Improving one’s mental health requires a holistic approach. It is unreasonable to seek out one treatment or solution and expect it to work miracles. To improve mental health significantly, one must improve several facets of life: sleep, exercise, stressful situations, relationships, mindfulness, therapy, and so on.
One area of life that seems to be a problem for many people to change is diet. We have listed below 5 types of food that have been proven to be linked to improved mental health.
1. Varied diet
Recently, researchers in Alberta and Nova Scotia published research that showed that those who had greater variety in their diets seemed to have lower rates of internalizing disorders (depression, anxiety, etc).
2. Food rich in B vitamins
Australian researchers published a study last month that compared B vitamin intake (based on food consumption, not supplement consumption) with mental health and discovered there may be an association between foods high in B vitamins and externalizing (risk of offending, substance abuse, etc) and internalizing (depression, anxiety, etc) behaviours.
Good sources of B vitamins are pork, fish, beans, nuts, rice, wheat germ, eggs, mushrooms, almonds, leafy greens, legumes, beef, poultry, potatoes, mollusks, and dairy products.
3. Chinese food
No not the kind you’re probably thinking of. A recent study showed that a traditional Chinese diet (whole grains, fruits, vegetables, rice, and some soya products) actually lowered the risk of depression and anxiety.
4. Fish
Canadian researchers recently discovered that eating fish (and not just fatty acids found in fish) seemed to be associated with lower rates of internalizing disorder (depression, anxiety, etc) incidents among youth.
5. Bacteria
Researchers have found a connection between neurotransmitters (such as serotonin) in the central nervous system and bacteria in your intestinal tract.
Always make sure to have a varied diet of fresh, whole foods where ever possible—and to limit processed, refined foods—in order to see the most effective improvements in your own mental health.