Jahnavi Sarma
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According to research, zinc, magnesium, omega 3, and vitamins B and D3 can help improve mood and keep anxiety, dementia and depression at bay. @Shutterstock
Your diet shares a very close relationship with your brain. Poor nutrition can adversely affect mental health. Many experts say that a lack of essential nutrients in your diet can trigger mental diseases like anxiety, depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia and ADHD. This has led to the emergence of nutritional psychiatry, a discipline that focuses on the use of food and supplements as an alternative treatment for mental health disorders. According to a joint study at the University of Melbourne and Deakin University, evidence is rapidly growing showing vital relationships between both diet quality and potential nutritional deficiencies and mental health. Researchers say that along with a range of medical conditions, psychiatry and public health should now recognise and embrace diet and nutrition as key determinants of mental health. The Lancet Psychiatry published this study.
We are now in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic. Because of lockdown and the rules of social distancing, most of us are confined to our homes. This has led to an increase in mental disorders like depression, anxiety and stress. Children and the elderly are at more risk. But the general population is not immune to it either. According to researcher, omega-3s, B vitamins (particularly folate and B12), choline, iron, zinc, magnesium, S-adenosyl methionine (SAMe), vitamin D, and amino acids are very good for your brain. You need to make sure that you include foods rich in these nutrients in your daily diet to keep conditions like depression at bay.
Many mental health conditions like depression are caused by inflammation in the brain which ultimately causes our brain cells to die. This inflammatory response starts in your gut. A lack of nutrients trigger this. According to research, zinc, magnesium, omega 3, and vitamins B and D3 can help improve mood and keep anxiety, dementia and depression at bay.
Here are a few nutrients that you must definitely have to save yourself from the problem of mental illness, according to nutritional psychiatry.
Inclusion of this nutrient in your daily diet will bring about significant improvement in depression and anxiety, regardless of age, gender or severity of depression. You need to add more foods that are rich inn this nutrient to your diet. Have a lot of legumes, tofu, seeds and nuts, avocado and bananas.
This nutrient is critical for the development and function of the central nervous system. A deficiency can lead to mood disorders, anxiety, depression, cognitive decline and poor comprehension. Fish, especially fatty ones, seeds, nuts and soybeans are good sources of this nutrient.
Zinc deficiency can lead to depression, increased anxiety, irritability and emotional instability, says nutritional psychiatry. Many clinical studies have shown that patients suffering from depression have a lower serum zinc level. So have a lot of red meat, shellfish, legumes and seeds and nuts to avoid zinc deficiency.
A lack of B vitamins in your diet can increase your risk of clinical depression or other depressive disorders. Many of the B vitamins are involved in functions that has a direct impact on the brain and nervous system. Severe deficiency of vitamin B3, for example, causes Pellagra, which can lead to dementia. Other symptoms of vitamin B deficiency are paranoia, nerve abnormalities, depression, impaired memory, concentration and learning ability. Dark leafy veggies, legumes, red meat and whole grains are good sources of this vitamin.
This vitamin activates genes that regulate the immune system and release neurotransmitters like dopamine and serotonin that affect brain function and development. A study in the Netherlands found that low levels of vitamin D correlated with symptoms of major and minor depression in 169 individuals ages 65 or older. So include foods like fatty fish, egg yolks and mushrooms to your diet.