Mental illness is one of the most common conditions affecting people in the U.S. in 2022. According to the CDC, more than 50% of the population will be diagnosed with a mental illness in their lifetime…that’s half of all Americans! Depression, anxiety, personality disorders, eating disorders, substance abuse disorders, and PTSD are just some of the mental illnesses widely diagnosed in our society; there’s a long list of mental health conditions defined by the current edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM).
While certain people may be more at risk of developing a mental illness than others, it doesn’t discriminate: anyone, at any time, can experience a change in their mental health that deeply affects their well-being. Therapy and prescription medication are typically considered the gold standard for the treatment of mood disorders, and for good reason. These approaches have thorough research and long-standing evidence to support their use. But what else can be done to improve mental health? Is there a link between diet and mental health?
Experts say yes: What you eat can have a major impact on your brain, and therefore on your overall mood. Here’s how closely connected your physical health is to your mental health—and why feeding good food to your belly will make your brain happier, too.
What is the best mental health diet?
To understand how what you eat affects your mental health, it’s important to understand the gut-brain connection. According to Uma Naidoo, MD, a Harvard-trained nutritional psychiatrist and author of This is Your Brain on Food, your gut and your brain are deeply connected from the beginning of their development with a complex neurotransmitter (chemical messaging) system between the two.
“Foods that help promote the production of neurotransmitters reduce inflammation, support the [gut] microbiome, and keep the gut lining intact and strong, ultimately supporting the brain,” says Eva Selhub, MD, author of Your Health Destiny. “Foods that are nutrient-poor and evoke inflammation have the opposite effect.”
In other words, dietary changes that avoid inflammation are optimal for gut and brain health. “Traditional diets that support the microbiome and are anti-inflammatory have been shown to support improved mental health,” Dr. Selhub says. “These diets are high in a variety of plant-based foods, many of which are fermented and therefore probiotic or prebiotic [because they feed the microbiome].”
What does this look like in practice? The following well-researched diet plans are designed to decrease inflammation:
- Mediterranean diet
- DASH diet
- Autoimmune protocol diet (AIP)
These diets all focus on eating lean meats, fresh produce, healthy fats (like olive oil), legumes, and energy-boosting whole grains, while de-emphasizing foods shown to worsen symptoms of anxiety and depression like red meat, artificial sweeteners, refined carbohydrates, alcohol, and processed oils. Even the paleo diet, with its focus on lean meats, fruits, and veggies, might be beneficial for some.
RELATED: What’s the best diet for inflammation?
However, any restrictive diet can be hard to follow and may be especially difficult for people struggling with mental health. For example, you might want to avoid any diet plan that recommends cutting out several major food groups, like the keto diet. Or avoid diets that could trigger or make existing health conditions worse. If you’re having a hard time keeping track of what’s good and what’s bad, most experts encourage you to keep it simple and focus on eating well: “Unhealthy foods for your waistline are also unhealthy for your mental health,” Dr. Naidoo says.
5 foods for mental health
To balance your mental health, add plant-based foods and healthy foods that naturally contain probiotic or anti-inflammatory properties to your diet. Here are some examples.
1. Fermented foods
Kimchi, sauerkraut, and pickles may not be staple foods in your diet, but if you live with a mental health condition, it’s time to change that. “Fermented foods may help your mental health because they can help improve your gut microbiome,” says registered dietitian and nutritionist Amanda Sauceda. “There’s emerging evidence that fermented foods may help depression and anxiety due to their effects on the gut microbiome.”
However, the research is still new and developing. One 2019 study in Nutrition found that men self-reported fewer depression symptoms after consuming probiotics from fermented foods, but no change was noted in the female participants. Be aware of the sodium content of fermented foods if you have high blood pressure or are prone to swelling in your ankles.
2. Dark, leafy greens
Veggies are some of the best foods for your physical health, and they can work wonders on your mental health, too. They feed your gut microbiome and produce short-chain fatty acids, which may play a part in how the gut and brain communicate.
One type of vegetable in particular, though, is a mental health hero: dark, leafy greens. “They’re rich in folate, and low levels of folate are associated with low mood,” Dr. Naidoo says. Folate is so important to mental health that supplementation is sometimes recommended in patients with major depressive disorder.
3. Omega-3 fatty acids
This fatty acid found in fish, nuts, seeds, and some types of oils is one of the good fats. But your body can’t produce it, making it a necessary part of any healthy diet. Sauceda says that omega-3s may help with mood, depression, and anxiety, citing a 2020 review emphasizing the importance of marine omega-3s (i.e., fatty acids from oily fish) for brain function.
4. Garlic
Sure, your breath might be a little stinky if you increase your intake of garlic, leeks, and onions, but your brain will thank you! Dr. Naidoo says that foods in the allium family are rich in prebiotics, delivering fiber and nutrition to your gut microbiome. According to a 2020 study in Antioxidants, allium flavanols have anti-inflammatory effects that can help ward off cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and some neurological conditions.
5. Turmeric
Dr. Naidoo also says that many types of spices can be helpful for mood and anxiety, especially turmeric. The active compound in turmeric, curcumin, has anti-inflammatory effects that may even help the brain and decrease symptoms of depression and anxiety.
If you’re thinking about introducing more turmeric into your diet, Dr. Naidoo recommends mixing it with a pinch of black pepper—this makes the curcumin more bioavailable, or able to be absorbed and used by your body.
RELATED: 14 health benefits of turmeric
3 foods to avoid for mental health
On the flip side, there are food choices that are thought to increase inflammation and do not promote mental health.
1. Processed foods
While fast foods, baked goods, and candy might taste good, they’re not good for you. Don’t eliminate these tasty treats entirely, instead cut way back on how much high-fat, processed, junk, and fast food.
Because these processed foods increase inflammation, they also may worsen your mental health. Per a 2015 study in Missouri Medicine, people who eat an inflammatory diet over multiple years have a higher risk of depression.
2. Processed vegetable oils
Some connections have been found between the consumption of processed oils, like soybean, canola, and vegetable oils, and cognitive decline, as one 2018 study suggests. That means there may be a negative gut-brain connection from the inflammation caused by these lesser-quality oils. Dr. Naidoo says it extends to mood and mental health conditions as well.
Additionally, she says that consuming processed vegetable oils containing omega-6s (aka an inflammatory fatty acid) can disrupt the ratio of omega-3s in your body, limiting the beneficial properties of those good, healthy fats.
3. Sugar
Sugary foods and artificial sweeteners have been linked to an increased risk of mental health disorders thanks to the inflammation they create in the body, but as if that’s not bad enough, high sugar consumption is also associated with an increase in addictive behaviors and linked to anxiety and depression.
Does fasting help mental health?
The short answer? Experts don’t know yet. “The evidence is new [and we’re seeing it] has benefits for physical health, but nothing sufficient enough yet to say that fasting should be adopted by patients [struggling with mental illness],” Dr. Naidoo says.
One recent study, published at the end of 2021, studied the effects of intermittent fasting on stress and depression. Results were encouraging and indicated that fasting was safe for people with mental health disorders, but again, this field of research is just emerging and providers don’t know enough yet about fasting’s effects on mental health to recommend it.
(If you have had a history of anorexia, it may be best to avoid intermittent fasting. This avoidance may trigger a resurgence of your eating disorder.)
Can mental health disorders be reversed with diet?
Mental illness is complex, and so is mental health treatment. Typically, a combination of approaches—including psychotherapy, medication, and lifestyle changes—has the best outcomes in improving or eliminating symptoms of mental illness.
Every person is different, even if they have the same mental illness. Some conditions are transient, like anxiety and depression, and may only affect you during certain periods of time in your life or after a trauma of some sort. A new mother with postpartum depression, for example, may be able to fully recover with the right treatment. Other mental illnesses are chronic and need to be managed for a lifetime (like bipolar disorder or schizophrenia).
Rather than thinking of diet as curing or reversing any mental health condition, consider it a complementary treatment. Along with other strategies, following an anti-inflammatory, healthy eating plan can help reduce symptoms when added to psychotherapy or medication alone. But the opposite is true, as well: Diet alone won’t treat all of your symptoms.
Medications for mental health
There are a number of medications prescribed to treat mental illness. Some of the most common are antidepressants like SSRIs and SNRIs, though certain conditions also benefit from mood stabilizing drugs, antipsychotic drugs, and stimulants, per the National Institute of Mental Health.
If you are prescribed any drug for a mental health disorder, ask your doctor and pharmacist about food and drug interactions. In general, alcohol should be avoided when taking some of the commonly-prescribed drugs for mental illness.
This isn’t an exhaustive list, but here are some examples of other foods that may interfere with mental health medications:
- Foods containing tyramine, like beer, wine, and processed meats should be avoided when taking MAO inhibitors (a rarely used class of antidepressant).
- Food may affect the absorption of some antipsychotics, so ask your pharmacist if your medication should be taken with or without food.
- Caffeine can interfere with the way some mood stabilizers are metabolized, per a review published in Bipolar Disorders.
Vitamins for mental health
For the most part, you don’t need any vitamins or supplements to boost your mental health; it’s always best to get your nutrients from food.
However, when a balanced diet is not possible, supplement some of the more important nutrients you’re missing. B vitamins are especially good for gut health and improving your mood, Dr. Naidoo says. Don’t skimp on vitamins C or vitamin D, either. They can strengthen your immune system by way of your gut.
Omega-3s play a key role in maintaining mental health, but if you don’t like fish, Sauceda says, you can consider an omega-3 supplement. She also suggests a prebiotic or probiotic to further help your gut microbiome, but says it’s important to talk about this with your provider since different strains of these beneficial bacteria work in different ways.
Exercise for mental health
Here’s some good news: All forms of exercise are good for your mental health! “The best exercise for your mental health is the one you love,” says Sauceda. “There’s nothing worse than forcing yourself to be a runner when you find no enjoyment in it.”
Dr. Naidoo agrees. She always recommends that people start out doing something they enjoy, be it running, walking, Zumba class, or something else completely. Rather than prescribe a specific activity, she says that encouraging her patients to find what they like to do and simply do it, trusting that the more they exercise the more they’ll engage with their physical health in general.
The power of endorphins can’t be underestimated. The National Alliance on Mental Health (NAMI) says that exercise increases serotonin, boosts mood and energy, reduces stress, and is linked to higher self-esteem and better social health.
If your mental health has declined recently and has affected your quality of life, talk to your healthcare provider. Sleep disturbances, frequent negative thoughts, personality changes, and loss of appetite are a few common signs that it’s time to talk to your provider about your mental health. If you’re experiencing suicidal thoughts, reach out to your healthcare provider or a suicide prevention hotline right away.
