New Report Links Mental Ill-Health to Changing Diets
As new figures show that mental ill-health is costing the UK almost £100 billion a year, evidence released today by the Mental Health Foundation and Sustain reveals that changes to the human diet in the last fifty years or so could be an important factor behind the major rise of mental ill-health in the UK.
The following news release was sent along by the UK’s Mental Health Foundation, referring to a report produced in conjunction with Sustain:
A body of evidence linking the impact of diet on mood and behaviour has been growing for many years. Now scientific evidence, published today, reveals that food can have an immediate and lasting effect upon a person’s mental health and behaviour because of the way it affects the structure and function of the brain.
Significant changes in the way food is produced and manufactured have not only reduced the amounts of essential fats, vitamins and minerals consumed, but have also disturbed the balance of nutrients in the foods eaten. The proliferation of industrialised farming has introduced pesticides and altered the body fat composition of animals due to the diets they are now fed. As a result, the population’s intake of omega-3 fatty acids has decreased whilst the consumption of omega-6 fatty acids has increased. According to the research, this unequal intake combined with a lack of vitamins and minerals is associated with depression, concentration and memory problems.
At the same time, the UK population is consuming less nutritious, fresh produce and more saturated fats and sugars. According to the Mental Health Foundation and Sustain, new substances, such as pesticides, additives and trans-fats have also been introduced to the diet. These, alone and in combination, can prevent the brain from functioning effectively.
There have also been remarkable changes in the way that the population prepares and cooks food. The research shows that only 29 per cent of 15-24 year olds report eating a meal made from scratch every day, compared to 50 per cent of those aged over 65. It is also reported that a high proportion of younger people are eating insufficient amounts of fresh fruit and vegetables, instead eating unhealthy foods including ready meals and takeaways.
Amino acids are vital to good mental health. Neurotransmitters in the brain are made from amino acids, many of which need to be derived from the diet. A deficiency in certain amino acids can lead to feelings of depression, apathy and leave a person feeling unmotivated and unable to relax.
The two charities assert that many nutrients can improve a person’s mental health, and dietary changes may hold the key to combating specific mental health problems including depression, schizophrenia, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, and Alzheimer’s disease.
Dr Andrew McCulloch, Chief Executive of the Mental Health Foundation, says:
We are well aware of the effect of diet upon our physical health, but we are only just beginning to understand how the brain, as an organ, is influenced by the nutrients it derives from the foods we eat, and how our diets have an impact on our mental health. This evidence raises a number of important questions and concerns for us all, but the knowledge gives individuals the power to make decisions that will benefit them and future generations. On a larger scale, our Government cannot ignore the growing burden of mental ill health in the UK and must look to nutrition as an option in helping people to manage their mental health problems. The potential rewards, in economic terms, and in terms of alleviating human suffering, are enormous.
Courtney Van de Weyer, researcher on the Feeding Minds campaign at Sustain, added: “The good news is that the diet for a healthy mind is the same as the diet for a health body. The bad news is that, unless there is a radical overhaul of food and farming policies — particularly on fish — there won’t be healthy and nutritious foods available in the future for people to eat.”
The two charities have joined forces on the Feeding Minds campaign to raise awareness of the links between diet and mental health, and are asking Government to increase financial and political support for measures to ensure that sustainable supplies of a wide variety of nutrient-rich foods are available, affordable and attractive for people to obtain both now and in the future. They are also calling on the Government to incorporate the link between diet and mental health into all food-related policy and practice.
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This article was last reviewed by on Monday, 16th January 2006. You can leave a response below.
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17th January 2006
when a tree branch keeps hitting your roof and damaging it….what do you do?…you cut the tree branch off,
but give it a few years and another tree branch will grow to be a problem again…so what do you do to end the problem for good?…obviously you get to the “root” of the problem, and kill the tree…so im suggesting that the way to end any problem is to understand the “root” of where it is comming from… and that my friends is the everlasting question which must be answered in order to solve any problem…of course i make it sound easier than it obviously is, but if you want to try to start solving this problem, i am more than willing to devote a large amount of my time to discuss this topic with anyone who is serious and open minded,
thank you for the opportunity to give my opinion
20th January 2006
Using my intuition tells me that my painful unassisted early experiences are the roots of the damaging problems I now live with. Using my logic tells me to get assistance with those experiences. Otherwise, they remain and get worse,until assistance revises the experiences. No assistance helps more than human interaction with a wise psychotherapist. But I delay out of fear of the unknown compounded by rationalization. Does this make sense?
3rd February 2006
Hi Sandra,
I think I understand what you’ve described of that alternative between seeking out assistance, on the one hand, and delaying it out of fear and rationalization, on the other — although I wonder what the rationalization part means to you personally… Is there a particular rationalization against seeking assistance that, together with fear of the unknown, does the job of convincing you to delay?
(Not that I would necessarily expect you to answer that directly, here in a public forum!)
All the best,
Greg