Mental Health
Why mental health is just as important to your overall wellbeing
Mental health is intertwined with many aspects of overall wellbeing. Helping to support your own mental health is a way to support the other aspects of health.
Some ways to support mental health include being mindful of sleeping patterns, emotions, social interactions, movement, and what you eat. Studies note that a diet high in fruits and vegetables has shown to increase positive affect, mental cognition, and support mood as well as mental health conditions.
Other studies show that including probiotics in the diet can directly affect the gut microbiome which plays a role in the gut-brain axis and mental health symptoms.
Importance of Mental Health to Overall Health
When thinking about overall health there are a few aspects that can significantly affect a person’s well-being. As humans, there is a lot of overlap between these various factors.
A major indication of a person’s well-being is their mental health, the state of someone’s mental health can affect their emotions, physical health, social relations, etc.
In honor of mental health awareness month bringing some of these topics to light is the primary goal. Each individual has their own perception and relationship to mental health, this also is not a fixed state meaning as life happens mental health can ebb and flow between states and feelings.
A large body of evidence points to how depression and anxiety symptoms are a high prevalence for many people, but may not be freely spoken about to those around them. This can be short stints at a time or ongoing effects depending on the person.
While addressing and supporting mental health can be helpful for well-being there is also no shame in acknowledging the highs and lows of life. Speaking out about mental health can be empowering and even inspire or help others who may feel they are struggling. Being respectful and compassionate to those around you is also a way to help support others’ mental health, sometimes it can be hard to know what another person is going through and simple acts of kindness can positively impact people in significant ways.
Food and Mental Health
Some ways that can help to support and boost mental health can be food-related. Food and emotions are intimately intertwined which can make food relationships all the more personal. What people eat can physically create feelings of comfort and nourishment as well as feelings of discomfort or emotional distress.
As a helpful tip, taking time to be mindful and notice how food can affect physical and mental states can be the first step in supporting personal wellbeing. Some studies looking at how food plays a role in mental health will be discussed, from a scientific point of view, there are certain foods that help support the body and mind.
Benefits of Probiotics
One study looking at the gut-brain axis used probiotics as an intervention with a group of people who were diagnosed with clinical depression. The results of this study showed that using a probiotic supplement caused a significant decrease in depressive symptoms, during the “randomized controlled trial with a 4-week trial of long-term use of Lactobacillus gasseri, found improvement in mental state, sleep quality, and gut microbiota under stressful conditions” (Järbrink-Sehgal & Andreasson, 2020).
“Another randomized controlled trial evaluating the effect of multispecies probiotics on anxiety in healthy college students found improvement in panic anxiety, neuro-physiological anxiety, negative affect, worry, and improved negative mood regulation in the probiotic group compared to placebo group” (Järbrink-Sehgal & Andreasson, 2020).
Probiotics can be eaten as a supplement form or found within certain types of cultured or fermented foods such as yogurt, dal, kefir, kimchi, sauerkraut, miso, and kombucha. The types of foods and variety that a person eats have a large effect on the gut microbiome, which is becoming more widely discussed and studied. It is now coming to light that the gut may play a bigger role in a person’s overall health and wellbeing than was previously thought.
Modern Eating Habits
As societies have moved towards a more modern eating pattern coupled with a busier lifestyle a rise in mental health disturbances has been seen. Some beneficial lifestyle practices for mental and physical health include: “eating healthy food, greater physical activity, cessation of smoking, avoidance of alcohol and illicit substances safe and peaceful environment, optimal sleep, de-stressing and enjoyable activities, social connections/support, and healthy mental activities” (Zaman et al., 2019).
When people generally mention eating healthy food, this can look very different depending on the person, their culture, and education surrounding food as well as what access they have to foods around them. “Both cross-sectional and longitudinal studies have shown that the more one eats a Western or highly-processed diet, the more one is at risk for developing psychiatric symptoms, such as depression and anxiety” whereas the more a person consumes a larger amount of fruits and vegetables along with whole grains, leaner proteins, and healthy oils, “the more one is protected from developing a mental disorder” (Owen, 2017).
If you are a busy person or enjoy certain types of processed foods there is no shame necessary, a helpful tip is to think about adding more of these aspects into the day rather than having the feeling of giving up some of the pleasures of what you like to eat. “The most prominent results of this study indicated that high total intake of fruits and vegetables, and some of their specific subgroups including berries, citrus, and green leafy vegetables, may promote higher levels of optimism and self-efficacy, as well as reduce the level of psychological distress, ambiguity, and cancer fatalism, and protect against depressive symptoms” (Głąbska et al., 2020).
Life and food relationships often benefit from balance and lead to feelings of happiness, so using that as a guide can help find what is right for you! Addition is often an easier way to integrate new foods than focusing just on subtraction.
Other Factors and Mental Health
Other lifestyle factors that help to support mental health can be movement, sleep patterns, and social interactions. “Exercise has numerous beneficial effects; it has social benefits (being with others in the gym, by taking part in group sports) and medical benefits since it reduces peripheral risk factors such as diabetes, hypertension, and cardiovascular disease and hence provides protection for psychiatric (depression) and neurological diseases (Alzheimer’s disease)” (Zaman et al., 2019).
Exercise can release endorphins which stimulate the neurochemicals of feeling content or pleased. Movement during the day can help to support a restful sleep during the night. During sleep the mind has various processes that happen to support cognitive functioning. Having improper sleep can affect the amount of energy a person feels, their moods, and mental health. Finding a sleeping pattern and routine can be a great way to boost mental health and lessen stress.
When thinking about ways to support mental health and the addition of new habits, find ways to ease into them or start small with a few adjustments. Changing a lot at once can be overwhelming and hard to stick to. By choosing a few small things to focus on it will be easier to see results and not feel burdened or stressed. Do what feels best at whatever time feels good for you!
Overall Mental Health Tips
- Take a mindful moment to check in with yourself.
- Find a safe person who you can share feelings or concerns with.
- Think about what your lifestyle routines might look like (sleep, movement, eating patterns, social time).
- Try adding more fruit and vegetables to your day.
- Try adding probiotics. These could be as a supplement or as food sources.
- Find ways to practice self-care that is enjoyable.
- Practicing mindfulness throughout the day can help center the mind, this could be a walk, spending time in nature, meditation, or focusing on the breath for a few moments.
- Getting fresh air and sunshine for even just a few minutes a day can boost positive emotions and help to stimulate physiological processes within the body.
References
Głąbska D, Guzek D, Groele B, Gutkowska K. Fruit and Vegetable Intake and Mental Health in Adults: A Systematic Review. Nutrients. 2020 Jan 1;12(1):115. doi: 10.3390/nu12010115. PMID: 31906271; PMCID: PMC7019743.
Järbrink-Sehgal E, Andreasson A. The gut microbiota and mental health in adults. Curr Opin Neurobiol. 2020 Jun;62:102–114. doi: 10.1016/j.conb.2020.01.016. Epub 2020 Mar 9. PMID: 32163822.
Owen L, Corfe B. The role of diet and nutrition on mental health and wellbeing. Proc Nutr Soc. 2017 Nov;76(4):425–426. doi: 10.1017/S0029665117001057. Epub 2017 Jul 14. PMID: 28707609.
Zaman R, Hankir A, Jemni M. Lifestyle Factors and Mental Health. Psychiatr Danub. 2019 Sep;31(Suppl 3):217–220. PMID: 31488729.
