NUTRITION TO TREAT ANXIETY AND DEPRESSION
NUTRITION TO TREAT ANXIETY AND DEPRESSION
Check out this article in Vice from 2016 about the use of food as medicine for mood disorders, a concept that seems particularly relevant right now.
“You would logically assume that if diet impacts the health of the heart, the health of the liver, the health of the fat tissues, then diet should impact the brain,” says Joseph Hibbeln, the acting chief of nutritional neurosciences at the National Institutes of Health. Hibbeln has been researching the impact of food on the brain for more than 25 years, focusing on how omega-3s can ameliorate mood disorders like depression.”
VICE: Fixing Your Mind Might Start With Your Stomach
“Fish and omega-3s may have received the most airtime for their mood-stabilizing properties, but they’re not the only ones doing the heavy lifting. Generally speaking, any diet that prioritizes nutrient-dense foods like vegetables, seeds, legumes, whole grains, and healthy fats over processed foods, red meats, and junk food is helpful—something along the lines of the Mediterranean diet.”
“A poor diet may not only mess up the mind’s signals, it could literally shrink the brain too…Researchers found that adults who ate a Western diet—one higher in processed foods, fats, and sugars—had a smaller hippocampus, the area of the brain critical to learning, memory, and mental health.”
If you or someone you know would like to get on the road to healthier eating and learn how powerful food as medicine can be, please contact us today. We have a fantastic team including a registered dietitian, nurse practitioner, and behavioral counselor here to help support the use of whole foods in your diet, investigate laboratory abnormalities, and help you develop lifelong habits for improving your health and optimizing the state of your gut microbiome.
Call us at 224.407.4400 or visit our website www.compgihealth.com to learn about our comprehensive weight management program or to request an appointment with any of our providers to get started! TELEMEDICINE visits are available now!
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