Good Food, Good Mood: The Diet and Mental Health Connection!

Poor diet and poor mental health are some of the leading causes of mortality and morbidity worldwide. So how are the two connected, and what can you do from a nutrition and lifestyle standpoint to support your mental health in 2024? Let’s find out the relationship between nutrition and mental health!

Mental health holds different meanings for different people, and there are several definitions for mental health. The World Health Organization's definition is “a state of mental well-being that enables people to cope with the stresses of life, realize their abilities, learn well and work well, and contribute to their community”.

Their definition of mental health conditions; “include mental disorders and psychosocial disabilities as well as other mental states associated with significant distress, impairment in functioning, or risk of self-harm." Common mental disorders are anxiety and depression, and today's blog will share information specifically related to reduced depression & depressive symptoms. 

How is Our Diet Linked to Our Mental Health: The Gut-Brain Axis

Did you know you have 100 trillion different microorganisms living inside your gastrointestinal tract? These microorganisms consist of bacteria, viruses, and fungi; this living ecosystem, their genes, and your gastrointestinal tract make up what's called your gut microbiome. How is this relevant to your mental health? Let’s see!

The Gut-Brain Axis

Research has shown that your unique gut microbiome has an impact on your overall health and affects many different body systems, including your brain! 

An interesting and emerging space of research is the Gut-Brain Axis, which is a complex bi-directional (two way!) communication system between your gut, your gut microbiome and your brain! This two way communication system explains how your brain influences your gut and how your gut influences your brain - it’s this connection that is responsible for sensations of ‘butterflies’ when feeling nervous or excited! 

The precise mechanisms underlying the gut-brain axis are quite complex, however, there are likely multiple pathways at play as per the below image. It involves your gut microbiome (and metabolites they produce), your immune system, chemical messengers known as neurotransmitters, and a direct physical connection via your vagus nerve. It appears in the research that there are both physical and chemical connections linking your gut and brain! 

Image credit: Yuan C et al. 2023

Now diet is a major factor that can dramatically affect your gut microbiome, it influences the composition and diversity of your gut microbiome, which as you now know in turn can influence your mental health! Eating plant foods allows your healthy beneficial microbes to thrive, and on the other hand eating too many processed foods high in sugar, and saturated fat can lead to the growth of ‘unhealthy’ and harmful microbes.. negatively impacting your gut microbiome and mental health. 

Interesting Research: The SMILES Trial & Modified-Mediterranean Diet For Mental Health

The SMILES trial was the first study in Australia to demonstrate that making dietary changes can be effective in improving the mental health of individuals with clinically diagnosed depression. SMILES stands for; Supporting the Modification of Lifestyle In Lowered Emotional States. 

Basically this was a randomized controlled trial (aka a high-quality study) run in Australia investigating whether changing the diet could help to support mental health and manage depression. Findings from this study were that participants in the mental health diet plan had a significant reduction in their symptoms of depression after following a Modified Mediterranean (ModiMed) diet for 3 months. 

The traditional Mediterranean diet is one of the most researched dietary styles, consistently demonstrating numerous health benefits, including an association with a reduced risk of depression. The Modified-Mediterranean (ModiMed) diet combines the dietary guidelines for adults in Greece and Australian Guide to Healthy Eating - to make it more relevant for Australians! It is a plant-based diet with inclusions of dairy, seafood & meat in smaller portions and less often. The ModiMed diet is based on 12 food groups, the diagram below demonstrates the proportion in which each of the food groups was recommended for consumption.

Both the Mediterranean diet for mental health and the ModiMed Diet is based around a high consumption of vegetables, wholegrain and fruits. Considering both of these diets have been shown to have significant health benefits and particularly beneficial effects on mental and gut health, we should all be aiming to follow these dietary patterns! 

Consuming plenty of plant foods daily (whole grains, veggies, fruits, nuts, seeds, herbs, and spices), along with healthy fats like extra virgin olive oil should be top priority, then over the week regularly consuming oily fish, legumes and probiotic-rich dairy foods like yoghurt and kefir should be your focus!

Is your diet currently aligned with this type of dietary pattern? If not, we encourage you to start making some small changes! 

Follow us on AB Performance Nutrition Instagram to discover how eating influence your brain, mood, and mental health! 

Our Top ‘Mood Boosting’ Nutrition & Lifestyle Tips for Mental Health

Above is the relationship between food and mood. Now, here are some of our top tips that follow not only the ModiMed diet but also other healthy practices to improve your mood, cognition, and overall mental health.

 

Being mentally healthy is so essential for your overall health & wellbeing, so it’s important you consider what you are putting into your body as you now know the link between nutrition and mental health! Not only consider this but your lifestyle as a whole. We want to leave you with our top lifestyle tips for optimizing your mental health in 2024!

Are you looking for support on how to implement a modified mediterranean diet or any of our above top tips to optimise your mental health? Book in with our Accredited Sports Nutritionist or Dietitian HERE. 

Looking for ‘mood-boosting’ recipe inspiration? Give these 3 ‘mood-boosting’ meals a go! Join our AB Performance Nutrition app for just $30 per month and gain access to thousands of balanced nutritionist-approved recipes like these! 

In conclusion, the connection between nutrition and mental health is undeniable. Our dietary choices significantly impact our gut microbiome, which in turn communicates with our brain and influences our mood. By prioritising a diet rich in plant-based foods like whole grains, vegetables, fruits, legumes, herbs and spices, with the addition of healthy fats like extra virgin olive oil and oily fish.. you can cultivate a thriving gut microbiome and support your mental well-being!

Written by Annabelle Buttery,  Accredited Sports Nutritionist 

References: 

Bear, T. L. K., Dalziel, J. E., Coad, J., Roy, N. C., Butts, C. A., & Gopal, P. K. (2020). The role of the gut microbiota in dietary interventions for depression and anxiety. Advances in Nutrition, 11(4), 890-907. https://doi.org/10.1093/advances/nmaa016

Berding, K., Vlckova, K., Marx, W., Schellekens, H., Stanton, C., Clarke, G., Jacka, F., Dinan, T. G., & Cryan, J. F. (2021). Diet and the microbiota-gut-brain axis: Sowing the seeds of good mental health. Advances in Nutrition,12(4), 1239-1285. https://doi.org/10.1093/advances/nmaa181 

Chakrabarti, A., Geurts, L., Hoyles, L., Iozzo, P., Kraneveld, A. D., La Fata, G., Miani, M., Patterson, E., Pot, B., Shortt, C., & Vauzour, D. (2022). The microbiota-gut-brain axis: Pathways to better brain health. Perspectives on what we know, what we need to investigate and how to put knowledge into practice. Cellular and Molecular Life Sciences, 79(2), 1-15. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00018-021-04060-w 

Jacka, F.N., O’Neil, A., Opie, R. et al. A randomised controlled trial of dietary improvement for adults with major depression (the ‘SMILES’ trial). BMC Med 15, 23 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12916-017-0791-y 

Firth, J., Marx, W., Dash, S., Carney, R., Teasdale, S. B., Solmi, M., Stubbs, B., Schuch, F. B., Carvalho, A. F., Jacka, F., & Sarris, J. (2019). The Effects of Dietary Improvement on Symptoms of Depression and Anxiety: A Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials. Psychosomatic medicine, 81(3), 265–280. https://doi.org/10.1097/PSY.0000000000000673

World Health Organisation, https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/mental-health-strengthening-our-response, 2022.