How Food Could Erase Your Mental Health Problems
For years, poor mental health has been seen as a moral issue, leaving many feeling trapped in their struggles with no hope for improvement. People think they are inherently flawed because they were born that way, which is their fate. But as you may have noticed from my writing, our environment significantly influences our health, specifically from the foods we consume. This perspective is largely inspired by the book ‘The End of Mental Illness’ by Dr. Daniel Amen, which I recently read. New research, much of it presented in Dr. Amen’s book, is continuing to show that by changing our diets, we can positively influence our mental health. This starts to turn mental health from a moral issue to a medical one, offering us hope for improvement. We are not doomed to remain in a state of poor mental health. We have the power to make choices that can enhance our mental health, starting with the food we eat.
Viewing Mental Health as Brain Health
When we understand mental health as brain health, it becomes less intimidating and more manageable. Your brain controls every aspect of your life, from your thoughts, feelings, actions, and connections with others. As Dr. Amen says: “When your brain has trouble functioning, you have trouble in your life”. This could be exhibited through “mental health” symptoms such as depression, anxiety, anger, impulsivity, and memory problems.
On the other hand, when your brain works right you work right! With a healthy brain, we become more effective, thoughtful, creative, and energetic. Focus on getting your brain right, and your mental health will follow. Numerous studies have shown improving the physical functioning of the brain improves the mind.
A Few Ways to Improve Brain Health
Our day-to-day food choices are either helping or hurting our brain health.
Blood Flow
A crucial aspect of brain health is blood flow. Good blood flow nourishes the brain with essential nutrients and oxygen while flushing out toxins, promoting optimal mental health. Unfortunately, anything that damages your blood vessels or impairs blood flow also hurts your brain.
This may explain a few things:
People with depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder, and schizophrenia are more likely to develop cardiovascular disease, and people with cardiovascular disease are more likely to suffer from depression and dementia (Amen, p. 102).
Research suggests that it’s not our brain cells that age rapidly, but rather the blood vessels that nourish our neurons (Amen, p. 102).
Low blood flow on SPECT scans (measures the brain’s blood flow and activity) has been associated with depression, suicide, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, ADD/ADHD, hoarding, murder, substance abuse, and more (Amen, p. 102).
According to SPECT imaging, low blood flow is the #1 predictor that a person will develop Alzheimer's disease. (Amen, p. 102).
Anything that damages your blood vessels damages your mind. If you want to get your brain to work right, focus on protecting your blood vessels and blood flow.
Daily Food Choices that Hurt Blood Flow
Caffeine: Consuming more than two cups per day can constrict blood flow to the brain.
Excessive Alcohol: This lowers overall blood flow to the brain and can even lead to the death of brain cells.
High Carbohydrate/Sugar Consumption: Carbohydrates, which convert into sugar, and sugary foods cause your blood sugar levels to rise. Over time, the glucose molecules stick to proteins in your body, causing blood vessels to become brittle and more likely to break. This disrupts blood flow to the brain. Lay back on bread, pasta, bagels, chips, and the sugary desserts.
Chemically Altered Trans Fats: These chemically altered fats are linked to heart disease, inflammation, and impaired blood vessel function. They can even cross the blood-brain barrier, leading to cognitive decline. They are represented as hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated oils on food packages and are commonly found in processed, packaged, frozen, and fast food products like crackers, chips, cookies, donuts, shortening, and deep-fried foods.
Daily Food Choices that Help Blood Flow
Cocoa Flavonols: These have been shown to aid cerebral blood flow, memory, depression, and anxiety. Found in dark chocolate (go for sugar-free) and cocoa powder. Consider adding cocoa powder to smoothies/shakes, oatmeal, yogurt, coffee, and more.
Omega-3 Fatty Acids: These have been shown to improve blood flow, brain function, memory, and mood. Found highest concentrations in oily, cold water fish such as salmon, mackerel, anchovy, sardines, and herring. They are also found in pasture-raised eggs, animal meats, and leafy greens. It is recommended to take a high-quality omega-3 supplement, with at least 1,000 milligrams of EPA and DHA.
Green tea: Green tea is good for blood flow, blood vessels, and blood pressure. Consider starting with one per cup per day.
Reservatrol: This compound boosts blood flow and is found in red grapes, blueberries, strawberries, and raspberries.
Ginko Biloba: This helps cerebral blood flow, memory, depression, and anxiety. According to Dr. Amen, all the best brains he has ever scanned have been on a Ginkgo Biloba supplement. Easily purchasable off Amazon.
2. Gut-Brain Connection
Understanding the gut-brain connection is another essential aspect of our mental health. The gut, often called the second brain, is lined with about 100 million neurons that directly communicate with the brain. Ever experienced butterflies before a big job interview or felt a “punch” to the stomach when upset? Emotional and psychological pain - such as anxiety, depression, stress, and grief - often correlates with gut discomfort.
The gut, or gastrointestinal tract, is 30 feet of tubing from the mouth to the other end. It’s lined with a single layer of cells with tight junctions that protect your body from foreign invaders and facilitate efficient food digestion. Trouble occurs when cell junctions widen and the lining becomes excessively porous, leading to a condition known as leaky gut. This condition allows toxins from inside your gut to enter your body, causing inflammation and disrupting communication between the gut and the brain.
A leaky gut is associated with various brain problems, including mood and anxiety disorders, ADHD, Parkinson's, Alzheimer's, chronic inflammation, autoimmune diseases such as lupus, rheumatoid arthritis, Hashimoto’s thyroiditis, digestive issues, seasonal allergies, and skin problems. Considering all the neurons in your GI tract, you want to do everything you can to take care of your gut health, so your brain and mind follow suit.
The health of your gut depends on 100 trillion microorganisms, including bacteria, yeast, and more, collectively known as the “microbiome”. Some of these bugs are good for your health, while others are harmful. When the ratio of good bugs is significantly higher, it creates a healthy gut. When the ratio is tipped the other way, the bad bugs cause trouble that leads to a leaky gut and subsequent physical and mental problems. Maintaining a balanced gut microbiome is essential for your mental health.
The microbiome plays a vital role in protecting your gut lining, digestion, nutrient absorption, and the synthesis of vitamins and neurotransmitters. It’s also involved in detoxification and warding off harmful bacteria. Unfortunately, most good bugs are deficient today due to a poor diet, such as consuming too much sugar, which feeds yeast overgrowth (bad bugs), and excessive antibiotics that kill good bacteria - which makes you more likely to feel anxious, stressed, depressed, and tired.
Our day-to-day food choices are either helping or hurting our gut health, thus impacting our brain health
Daily Food Choices Killing the Good Bugs
Excessive Antibiotics: Antibiotics are designed to kill harmful bacteria that cause illness, but they also harm the good bugs and disrupt the balance between the two. Surprisingly, the most significant risk of antibiotics comes from the food we eat. 70% of antibiotics are given to livestock in the United States. The prevalence of drugs in meat and dairy products can disrupt the balance of good and bad bugs. Eat antibiotic- and hormone-free meat and dairy whenever possible.
Low Levels of Omega-3 Fatty Acids
Sugar
Gluten: Increases gut permeability, leading to leaky gut. Also causes inflammation which can throw off the balance of good bugs to bad bugs.
Excessive Alcohol Consumption
Daily Food Choices Helping the Good Bugs
Fiber: Good bugs use fiber as their food source, helping maintain and grow their population. Fiber also helps nourish the cells lining the colon, promoting gut barrier function and integrity. Some foods with high fiber are Chia Seeds, Flax Seeds, Fruits, Vegetables, almonds, and other whole foods.
Foods Rich in Prebiotic Fibers: These also help support the growth of good bugs and include onions, garlic, leeks, asparagus, and bananas.
Fermented Foods: Consuming fermented foods inhibits the growth of the bad bugs while promoting the growth of the good bugs. They also contain enzymes that can aid in digestion, making it easier for your body to break down and absorb nutrients from other foods you eat. Some examples of fermented foods include yogurt, kefir, sauerkraut, kimchi, miso, horseradish, and kombucha.
My Experience
Making the right food choices significantly improved my brain health. Incorporating foods that enhance blood flow and nourish the microbiome made me feel 60% better than before. The grip of anxiety on me loosened, allowing me to take small steps forward in my life. Although food is a significant determinant of brain health, other areas such as exercise, good sleep, and forming meaningful relationships with others should also be focused on to complete the puzzle. I made the mistake of solely focusing on food in the beginning. While it was beneficial, shifting my focus to the other areas mentioned above provided me with a greater sense of fulfillment than food alone could offer. So don’t get too fixated on the food or use it as a replacement for your therapist or any other professional help you may be receiving. Both can be used in synergy.
Ultimately, why would you not want to make simple changes in your diet to feel better? With a better brain, a better life and mental health always come. Focus on the foods I mentioned that improve our blood flow and gut health, and add them to your diet today. If we consistently make good decisions about what to eat, our brain and mental health will improve immediately. By reframing mental health as a medical concern rather than a moral one, we have the power to get better from changes to our diets. This empowers us to regain control over our brain and mental health for once, paving the way for a life that is happier, more balanced, and filled with energy.
References
Amen, D. (2020). The End of Mental Illness. Recorded Books
