How your diet could be affecting your mental health

You are what you eat! Better yet, tell me what you eat, and I will tell you what you are. The food that you eat affects your health – both physical and mental health. You don’t need to become obsessive about your food consumption – treating yourself from time to time with a Cadbury crème egg or a Lindt truffle can be great reward for effort – but a simple understanding that what you put into your body can affect things like your energy levels, mood and even behavior is good stuff to know. Clearly some people like to know more than others.

There are some geeks (I say this with nothing but endearment) out there now dedicating their lives to studying the connection between diet and mental health. In fact, it has turned into such an important topic that there is now a field of study known as nutritional psychiatry, which is dedicated to researching the link between what we eat and the effects on our mental health.

People much smarter than us are doing some seriously heavy hitting research in this space and it is now very hard to refute the strong connection between a healthy diet and a healthy mind. Check out some suggested dietary tips for improved mental health below.

Eat more:

• Fresh fruit and vegetables.
• Eat more salad – YES! You can make friends with salad.
• Organic foods and meals made from scratch.
• Wholegrain cereals, nuts, beans, lentils.

For those looking for a bit more detail. Eat more:

• Salmon (rich in Omega-3)
• Broccoli (high in potassium, folate and Vitamin C)
• Oysters (high in zinc)
• Berries (rich in Vitamin C and other anti-oxidants)
• Chia seeds (enormous amount of Vitamin C)

Eat less:

• Sugary foods – these may cause a nice little initial high/ surge in energy that soon wears off and can leave you feeling tired, low, meh!
• Chips and crisps.
• Chocolate – though, please remember moderation is OKAY!
• Ready meals.
• Takeaway.
• Moderate your alcohol consumption!!

Happy eating!!!