The Mental Health Foundation and Sustain have joined forces to launch the Food and Mental Health Campaign - to explain to people that the foods they eat can affect their brain and therefore their mental health.
The research gathered by the Mental Health Foundation and Sustain shows that changes to the human diet in the last fifty years or so could be an important factor behind the increasing incidence, and economic burden, of mental ill health in the UK.
Whilst we are aware of how our diet affects our physical health, we are only just beginning to understand how the brain, as an organ, is affected by the foods we eat, and how our diets have an impact on our mental health.
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Evidence linking diet to mood and behaviour has been growing for many years. This research lays out the evidence to show that what we eat and drink can also have an immediate and lasting effect upon our mental health, because of the way it affects the structure and function of the brain.
The campaign brings together previously separate evidence from many different specialist areas and discusses how the foods we eat may be affecting our mental health at various stages, from foetal brain development to Alzheimer’s disease.
This evidence is new in that we have researched and linked trends in mental health to changing trends in food and farming that have taken place over the last fifty years or so.
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We are not suggesting any particular ‘diet’ here. Sustain and the Mental Health Foundation are both charities, independent of any commercial or political interest in food and nutrition.
Most diets are linked to slimming and most healthy eating campaigns to date have concentrated solely on physical health. The links between diet and mental health have yet to be properly addressed at a national level. This is what our campaign is all about.
Just like the heart or the stomach, the brain is an organ that is affected by what we eat and drink. Most of the brain is derived directly from food and it needs various nutrients to stay healthy.
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The foods we consume daily are very different in nutritional content to those we ate more than fifty years ago. We are eating less nutritious, fresh produce and more saturated fats and sugars. Partly because of the way food is produced and manufactured, many people are eating fewer vitamins and minerals. New substances, such as pesticides, additives and trans-fats have been introduced to the diet, which alone and together can prevent the brain from functioning properly.
Our intake of omega-3 fatty acids has gone down whilst our intake of omega-6 fatty acids has gone up. The rise of processed foods, which use vegetable oils, has significantly increased our intake of omega-6. At the same time, people in the UK eat 60 per cent less fish - a good source of omega 3 fatty acids - than they did 60 years ago. This imbalance of omega 3 and omega 6 may result in depression, concentration or memory problems for some people.
In addition to this, over the last 60 years there has been a 34 per cent decline in UK vegetable consumption. Only 13 per cent of men and 15 per cent of women now eat at least five portions of fruit and vegetables per day.
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This is a serious large-scale issue, and the big changes need to come from Government but there are things that people can do to ensure that they eat the necessary nutrients to keep the brain healthy.
The same diet that is widely accepted to be good for your physical health is also good for your mental health. A healthy balanced diet includes lots of different types of fruit and vegetables, wholegrain cereals, nuts and seeds, meat and dairy from extensively reared (including organic) sources and oily fish from sustainable fisheries.
Nutritional advice relating to specific mental health problems can be found on our Feeding Minds Webguide.
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There are several issues addressed in our reports that lead us to support organic farming – for example, the evidence of a link between pesticides and Parkinson’s disease and the possible decline of minerals in the soil due to intensive farming methods.
Buying food from local farmers who farm their animals less intensively and to high animal welfare standards is a good option.
But buying organic is not the only option. A healthy balanced diet includes lots of different types of fruit and vegetables, wholegrain cereals, nuts and seeds, meat and dairy from extensively reared sources and oily fish from sustainable fisheries.
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Eating more of any particular food is not necessarily the answer. However, the evidence does show that omega-3 fats, which are found in oily fish, are beneficial to the brain. Much attention is often paid to the use of fish oils in mental health treatment. If a person does choose to eat fish, oily fish is the better choice.
Unfortunately, there is a very real problem in advising people to eat more fish because industrialised fishing is leading to a severe decline in fish stocks. People should make an effort to choose oily fish from a sustainable source to help preserve declining fish stocks. Fish certified by the Marine Stewardship Council will be from a sustainable fishery.
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Vegetarians are usually physically healthier than meat eaters, and there is no evidence that mental health problems are more common in vegetarians. Although the fats found in fish do appear to be vital for mental health, it is still possible to get simpler versions of these fats from plant foods.
Vegetarians who eat a wide variety of fruits, vegetables, nuts and seeds will be giving their brains good nutrients.
It is a generally healthy and balanced diet that appears to have the most benefit to a person’s mental health – not just one nutrient or food.
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Although food supplements have their role in some cases, we need to emphasise that they are not a substitute for a healthy diet. Supplements may contain some beneficial specific nutrients, but they do not contain many other valuable elements that are present in food. And, more of a good thing is not always better! Eating too much of one nutrient can sometimes interfere with how the brain absorbs or creates other substances.
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The advice about healthy diets has actually been very consistent over the past decades. The copious amount of popular diet books may lead the public to think otherwise, but there has really been very little change, even though new discoveries may occasionally tweak the recommendations.
A healthy diet is actually very simple. It is low in saturated fats, salt and sugar and includes lots of different types of fruits and vegetables, wholegrain cereals, nuts and seeds, and protein from fish, meat or pulses.
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Diet is one of many factors that may result in a person experiencing mental health problems. Other factors include genetics and life events – such as a person’s upbringing or emotional experiences, such as bereavement or separation.
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Some foods damage the brain by harming healthy brain cells but many nutrients can improve a person’s mood and mental health. Growing evidence, and a number of significant voices are saying that diet should be used in the care and treatment of people with mental health problems.
Research into the use of dietary approaches in the treatment of mental illness shows that certain vitamins or minerals can alleviate depression, and the removal of certain food additives can help to alleviate the symptoms of hyperactivity in children.
Research has been carried out both using diet as a standalone treatment, and as a complement to conventional treatments, such as medication.
Our Government must look to nutrition as an option in helping people to both prevent and manage their mental health problems. Everybody is susceptible to mental ill health and for that reason people need to be educated about the implications of the foods they eat, and how they may affect them.
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The role of diet in treating mental ill health has not yet been recognised in mainstream medicine but there are some organisations that are already trying such approaches, including the Food and Mood Project, the Hyperactive Children’s Support Group and the privately run Brain Bio Centre.
We’re also aware of one NHS Trust that promotes nutrition in managing mental health – the Doncaster and South Humber Healthcare NHS Trust.
You can contact you local authority and see if they are running any schemes in your local area.
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Yes, there has been an increasing prevalence of mental health problems in children, adolescents and older people. There has been a definite increase in the number of people being diagnosed with dementia. The incidence of common mental health problems such as depression and anxiety has increased in the last fifty years but rates of severe mental ill health have not really changed.
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Return to the Food and Mental Health Campaign
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