How To Eat To Support Mental Wellness
Photo by Ella Olsson
I've recently been reading a book called “Mental Fitness” by Dr. Shawn Talbott, and in it he talks a lot about how the foods you eat can affect you not only physically, but mentally as well. He also explains how people around the world who follow a Mediterranean-style pattern of eating have dramatically lower rates of mental disorders like anxiety, depression, ADHD, etc., compared to people who eat a standard Western diet, and this is how he recommends that we eat to improve and support our mental health.
Now, when most people hear the word diet they think of weight loss. Well, you can relax, because I’m not talking about about weight loss or calorie counting or macro counting or point counting. Think of it more as a pattern of eating. A way of eating. A lifestyle. The more consistent you are on it, the better you'll feel. Yes, some people may lose weight by switching from a typical standard American diet to a Mediterranean-style diet, but the main goal here is supporting your mental health.
Here's five tips to help you start eating to improve your mental health.
Reduce processed junk "food" - I hate to start with a negative rule, but if there's one thing you can do to improve your mental wellness, it's to reduce the amount of fast food, processed foods, and sugary treats you eat. It's just common sense, really. Eating good stuff makes us feel better, but eating bad stuff makes us feel bad. Did you know that junk food activates our bodies’ internal stress response, which leads to stress eating and cravings for more junk food? Not only that, it actually triggers an inflammatory response which is damaging to the neurons in our brain, our gut microbiome, and the entire communication axis between them. So you can't just add more good stuff, you have to reduce the junk. It's not that you have to totally eliminate it, but you do need to honestly look at how much you are eating and save it for an occasional treat. This can be hard to control so one easy tip to help is to pick one day a week to allow a special treat. I like to make Saturday or Sunday the day I get to have a special treat because I often eat out or have social events on the weekend.
Increase fresh vegetables & fruits - I'm sure that most of us don't eat enough vegetables. I know I certainly don't. But they are so important for all areas of our health, including our mental health. Vegetables are high in fiber which feeds the good bacteria in our gut. Did you know that the gut microbiome is where 70 to 90% of our feel-good hormones are produced? So for optimal mental health, we want to keep our gut microbiome healthy, and the good bacteria fed. Fruits and vegetables are also rich in antioxidants which help us on a cellular level which is good for all aspects of our health. So a good goal is to aim for filling 1/2 your plate at each meal. If you struggle with blood sugar issues, focus on lower-starch vegetables and occasional low-sugar fruits like berries.
Get an adequate amount of protein - again, most of us don't eat enough protein, especially as we get older. As we age, we actually need more protein to maintain our muscle strength and energy levels. And it's highly satiating which is important if we are trying to lose weight. Aim for 30g per meal or more. And it may surprise you how much this actually is!! For example, if you eat eggs for breakfast you'd need 5 eggs to meet the 30g. I don't like to have to count anything when I'm eating, so to eyeball it, try to make sure at least 1/4 of your plate has high-quality protein.
Include whole grains and legumes - Okay, so I've eaten keto and even carnivore for many years so this guideline was scary for me. But I'm doing my best to do better in this area. Whole grains and legumes are really important for their fibre content and as I already explained, fibre is super important for feeding those good gut bacteria, and overall gut health. They are also important to help regulate blood sugar levels. So super important to add these to your diet. But if you're like me you can tend to overdo it in this area. So again, rather than counting carbohydrates and fibre levels, try to aim to fill 1/4 of your plate with whole grains, legumes, seeds, nuts, and beans. I like to think of these as a condiment rather than the foundation of my meal.
Eat the right type of fats - For so long, we've been taught that fat is bad and it's the enemy. But that's just not true! We don't need to be afraid of fat. In fact, fat is a vital building block for healthy brain cells, which is important for our mental health. It's also important to help regulate our metabolism. So yes...we need to eat fat. However, we need to eat the right kind of fat. I've been reading more and more lately that industrial seed oils aren't that great for us, So I've been trying to eliminate things like canola sunflower, soybean safflower and cottonseed oil, and instead using olive, coconut and avocado oil (the fruit oils), as well as eating the fat on the meats and fish I eat, as well as including whole seeds and nuts in my diet. The less processed the better. How much fat should we include? The diagram in this book says about 10%. A good rule of thumb is to eat enough to make your food taste good and to keep you satiated.
And that's basically it!! That’s the mental wellness diet! It's a very simple pattern to follow that anyone can do it! If you need to work on this area take it slow and make one change at a time and soon you'll start to feel better so then you can make the next change.
If you found this helpful, read my blog post Five Steps To Optimal Mental Wellness for more holistic ways to improve your mental wellness.
I’d also like to invite you to take the HAPPY QUIZ Find out if you’re truly flourishing or simply getting by. Take this free confidential quiz to see where you stand and get personalized tips to help boost your mental wellness.
