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Feed your mind! Nutrition and mental health

A healthy diet combined with exercise have long been associated with reducing risk factors for heart disease and cancer. Recent evidence also suggests that good nutrition is essential for our mental health and that a number of health conditions may be influenced by dietary factors. A balanced mood and feelings of wellbeing can be protected by ensuring that our diet provides adequate amounts of complex carbohydrates, healthy fats, essential amino acids, vitamins, minerals and water.

Because the “dry weight” of our brain is composed of about 60% of fats, the fats we eat directly affect the structure and substance of the brain cell membranes.
Saturated fats –those that are hard at room temperature like lard or butter – make the cell membranes in our brain and body tissues less flexible. Twenty per cent of the fat in our brain is made from the essential fatty acids omega-3 and omega-6.
They are termed “essential” as they cannot be made within the body, so they must be derived directly from the diet. Each fatty acid performs vital functions in the structuring of brain cells or neurons, ensuring that smooth communication is possible within the brain. Both are found in equal amounts in the brain and it is believed they should be eaten in equal amounts. Unequal intake of omega-3 and omega-6 fats are implicated in a number of mental health problems, including depression and concentration and memory problems. Experts suggest that most people consuming Western diets eat far too much omega-6 and not enough omega-3. Naturally omega-3-rich foods include organic salmon and trout, tuna, flax oil, rapeseed oil, pumpkin seeds, soy beans and almonds.

The recent and widespread appearance of trans-fat in the diet (found in processed foods like commercially-made cakes, crisps and ready meals) raises great concern, primarily because these fats assume the same position as essential fatty acids in the brain, meaning vital nutrients are not able to assume their rightful position for the brain to function effectively. Also the composition of proteins (amino acids) that we consume has an impact on our mental health situation; Neurotransmitters are messengers passed back and forth within the brain. They allow neurons to communicate information amongst themselves. Neurotransmitters are made from amino acids which often must be derives directly from the diet. For example, the neurotransmitter serotonin, which is associated with feelings of contentment, is made from the amino acid tryptophan.

When people have neurotransmitter imbalances or deficiencies, symptoms from difficulties in sleeping to feeling unmotivated or anxious can develop.
There are some foods that can help the brain to release an efficient balance of neurotransmitters. Food rich in Tryptophan (which is transformed to serotonin in our body) include fish, fruit, eggs, avocado, wheat germ, low-fat cheese and lean organic poultry. Foods which help to increase GABA levels include dark green vegetables, seeds and nuts, potatoes, bananas and eggs. A deficiency in GABA can affect us in the sense that we find it hard to relax, cannot switch off or get very anxious about things. Substances like caffeine, sugar, nicotine, refined and processed foods and also junk foods are only good at temporarily promoting the neurotransmitters that we lack. They only give us a short-term boost. Over the long term, however, these foods make our brain less sensitive to it’s own neurotransmitters which is one of the reasons why we crave these substances again and again. Much healthier than eating sugary foods is the consumption of complex carbohydrates which release the glucose more slowly like in whole grains, vegetables and beans. Choosing foods that take longer to be converted from the raw state to glucose means that your brain receives a more stable and consistent flow of fuel with which to function.
Another important aspect worth considering is food intolerances. An independent Client Survey carried out by Allergy UK in 2005 says that 81% of patients with psychological conditions (e.g. depression, ADHD or panic attacks) report moderate to high benefit after avoiding foods they were intolerant to as per the Lorisian Food Intolerance Programme.

If you want to know more about food and its impact on your mental health please ring us on 064-6679880 or call into McSweeney Pharmacy Kenmare and we will be very happy to answer any query that you may have.

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