Diet culture is a growing worry in society today. Every which way you look someone is promoting a different “magical diet” that will apparently make you lose a million pounds with the snap of your fingers. Unfortunately, many of these diets either do not work and/or they have negative effects on your mind and body. In recent years, studies have begun to focus on the correlation between nutrition and mental health and certain mental disorders. It is hopeful that studying this relationship will help prevent the spread of mental disorders, and potentially ease symptoms of certain disorders.
A dieting strategy people often bring up is intermittent fasting. Intermitted fasting focuses on when someone eats rather than what they eat. In this, people eat only at specific times and do not have their food available continuously. In the paper, “Reduced caloric intake allows access-induced consumption differences to emerge with concentrated sucrose level”, Dr. Milan D Walyear and Dr. Roelof Eikelboom study the caloric intake differences between continuous feeding and intermittent feeding. They also observed how sucrose concentration affected the caloric intakes. Their findings indicated that access-induced intake relies on fasting duration and sucrose concentration. They determined that “rats given intermittent access to 4% (w/v) sucrose solution elevate their consumption of solution relative to rats with continuous access, a difference that does not appear at higher concentrations”. The findings in this paper were suggested to possibly reflect challenges of binge-eating and food addiction.
The article titled, “Nutrition and mental health: A review of current knowledge about the impact of diet on mental health”, by Dr. Grajek and team, discusses the correlations between nutrition and mental health, as well as proposes nutritional interventions that have been proven to have preventative potential for mental disorders. The paper emphasizes the antioxidant system’s implication in the development of psychiatric disorders and points out that its functioning is depending on the nutrients from food. In addition to antioxidants, the concentration of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) is also dependent on nutrients. BDNF is involved in plasticity and neurodegenerative processes. Another factor they discuss is the intake of micro- and macro-elements that play important roles in nervous system function. Overall, healthy eating patterns are very important in caring for mental health.
Some healthy brain food diets were proposed in this paper. Two, in particular, were the Mediterranean diet and MIND diet. The Mediterranean diet utilizes mainly plant-based foods-- whole grains, legumes, seeds, herbs, spices, etc. One study involving a 12-week Mediterranean diet was reported to have improved mood and reduced anxiety in adults with major depression. Similarly, the MIND diet combined principles of the Mediterranean diet and the DASH (Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension) diet. This meal plan is based on foods such as: vegetables, fruits, nuts, cereal products, fish, olive oil, seafood, etc. It emphasizes natural plant-based foods and regulated intake of animal and high fat foods. Following the MIND diet was associated with a lower chance of depression and psychological distress (not anxiety though). The diet proved to significantly slow cognitive decline with age. The Mediterranean diet also showed to have beneficial effects on anxiety and stress, as well as improving cognitive functioning in older populations. Both diets are shown to have positive effects on many diseases, such as mental disorders, obesity, cancer, diabetes, etc. Therefore, it is important for diet culture to end and for the idea of dieting to shift towards brain healthy options so people can better take care of their mind and bodies together.
References
1. Grajek, M., Krupa-Kotara, K., Białek-Dratwa, A., Sobczyk, K., Grot, M., Kowalski, O., & Staśkiewicz, W. (2022, July 20). Nutrition and mental health: A review of current knowledge about the impact of Diet on Mental Health. Frontiers. Retrieved May 2, 2023, from https://doi.org/10.3389%2Ffnut.2022.943998
2. Valyear, M. D., & Eikelboom, R. (2021). Reduced caloric intake allows access-induced consumption differences to emerge with concentrated sucrose solutions. Physiology
& Behavior,
234, 113388.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.physbeh.2021.113388
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