While most people know the relation between healthy eating habits and improved physical health, students and adults alike are often unaware of the impact their eating habits can have on their mental health.
The brain is constantly working. This means that proper nutrients and amounts of nutrients are needed in order to ensure that the brain can keep running without becoming temporarily impaired or even damaged.
When a person’s diet does not allow them to obtain a proper mix of nutrients it can result in severe nutrient deficiency. If the body is deficient of nutrients crucial to energy maintenance and cell production like Thiamine(B12) and Folate(B9), it can prevent proper functioning of nerves, the release of certain brain chemicals like serotonin and even result in depression.
Yet, just as diets lower in nutrients and higher in processed foods have shown a strong correlation with depression, the opposite effect has been found with more balanced diets.
In fact, a study by Plos One journals found that diets lower in processed foods, such as Meditteraneren or ‘traditional’ diets, can even help to alleviate depression and depressive symptoms.
“Regression analysis suggested that reduction in processed foods contributed the most variance to improvement in depression symptoms over the course of the intervention. This would suggest that, in addition to recommending individuals partake in a healthy diet, an important factor is to reduce intake of processed foods,” the study said.
While multiple factors contribute to one’s mental health, diet is one thing that students can take control of in order to improve their own mental health.
Senior Ellie Scranton said she brings her own lunches to school in order to have healthier options available to her during the day. “Whenever I eat a meal or food that isn’t very healthy I usually regret it because most of the time my stomach hurts and I feel worse after eating a meal that isn’t as healthy,” she said.
Wellness teacher Ryan Arnold emphasized that it is the responsibility of students to address their eating habits and make healthy changes while their habits are still developing.
“Students can get apps and track how much they eat and what it is they are eating. Then after they have been tracking their eating habits for a couple of weeks they can look at the data and see what nutrients and food groups they aren’t getting enough of,” he said. “By doing so students can take the initiative to make lasting healthy changes in their eating habits and improve their overall health.”
At a time in which young adults and teenagers are facing rapidly increasing rates of mental illness, putting in the effort, in any way, to improve mental health is a crucial step towards long-term happiness and health.
