Last updated on June 15th, 2023
If you or a family member are among the millions of Americans who live with mental illness, you understand the importance of collaborative treatment programs. The pathway to recovery for many mood disorders and mental illnesses has traditionally been a combination of medications and talk therapy. However, recent research indicates that diet may play an essential role in the quality of care.
There are thousands of microbes living in your gut, together they make up an organism called the gut microbiome. The gut microbiome may influence our brain and how it processes information. Scientists now believe gut bacteria could be linked to brain conditions as diverse as depression and anxiety to autism and Alzheimer’s disease. And what you eat determines the balance of microbes in your gut. The right diet can cultivate a diverse microbe ecosystem that benefits both mental and physical health.
What is the Psychobiome?
The gut microbiome is made up of bacteria, viruses, fungi, and archaea that reside in the gut. The mix of these microbes and their effect on how people think, feel, and act is referred to as the pyschobiome. Gut bacteria metabolize nutrients in our diets in different ways than our bodies and the breakdown of these nutrients by gut bacteria may affect our brain function. Scientists believe working with the bacteria in our guts has the potential to create new therapies for brain disorders because there is so much research that supports that our brain is connected to our gut and its microbiome.
For instance, depression levels tend to increase when people take antibiotics. A study found that people with depression often had a deficit in two bacterial species commonly found in the human gut. Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is thought to be caused in part by changes to gut microbes. Half of all IBS patients also have a diagnosed mood disorder. The common link for both disorders may be the balance of gut microbes.
How do these microbes influence our brain? Scientists believe some microbes secrete messenger molecules that travel through the blood to the brain. Or bacteria may stimulate the vagus nerve through recently discovered “neuropod” cells. These cells form synapse-like connections to nearby nerve cells, including those of the vagus nerve.
Inflammation and Mental Health
People with major depressive disorders often exhibit all the markers of chronic inflammation. They may also have comorbidities linked to persistent, low-grade inflammation like rheumatoid arthritis, heart disease, and diabetes. Inflammation is our body’s way of triggering our immune system to repair and heal damaged tissue. When the body is in a state of constant immune response, inflammation can put stress on the GI tract and microbiome causing the release of cytokines, a type of protein that communicates immune response. These molecules permeate the blood-brain barrier and influence brain function, which researchers believe may lead to anxiety, depression, and memory loss.
Maintaining a healthy gut is one way to control inflammation. Good nutrition provides fuel for gut microbiota. Our food ultimately becomes its food. As the microbes in our gut break down the food we eat, they turn it into compounds that modify our immune cells and impact our body’s inflammatory state. An anti-inflammatory diet may be one way to maintain a healthy gut.
Feeding the Psychobiome
What should you eat to maintain a healthy gut microbiome and improve mental health? Prebiotics, probiotics, and polyphenols all have a positive effect on gut microbiota and cognitive health. The most common source for many of these is unsurprisingly fruits and vegetables.
Fiber is a natural prebiotic. The fiber found in fruits, vegetables, beans, seeds, and whole grains is a key food source for microbiota. While our bodies can’t break down fiber, the microbiota in our guts can! Fiber is made from indigestible polysaccharides. The microbiota in our digestive tracts breaks down polysaccharides into short-chain fatty acids. This whole process creates homeostasis, or balance, in our guts. Experts say you should eat between 19-38g of fiber every day to maintain a healthy gut.
Polyphenols have been known to promote cognitive function and protect against inflammation. Our gut microbes use polyphenols to maintain a healthy ecosystem in our GI tract. But gut microbes may also support brain health and the prevention of neurogenerative disease by breaking down polyphenols into metabolites that act as neurotransmitters. Polyphenols include several antioxidants and flavonoids that lower the incidence of depression.
Polyphenols that may lower depression:
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- Carotenoids: Commonly found in yellow and orange-hued fruits and vegetables like tomatoes, carrots, oranges, and apricots.
- Curcumin: A potent antioxidant that is easily metabolized by microbiota and can be found in the spice turmeric.
- Vitamin C (ascorbic acid): An antioxidant found in citrus fruit, peppers, strawberries, broccoli, and brussels sprouts.
- Flavonoids: Micronutrients found in tea, citrus, and legumes.
Fermented foods are an excellent source of probiotics. Foods with live cultures such as yogurt and kefir but also kimchi, sauerkraut, pickles, and kombucha all contain probiotics. It’s thought that the probiotics in these foods may reduce neurological inflammation. A recent study showed that probiotics may reduce depressive symptoms. The consumption of fermented foods has also been associated with reduced stress and decreased social anxiety.
Food Service that Supports Mental Health
While we’re only just beginning to understand the connection between our gut microbiome and our brains, it’s clear that diet can impact mental health. Behavioral health treatments in the future may prescribe a special diet for treating the psychobiome along with medications and talk therapy. A good food service team can provide nutrition-based solutions to support optimal mental health now.
As nutrition experts and culinarians, Culinary Services Group wants to make people feel better through food. We’ve worked with behavioral health clients to create custom menus that support wellness and recovery through nutrition. We believe a good food service partner can have a big impact on the health of those we serve.
If you’re considering enhancing your dining program to support the wellness and recovery of your clients we are happy to provide nutrition support. Contact us to learn more about the services we provide mental health clients.
