Mind Over Platter
Improving Mental Health with Each Meal
Throughout the hustle and bustle of life, from education to employment and finding a personal life in the mix, life asks us constantly what we prioritise. Even if we remember to improve our physical health, mental health may often be at the back of our minds at best. Obviously many already interface directly with mental health issues, personally or with a loved one, on a day-to-day basis. Physical exercise and meditation are among many accessible approaches to boost mental health and elevate mood [1]. But the evidence is also clear that what we eat plays a strong role in our emotions, mental health and other brain related health issues.
Protect the Children. The quality of the food we eat impacts us in full force from as early on as our childhoods. Persistently poor diet choices, such as opting for classic “fast foods”, result in poor mental health scores in 14-year olds (testing for withdrawal, anxiety, depression and more in the 1,860 teenagers studied) [1]. But surprisingly, an omnivorous diet was identified as the most damaging food choice to the mental health of these teenagers in this observational study [1]. Although not as harmful as a drug habit is to mental health [1], the diet of our young people is relatively easier to control.
