Food & Mood

The old adage ‘you are what you eat’ may be more important than we think. According to a report Feeding Minds, produced by the Mental Health Foundation in 2005, ‘what we eat (and drink) affects how we think and feel every day of our lives’. Healthy eating reduces the chance of suffering from a range of physical illnesses, including cancer and heart disease, and also affects mental well-being. Eating well gives you more energy, improves your self-esteem and can be enjoyable. A survey by the Food and Mood Project found of 200 participants, 88% reported that changing their diet improved their mental health significantly.

The Feeding Minds report

Most of the research on diet and depression treatment has focussed on adding dietary supplements to standard antidepressants rather than relying on diet as a treatment on its own.  The ‘complementary medicine’ section of this website goes into this in considerably more detail. The Mental Health Foundation’s Feeding Minds report, to be found on their website (see further sources of information below) makes fascinating reading. There are some specific areas that seem particularly relevant for people experiencing depression. The report highlights changes to our diet in recent years in how our foods are processed and refined. This means what we are eating daily can be very different in content to the same food eaten by previous generations. For example, the diets and management of chickens has changed their carcass from a 2% fat to 22% fat. Their present diet is of reduced omega-3 and increased omega-6, yet unequal intakes of both of these are implicated in a number of mental health problems, including depression, and concentration and memory problems. This is a staggering fact, as this is a food that we commonly believe to be healthy!

In addition, people in the UK eat 59% less fish than they did 60 years ago. Yet we know that the low consumption of fish can have an effect on mental health.

A good night’s sleep is something that many people affected by depression do not always have. In terms of diet, it may help to reduce your intake of caffeine and alcohol, especially in the immediate hours before bedtime, as this can decrease the likelihood of being able to relax and enjoy a sound sleep.

Changing your diet

Nearly all good advice on eating for general physical health is equally true when eating for general psychological health.  The UK government’s eight tips for eating well, published in October 2005, are:

1. Base your meals on starchy foods
2. Eat lots of fruit and veg
3. Eat more fish
4. Cut down on saturated fat and sugar
5. Try to eat less salt – no more than 6g a day
6. Get active and try to be a healthy weight
7. Drink plenty of water
8. Don’t skip breakfast

There are however some specific areas that seem particularly relevant for those affected by depression and heere are some other pointers that you may find helpful:

• Think about your current diet – stressors and supporters
• Discuss your eating and drinking and any changes you feel need to be made with your GP, practice nurse or dietician
• Don’t just stop some foods. For example, eggs have amino acids. It’s not about a ‘diet’ so much as a plan to introduce healthy balanced eating
• Introduce a few changes at a time to help your body adjust
• Make double quantities and freeze half when cooking from scratch to help save time during the working week
• Plan meals in advance so you are less likely to just grab the nearest meal or takeaway
• If you are on a limited budget, consider how best you can achieve your healthy eating plan more economically. Some local authorities run advice on this
• Enjoy food! Find new ways of preparing and eating healthy alternatives such as fruit, oil rich fish and vegetables. If you are unable to tolerate such food supporters, you can use vitamin supplements – ask your local pharmacist.

Stressors and Supporters

Cutting down on the amount of ‘food stressors’ and increasing the ‘supporters’ you eat is said to help improve your mental health. Examples of food stressors include:

• Sugar – raw or in foods
• Caffeine – found in tea, coffee and fizzy diet drinks
• Alcohol
• Chocolate
• Wheat-containing foods such as bread, biscuits, cakes and various cereals
• dditives such as E colourings, found in many processed foods (see labelling)
• Dairy such as milk, butter, cheese, eggs
• Saturated fats found in food like bacon and other fried items

Examples of food supporters include:

• Water
• Vegetables such as carrots, broccoli, swede, sprouts
• Fruit such as bananas and tomatoes
• Oil-rich fish such as tuna or mackerel – if tinned note label as the processing may have reduced these important oils

The Food and Mood project's survey also indicates that turkey and chicken contain a good source of the mood enhancing tryptophan, an essential amino acid which is converted into serotonin – which can be low in people affected by depression. Vitamin B6, vitamin C, folic acid and zinc are all essential good mood nutrients. They are also helpful in making serotonin from the tryptophan protein fragment that is found in food such as meat, fish, beans and lentils. If you are unable to eat foods containing these nutrients, you might wish to consider other vitamins that may be also used to supplement your diet such as folic acid, omega-3 fatty acids and selenium.

According to the Feeding Minds report, benefits in improved mood and mood swings can be shown within a few weeks. Good luck and bon appetite!

Further sources of information

Mental Health Foundation Food and Mental Health Campaign    Changes to our diet in the last fifty years or so are thought to be an important factor behind recent trends in mental health and mental illness. This is a campaign to increase awareness and understanding of the links between food and mental health, and to press for shifts in policy and practice as a result.

Food and Mood Project    Dietary self-help for emotional and mental health.

Brain Bio Centre/Patrick Holford    Nutritionist's site author of "Optimum Nutrition for the Mind". Note this is a commercial site but it does have free information and articles some may find useful.

Stirling Health and Wellbeing Alliance    Healthy living centre. The aim of Stirling Health & Well-being Alliance is to empower people to improve their health & well-being and to tackle health inequalities.

British Dietetic Association    This website has a section called ‘latest food facts’ which contains many downloadable fact sheets including information on healthy snacks, packed lunches, fruit & veg, omega-3 fatty acids, fluid intake, and whole grains.

Healthy Living    The Scottish Executive's 'healthyliving' website has lots of good advice on healthy eating including a quiz on the health of your current diet, printable recipes, tips on healthier breakfasts, packed lunches, light & main meals, and the option of free personal email or phone advice from nutrition specialists.