A fascinating revelation that occurred during a depression study has given birth to the emerging field of nutritional psychology and psychiatry. The study—a depression prevention study at the University of Pittsburg—consisted of a group of participants receiving cognitive behavioral therapy and an experimental control group who received dietary counseling. When the trial concluded in 2014, the results came as a surprise. Researchers revealed that both interventions had significantly reduced rates of depression—by approximately the same amount. This came as a novel discovery because ultimately the dietary counseling group was a mere experimental control and researchers did not predict it would ever have substantial effects. This and other discoveries have lead scientists and clinicians to an appreciation and interest in the critical interplay between diet and brain health.
It was initially hard to tease out the exact cause and effect of food and the brain. Perhaps people who eat well are also apt to have other healthy brain habits, such as regular exercise and good sleep routines. Or maybe depressed people tend to self-medicate with junk food. However, as studies and data begins to accumulate, every year the list of correlations between certain foods and mental well-being grows. For instance, fish and other sources of omega-3 fatty acids might help fend off psychosis and depression; fermented foods such as yogurt, pickles, and sauerkraut seem to ease anxiety; green tea and antioxidant-rich fruits may help keep dementia at bay.
The strongest supported brain diet draws on traditional eating patterns from Italy, Greece, and Spain. The so-called Mediterranean diet consists of primarily fruits, vegetables, nuts, whole grains, fish, lean meats in moderation, olive oil and maybe a little red wine. Studies revealed that compared with people who did not eat a Mediterranean diet, those that did were significantly less likely to succumb to depression. The Mediterranean diet is low in sugar, as well as processed foods and fatty meats, which are unfortunately commonplace on most Western menus. In fact, leading nutritional psychiatry researcher, Felice Jacka, was one of the first to demonstrate an association between stereotypical Western diets and depression and anxiety.
To sum up the research, high sugar and processed foods are detrimental to psychological and neurological health. Ultimately, high sugar diets cause increased inflammation that can destroy healthy brain tissue. On the other hand, nutritional psychiatry repeatedly points to traditional diets such as Mediterranean, Japanese, and Scandinavian ones—all of which tend to be non inflammatory—as being best for neurological and mental health. These diets tend to be high in Omega-3 and antioxidant-rich foods. For instance, people in Okinawa (who in fact have the longest life expectancy in the world) eat antioxidant-rich purple sweet potatoes instead of white rice (high sugar). Scandinavians tend to cook with rapeseed oil, which contains far more omega-3 fatty acids than olive oil.
Although there is no single ingredient or happy seed that is sure to create a better mood or mental sharpness, there do appear to be specific dietary patterns that boost our cognitive and psychological fitness. The field of nutritional psychiatry and psychology is taking off as scientists hone in on the ingredients and diets that are best for good mental health and cognitive staying power. Perhaps most exciting is the prospect that dietary intervention could serve as a valuable adjunct to medication and other therapies for mental disorders—just as it does in so many other areas of medicine.