A nutritious diet is good for both your physical and mental health. It is linked with better stress management, concentration, and improved mental health.
Your gut and brain communicate with each other through the ‘gut-brain axis’. What you eat can affect your mood, but your mood also influences food choices. When we feel flat or unmotivated, it is much harder to make healthy food choices, as we probably do not have the energy to plan and shop for healthy food, and to prepare or cook healthy meals. These times are often when we reach for high energy, high fat, high sugar foods, as a way of trying to increase our energy levels, fast. We can also eat to numb or distract from painful emotions, sometimes known as ‘emotional eating’.
Diet can affect mental health through the process of inflammation. Short-term acute inflammation, which is how the body responds to an injury or infection, is not linked to mental health. However, lack of exercise, stress, poor sleep, smoking, and an unhealthy diet can all contribute to chronic inflammation, which can give rise to many health problems including depression.
There is strong evidence that following a Mediterranean-style diet improves mental health and wellbeing, including lowering inflammation, and reducing the risk of depression. The Mediterranean-style diet is rich in vegetables, fruits, wholegrains, legumes, seeds, nuts, herbs and spices and olive oil. It also recommends prioritising fish and poultry over red meat.
Follow these ten top tips for a healthier gut and mind; many of which incorporate the principles of a Mediterranean-style diet:
- Aim for 5 serves of vegetables a day
- Aim for 2 serves of fruit a day
- Switch to whole grains
- Choose water
- Choose healthy fats
- Aim to have a serve of nuts each day
- Aim to incorporate probiotic foods each day
- Include herbs and spices
- Consume “treats” in moderation
- Add legumes as often as you can.
Headway’s Accredited Practising Dietitian Robyn Bache works with clients to assess their current eating behaviours and develop eating plans to improve mood, anxiety, energy levels, and overall physical health. Robyn has extensive experience with gut health, and is passionate about the link between eating behaviours, mood, and wellbeing.
