Diet has a direct influence on mental health
Study found increasing evidence of link between poor diet and the worsening mood disorders
Washington DC: A new study in the field of nutritional psychiatry confirms that whatever goes into our mouth has a direct influence on our minds. But, there are not many diets with strong evidence to support the cause yet.
There were multiple studies conducted earlier to see what kind of effects one's diet pattern and food intake can have on their psychological well being. Professor Suzanne Dickson from University of Gothenburg, Sweden, the lead author of the study, has come up with an answer this time.
"We have found that there is increasing evidence of a link between a poor diet and the worsening mood disorders, including anxiety and depression." But the professor also shares that a number of common beliefs around certain food or diet type could not be supported with data and evidence through this study.
While conducting the research, scientists have come up with the fact that high fat and low carbohydrate diet which is more commonly known as Ketogenic diet has an ability to help children with epilepsy, depression, fatigue due to Vitamin B12 deficiency and poor memory.
On the other hand, the perks of the Mediterranean diet are protection against depression and anxiety. The diet is rich in vegetables and olive oil and thus apart from benefiting one's physique keeps one upbeat all day long.
But, there have been no conclusive results for the usage of Vitamin D supplements or foods associated with autism or ADHD.
The restriction lies in the matter that the food or diet can where food can easily be associated with certain mental health conditions, it cannot be certainly stated how or why they induce such conditions.
According to professor Dickson, "The general belief of dietary advice for mental health is based on various solid scientific evidence. In reality, it is difficult to prove that some of the diets or specific dietary components have a contribution to mental health."
There are some difficulties that need to be overcome to take the study further. A food item and a drug cannot be treated equally. For instance, one can be given a dummy pill to conduct a test but cannot be given a dummy food easily. Researchers feel if this speed-breaker can be crossed, the future studies will bring out more path-breaking data.