Challenge 19 - You Feel What You Eat
Everyone knows the adage ‘you are what you eat‘ but did you know that diet quality impacts more than you’re your physical health? Diet along with physical exercise and smoking are known as modifiable lifestyle factors and have a significant impact on your long-term wellbeing including, cardiovascular disease1 and other chronic physical health conditions, but also has an major influence on your mental wellbeing?2
The quality of the food we eat is linked with risk factors for the common mental disorders, such as, depression and anxiety with studies highlighting regions that follow traditional diets (vs western diets) have lower rates of mental illness. So, this means that dietary intervention hold promise as a novel intervention for reducing mental illness symptoms across the population.3
As with all successful change it is only works if you can maintain the change over the longer term, in other words a good diet is a sustainable diet. Below are some ideas to create a healthy diet rich in fruit, vegetables, fish and lean meats.
Try and follow a dietary pattern based on wholefoods and enjoy a variety of plant food: fruits, vegetables, legumes, wholegrain cereals, nuts, and seeds
Plan your meals – Plan five meals and take a written shopping list to the shops (avoid confectionary isle)
· Shape your environment – stock pantry and fridge with healthy whole foods you like to eat
· Prepare for hunger in advance – prep healthy snacks for when you are likely to be hungry (hummus & carrots or chia pudding fruit are great source of fibre and keep hunger at bay)
· Increase fruit intake. Add fruit to existing meals (muesli, smoothies, sliced apples with yogurt)
· Pro & pre-biotic foods. Add food with healthy bacteria (yogurt, kimchi, fermented food) plus food for your gut microbiota (oats, wholegrains, raw nuts and seeds)
· Break bread together. Buddy up with a friend to either cook in bulk or share recipes.
· Save money. Average western diet cost $134/week versus the modified Mediterranean diet $112/week
Everyone has different dietary and nutritional needs so make sure you see a registered dietitian before changing your diet.
So, has anyone else found ways to enhance the quality of their diet?
Reference
1. Mediterranean Diet and Cardiovascular Health: Teachings of the PREDIMED Study. 2014 E.Ros.
2. The Effects of Dietary Improvement on Symptoms of Depression and Anxiety. 2019. J.Firth
3. Traditional diets nutritional-psychiatry-your-brain-on-food
Further reading
Read: Nutritional psychiatry: can you eat yourself happier? www.theguardian.com
Watch: Diet as a Prevention Strategy in Mental Health PsychScene Hub
Listen: Can food make you happier? Build Your Ideal Day podcast series
** Disclaimer – Part of the Fresh Start Effect / Build Your Ideal Day Program by Duncan Young. All content and media on the Build Your Ideal Day Website is for informational purposes only. It is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice and should not be relied on as health or personal advice.
