Food acts as a source of comfort for almost everyone. While eating is one of the most common coping mechanisms, the type of food consumed does influence mood and emotions (Gibson, 2006). Foods high in fat and carbohydrates such as sugary drinks, chocolate, chips or ‘comfort foods’ are more likely to be consumed by depressed individuals (Tomiyama et al. 2012). Therefore, changing your diet can be a way to promote mental health and improve mental health after it has affected an individual (Sarris et al. 2014).
It should be noted that in cases involving trauma or abuse; nutrition is not the best intervention. It is however, one of the easiest recovery factors to control by mental health practitioners because all patients eat. Advising patients to consume foods rich in protein, iron and minerals such as leafy greens, legumes, fish, yogurt and nuts can act as an effective catalyst in recovery and is a simple practice to integrate into health care (Lachance & Ramsay, 2015). A Mediterranean diet consisting of potatoes, whole grains, herbs and seafood has been theorized to be protective against the development of depression (Lai, Hiles & Biosquera, 2013; Jacka et al. 2011; Pelsser et al. 2011). Additionally, vegetable-based, glycaemic load-based, ketogenic and paleo diets have been found to improve mood as compared to others (Arab et al. 2018). Diets involving large quantities of processed foods, more commonly dubbed as the ‘western dietary pattern’; have been reported to be strongly correlated with developing depression, ADHD and mild cognitive impairment (Howard et al. 2011; Akbaraly et al. 2009; Scarmeas et al. 2009). Furthermore, food insecurity and malnutrition have also been linked to mood and anxiety disorders (Tarasuk et al. 2013).
Previously, most researchers and media outlets viewed eating healthy as a difficult process involving restricting oneself, counting calories and an overall negative experience (Cornil & Chandon, 2016). However, the concept of ‘food as well-being’ brought to light by Block et al. (2011) challenged the pre-existing idea that eating unhealthy food makes us happier as we associate high-fat and sugary foods as being tastier. A study conducted by Wahl et al. (2017) with 38 German university students revealed that participants experienced greater ‘in the moment’ happiness while eating carbs and unhealthy foods but experienced greater long-term happiness after eating vegetables. This contributes to the notion that eating healthier improves mental health and mood. Another study by Adriaanse et al. (2016) deceived participants into thinking they overate. Most participants attributed this as being due to negative emotions as eating large quantities of food, especially of the unhealthy kind; are usually assumed to have psycho-physical benefits (Tomiyama, Finch & Cummings, 2015).
While there exists a significant amount of evidence to validate the relationship between food consumption and mood, it is still unclear whether this is a strong causal relationship. It is affected by other factors such as socioeconomic status, gender, ethnic and cultural differences. Hence, further research is required to ascertain the exact nature of this relationship.
References
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