half of the participants received therapeutic help while the other half received dietary counselling. Those participants receiving dietary counselling were guided by social workers to create a diet change that included plenty of “brain healthy” foods. The results came as a shock to researchers because they were not expecting much of an impact in the dietary counselling group, so much that they were considered the control group of the study (Stetka). It was found that both interventions were effective, and to the same extent. Upon reviewing the results, they found that “... all the patients scored on average 40 to 50 percent lower on the Beck Depression Inventory test, a common measure of depressive symptoms, 15 months after their sessions ended. What is more, only about 8 percent, regardless of the therapy they received, had fallen into major depression” (Stetka). These results show the incredible impact diet can have in mitigating or preventing the development of psychiatric disorders, which have been increasing dramatically in the United States and other parts of the world. This study shows that the power is in our choice.
One specific diet that has had scientifically supported benefits is the Mediterranean diet. This diet consists mostly of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, poultry, nuts, olive oil and a bit of red wine. In 2016, “the first-ever randomized controlled clinical trial to test a prescribed diet to treat depression was published in BMC Medicine. The “SMILES” trial reported that after 12 weeks of consuming a Mediterranean-like diet, patients suffering from moderate to severe depression experienced significantly greater improvements on a commonly used depression symptom measure called the Montgomery-Åsberg Depression Rating scale (MADRS), compared with the control group” (Stetka). A similar but separate study done in Spain tested the influence of the Mediterranean diet on depression and found that, “For the subjects who followed the diet most closely, the risk dropped by a substantial 30 percent” (Stetka). Based on this research and other studies that have been done in this area, it is clear that diet alone has the power to mitigate or even prevent the effects of depression and other psychiatric disorders. In our day and age of fast food, over-consumption and obesity, the Mediterranean diet (or similar diets) have the power to curb our consistently increasing rates of obesity and possibly reverse the trend, while simultaneously curbing our also skyrocketing rates of depression and anxiety. Sounds like a win-win situation!
Works Cited
Fobbs, W. C., Bariselli, S., Licholai, J. A., Miyazaki, N. L., Matikainen-Ankney, B. A., Creed, M. C., & Kravitz, A. V. (2020). Continuous representations of speed by striatal medium spiny neurons. The Journal of Neuroscience, 40(8), 1679–1688. https://doi.org/10.1523/jneurosci.1407-19.2020
Stetka, B. (n.d.). The Best Diet for Your Brain. Scientific American. Retrieved December 9, 2021, from https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-best-diet-for-your-brain/.
Woolston, C. (2021, December 5). What's Wrong with the American diet? HealthDay. Retrieved December 9, 2021, from https://consumer.healthday.com/encyclopedia/weight-control-39/obesity-health-news-505/what-s-wrong-with-the-american-diet-644659.html.
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