Page 39 - Complementary and Alternative Medicine Treatments in Psychiatry

Lifestyle Changes That Improve Mental Health | 39

Food as Medicine
Certain foods and categories of foods impact mental wellness
and this impact is becoming increasingly better understood and
its correction more urgent. Recent research is demonstrating
that the modern Western diet is sorely lacking in essential
vitamins, minerals and other healthful properties. With the rise
of fast and easy to prepare foods, the natural, healthful
components included in fresh fruits and vegetables are not
ingested, leading to an imbalance in multiple body systems such
as the digestive system and the nervous system. The best course
of action is to increase intake of fruits, vegetables, whole grains
and lean, organic meats free of added hormones. However, due
to issues of income level and access, this is a challenge, and the
use of supplements may help where this is not fully possible
(Weil, 2006).
Two topics of interest include foods that increase
inflammation and foods that are toxic to the mind-body system
(Hyman 2007). Physician Mark Hyman has written extensively
about the ill effects of ingesting toxins and other substances that
lead to inflammation. He found through his clinical experience
and a review of the research that over time, these problems
seem to contribute to depression, anxiety and mood swings.
Shifting one’s diet from processed and chemicalized foods to a
diet full of fruits, vegetables, whole grains and clean lean
proteins seems to have a dramatic impact on physical and
mental health. Integrative health physician Andrew Weil has
written extensively on foods that contain nutrients required by
the body for optimum health, and his experience emphasizes the
need to take in omega-3 fatty acids, whole grains, fish, and fresh
vegetables and fruits (Weil 2006).
Other research has shown that folate and vitamin B12 have a
positive impact on mental health (Alpert 2000), as well as omega-
3 fatty acids (Settle 2001). One study surveyed 4644 New Zealand
adults about their fish consumption (omega-3) and mental