DIET & DEPRESSION - FEEDING MINDS EXECUTIVE CONCLUSIONS

The role of nutrition in mental health

The body of evidence linking diet with mental health is growing at a rapid pace. As well as its impact on feelings of mood and general wellbeing, the evidence demonstrates its contribution to the development, prevention and management of specific mental health problems.

The implications are far-reaching for all those with a stake in the care, treatment and prevention of mental illness. They must be embraced by stakeholders if current and future generations are to ease the growing health, economic and social burden of mental ill-health.

There is an urgent need for policy-makers, practitioners, industry, service users and consumers to give proper credence to the role that nutrition plays in mental health.

Key Findings 

Food consumption

• What we are eating now is very different from that of our recent ancestors. Food production and manufacturing techniques, coupled with changing lifestyles and increasing access to processed foods, mean that our intake of fresh, nutritious, local produce is much lower, at the same time as our intake of fat, sugar, alcohol and additives is much higher.
• Up to 40% of food we produce is wasted directly because we buy it and then throw it away, or indirectly, because supermarkets reject produce that is the ‘wrong’ size or shape or past its ‘sell-by’ date.
• Over the last 60 years there has been a 34% decline in Uk vegetable consumption with currently only 13% of men and 15% of women now eating at least five portions of fruit and vegetables per day. 
• People in the Uk eat 59% less fish than they did 60 years ago.
  

Mental health and depression

• Some nutrients trick the brain by triggering an over-release of neurotransmitters and some foods damage the brain by releasing toxins or oxidants that harm healthy brain cells. There are many more nutrients that serve the brain without deception or damage, which can improve mood and mental well being.
• A balanced mood and feelings of well being can be protected by ensuring that our diet provides adequate amounts of complex carbohydrates, essential fats, amino acids, vitamins and minerals and water.
• There is a plethora of anecdotal, clinical and controlled studies that point to the importance of diet as one part of the jigsaw in the prevention of poor mental health and the promotion of good mental health.
• Research indicates that good nutritional intake may be linked to academic success. A number of studies report that providing children with breakfast improves their daily and long-term academic performance.
• Among some young offenders, diets supplemented with vitamins, minerals and essential fatty acids have resulted in significant and remarkable reductions in anti-social behaviour.

Mental health problems

• There is growing evidence that diet plays an important contributory role in specific mental health problems including Attention deficit Hyperactivity disorder (AdHd), depression, schizophrenia and Alzheimer’s disease.
• The presentation of depression in the Uk population has increased dramatically over recent decades and this has been accompanied by a decrease in the age of onset, with more cases being reported in children, adolescents and young adults.
• A correlation between low intakes of fish by a country and high levels of depression amongst its citizens, as well as the reverse, has been shown for major depression, post-natal depression, seasonal affective disorder and bipolar affective disorder.
• The incidence of schizophrenia is similar across the globe, although there are differences in outcomes between countries. This implies that environmental factors have some role in determining the duration and severity of symptoms, and the role that diet has to play is attracting increasing scientific interest.
• Alzheimer’s disease has become more common in the past fifty years and is believed to be the result of a combination of factors, including the aging population, genetics and environmental factors. Growing epidemiological evidence suggests that diet may be one of those environmental factors with associations being reported between the occurrence of Alzheimer’s and the amount of saturated fats, vitamins and minerals consumed.
• Complementary mental health care services that focus on diet and nutrition report promising results, particularly among those who experience AdHd and depression. on the whole however, they are poorly resourced and have received insufficient research attention to draw firm conclusions.

National opinion poll findings (NOP)

• Women report eating healthy foods, including fresh vegetables, fruit or fruit juice and meals made from scratch, more often than men, who tend to eat more takeaways and ready meals.
• Younger people report eating less healthy foods (fresh fruit and vegetables, organic foods and meals made from scratch) and more unhealthy foods (chips and crisps, chocolate, ready meals and takeaways) than older people.
• 29% of 15-24 year olds report eating a meal made from scratch every day, compared with 50% of those aged over 65.
• Younger people are more likely than older people to report daily mental health problems, as are those in social class de, those on a lower income, those who are not in paid employment and those who are not married.
• Nearly two thirds of those who do not report daily mental health problems eat fresh fruit or fruit juice every day, compared with less than half of those who do report daily mental health problems. This pattern is similar for fresh vegetables and salad.
• Those who report some level of mental health problem also eat fewer healthy foods (fresh fruit and vegetables, organic foods and meals made from scratch) and more unhealthy foods (chips and crisps, chocolate, ready meals and takeaways).

Recommendations

The government as a whole, and all relevant departments and agencies, should officially recognise the links between diet and mental health and incorporate this recognition into all food and mental health related policy and practice. For instance, general healthy eating campaigns such as five-a-day should always include a mental health component.

Because the diet that is good for the brain is also the same diet that is good for the body, government should
increase financial and political support for measures to ensure that sustainable* supplies of a wide variety of
nutrient-rich foods are available, affordable and attractive for people to obtain both now and in the future.

Feeding Minds - Nutrition and Mental Health