With additional thanks to Anna Cunningham for her help in preparing this article.
This research paper is looking to move away from the serious discussions of policies and economics for one month and looking instead at some recent evidence of something we do every day that impacts our wellbeing: eating. Everyone knows that eating a healthy diet is good for our physical health. However, the relationship between food and our mental health and wellbeing is a less well-known concept. There is currently plenty of research being produced to show the benefits of eating the right foods on how we feel. This is relevant to all of us because a happy person is often a more productive person.
In this summary article, we do not provide any information from the first two sections of the paper since the final section holds the most practical information. For those interested though, click on the link below to read about how what we eat affects our brain functioning in section one and how societies pressures has been changing our relationship with food in section two.
In this section we focus on three of the most common mental health disorders: depression, anxiety and insomnia. Our aim is to display some of the evidence on the types of foods that can be beneficial to improve how we feel:
Depression: often when we feel low, our appetite may also be quite low as a result of this, therefore foods like lemon, ginger or cayenne pepper are great to stimulate our appetite. Herbal teas also ease your digestive fluids and boost your appetite. In addition, a low protein diet can be a recipe for feeling down. The building blocks of protein, the amino acids, are important for our brains, helping to make our neurotransmitters. So for those with depression we are looking for meals that are appetite inducing and full of proteins and healthy fats. (get yourself some avocados!!)
Zinc imbalances has been shown to be correlated with a whole range of mental health disorders and healthy fats such as Omega-3’s are crucial for helping to boost our mood. Foods such fish (especially salmon), nuts (e.g. cashew nuts or sesame and pumpkin seeds), and eggs are recommended for those feeling low as these are all very high in protein, zinc and healthy fats.
Anxiety: increasingly studies are starting to find strong links between gut health and anxiety. The healthier your gut is, the less anxious you feel (Schmidt et al, 2014). Changing the types of carbohydrates that we eat to be wholemeal can help reduce the amount of ‘resistant starch’ travelling through our digestive systems. Boosting the supply of fruit and vegetables that are high in fibre is also very helpful as they are high in magnesium – which has been proven to ease tension and relieve muscular pain and headaches, which are common side effects of anxiety.
The most commonly known way to boost your gut health however is through pre and probiotics. Prebiotics are non-digestible foods that feed the growth of bacteria in the colon, found particularly in fermented vegetables. Probiotics are live bacteria and yeasts in yogurt, dairy products and other foods such as miso and kombucha (fermented tea).
Lastly, there are many ‘high-anxiety’ foods that you should try to limit, such as: sugar, antibiotics, alcohol, fatty cuts of meats, burnt food and processed food, since all are likely to contribute to poor gut health. In particular, it’s important to avoid low blood sugar levels by not eating sugary processed foods and aim to find nutritious, slow-burning snacks that you enjoy, so you’ll keep coming back to them.
Insomnia: As to be expected there is somewhat of a correlation between those that have anxiety and those that have insomnia, often high anxiety can trigger insomnia. But also getting a restful night’s sleep is correlated with feeling calm and happy so the causation runs both ways. Given the correlation, there are overlaps in terms of foods for this mental health disorder (e.g. avoiding processed sugars and aiming to generate good gut health) but the timing is more important for those with insomnia. For example, magnesium is also important, but rather than having this through eating lots of nuts and seeds, have an Epsom salts bath before bed instead. Epsom salts are high in magnesium and you’ll absorb this through your skin, coming out feeling relaxed and ready to get good night sleep.
Regular, well-balanced meals throughout the day are also beneficial – aim to avoid eating too much food in one sitting, as this can set your body out of kilter and break-up your routine for the day. Building a routine helps your body to understand when it is time to go to sleep. It should reduce stress too, as less time is spent pondering events in the future when they are already set in stone. Protein takes longer to digest than carbohydrates, so it keeps us feeling full. Consequently, it’s good to ensure a balanced meal of protein and carbohydrates in the evening as this will avoid you snacking just before bed or in the night.