Macronutrients: Nutrition Has The Power To Heal Your Mood
There is no doubt that nutrition affects mental health. Poor nutrition leads to and exacerbates mental illness. Optimal nutrition prevents and treats mental illness. The Western dietary pattern has been implicated in an increased risk for depression and anxiety.
Macronutrients are imperative for a healthy brain and mental health because of the powerful effect that the different ratios of macronutrients in one’s diet can have on one’s mood and behavior. Food is an essential contributor to mental health. A crucial part of battling anxiety is making sure your diet consumes foods that are calming and free of foods that can trigger anxiety further.
There are Sex components of nutrients the body needs:
Protein
Carbohydrates
Fats
Vitamins
Minerals
Fiber
Water
The first three categories (proteins, fats, and carbohydrates) are called macronutrients. Protein, fats, and carbohydrates all work together to support the engine of the brain. Assessing your diet for adequate intake of the noted macronutrients, including vitamins, minerals, and calories is critical for building the foundation for proper neurotransmitter functioning.
Research demonstrates that many common mental health disorders, including major depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, anxiety disorders, autism, obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), are associated with nutrient deficiencies.
Without nutrients brought in from food, our cells cannot function. And without the right amount of the array of nutrients, the cell cannot function optimally. The body must compensate in ways that result in symptoms of disorders – including physical disease states and mental health disorders.
Macronutrients Impact On Mental Health
Macronutrients and micronutrients are needed to create neurotransmitters in the brain. All macronutrients – carbs, fats, and proteins - are necessary to provide the neurons' energy to produce neurotransmitters. Still, proteins are essential because they provide the amino acid precursors for neurotransmitter synthesis.
PROTEIN: Protein plays a central role in mental health because of its ability to synthesize mood-regulating neurotransmitters. In this way, protein directly impacts mood. Protein also indirectly impacts mood by stabilizing the Blood Sugar Adrenal Axis (BSAA), thereby reducing anxiety-producing cortisol surges. It adds dietary satiety (which means it provides you with a feeling of fullness), which, in turn, reduces one’s drive to consume sugars and simple carbohydrates.
CARBOHYDRATES (COMPLEX & HIGH NUTRIENT CARBS): Carbohydrates supply energy to our body. The body uses carbohydrates to make glucose, which the body can use immediately or store for later use. The brain is carbohydrate dependent, as it uses glucose from the carbohydrates as its fuel. Carbohydrates are implicated in mood via the Blood Sugar Adrenal Axis. Protein and carbohydrates work together to support brain neurotransmitter function. Proteins provide the brain with a steady, long term supply of the raw building materials necessary to synthesize neurotransmitters.
FATS: The brain itself comprises about 60% fat, and considerable research has demonstrated the importance of fats for brain health. Fats are essential for human health. Omega-3 fatty acids have been found to improve mood by decreasing inflammation levels and increasing serotonin, dopamine, and norepinephrine levels. Whereas dietary protein is primarily utilized for functions like building muscle and neurotransmitters like serotonin, fats and carbohydrates are our two main energy sources and provide the calories necessary to fuel the brain and body’s many metabolic processes.
Research: Nutrition And Mental Health
Popa (2012) indicated that studies have found that deficits, i.e., suboptimal intake, of the healthy fat omega-3 can contribute to mood disorders and patients with depression have significantly lower levels of omega-3. Conversely, a link has been found between high fish consumption (omega-3 fat) and low incidence of mental disorders. Clinical trials have indicated the effectiveness of omega-3. A quick search on Medline will reveal a tremendous amount of research illustrating omega-3’s critical role in healthy brain function and mental well-being.
The food we eat has the potential to affect our mental health and wellbeing at every stage of life.
Research into brain functioning has revealed that emotions are not merely attitudes created through the mind’s thought processes; they are produced and reinforced by biochemical activity within the brain.
This biochemical activity is affected by nutrients supplied by the food we consume.
Diet is the largest single stimulus to the body’s biochemical balance or homeostasis.
A dietary pattern made up of vegetables, fruits, beef, lamb, fish, and whole-grain foods was associated with a lower likelihood of depressive and anxiety disorders.
Western dietary patterns, including sweetened beverages, fried foods, processed meats, and sweet baked products, are associated with an increased risk of depression in longitudinal studies.
Several healthy foods such as olive oil, fish, nuts, legumes, dairy products, fruits, and vegetables have been inversely associated with the risk of depression and might improve symptoms.
Studies show that food choices and low nutrient diets are contributing to mental health disorders and addictions.
Depression predicts and contributes to chronic disease and increases health care costs.
Diet and nutrition offer key modifiable targets for the prevention of mental health disorders.
There is significant evidence of the association between unhealthy eating patterns and poor mental health among children and adolescents.
Healthy fat is important for proper brain functioning.
Studies have reported that young people are eating well below dietary recommendations. They rely on nutrient-poor foods high in sugar and saturated fatty acids, such as soft drinks, confectionery items, and baked snacks.
These dietary patterns critically impact brain development and mental.
Macronutrient guidelines for each major meal of the day
1) Four to six ounces of high-quality protein at each meal. The amount of protein in each main meal should fit into the palm of your hand (without fingers). If an individual is determined to restrict calories in a meal, the protein portions should not be restricted. This is because their BSAA will not tend to stabilize, and if they had consumed a good portion of protein, their satiety would not likely be as resistant to carbohydrate cravings later in the day.
2) Two cups of vegetables at each meal. Make them tasty with salt, fresh herbs, lemon, and olive oil, and vinegar. Consuming a variety daily is ideal. Virtually 100% of every vegetable eaten is broken down into the hundreds of vitamins, minerals, amino acids, fibers, and phytonutrients required to make the body run. Six cups of fresh (grilled, steamed, or raw) veggies per day are the goal. Consume notably less than that, and your body's nutrient levels will eventually suffer. Have a large (high-quality) green salad every day with lots of non-starchy vegetables, or a smaller one with each meal, and try and incorporate them into your day as snacks.
3) One cup of complex carb per meal (or 1⁄2 cup of fruit). If too large a portion of carbs is consumed in a meal concerning the amount of protein and fat in the meal, one is likely to feel tired after the meal or MORE hungry. Conversely, if one doesn’t have enough carbohydrates during the meal, they may feel tired. Keep in mind that as the BSAA gets more stabilized through a proper daily diet, the desire for carbs will lessen, and when they are eaten, they won't have as big of an impact on insulin/cortisol spiking.
If you find yourself searching the cabinets incessantly for snacks/dessert after a meal, either one’s blood sugar was not adequately balanced throughout that or the previous day, too big of a meal was consumed in one sitting, or the ratio of carbs to protein in the meal was too high.
4) A small amount of healthy fat in each meal. This might mean drizzling a couple of tablespoons of olive oil on vegetables or having half an avocado with the meal's vegetable portion.
Simple Ways to Healing Mood
1) Consume protein at every meal
Eating carbs or simple sugars by themselves, without any fat or protein to slow the corresponding rise in blood sugar, can result in wide blood sugar fluctuations and hypoglycemic-type symptoms. It can alter mood, and you might feel like your appetite is stimulated all day, and you can't catch up with your appetite.
2) Incorporate high-quality fat into each meal.
I encourage you to increase your daily intake of healthy fats. Individuals who fall into an endless trap of reducing their fat intake only induce binges of carbohydrates and trans fats. If you have time, try this experiment for three days: Eat an avocado each day for a snack. Notice if 1) your carbohydrate/processed food intake is less, and 2) whether or not you gain weight. You can find an interesting article about this topic: http://www.latimes.com/health/la-he-carbs-20101220,3,465492,full.story.
3) Eat smaller meals more frequently
Eating every 3-4 hours ensures that the body has a steady fuel supply and never has to dip down below the "empty" line -- and in doing so, using up the body’s precious stress hormones to do it. This keeps the BSAA from destabilizing throughout the day and night and provides the body with the micronutrients needed for proper function.
4) Reduce consumption of simple carbohydrates
The consumption of simple carbohydrates, i.e., sugar, bread, cereals, chips, processed foods) should be limited.
As you now know, there are "simple carbs" and complex carbs. All simple carbs produce rapid rises in blood sugar, but even starchy complex carbs produce rapid rises (though not as quick as simple carbs). Therefore, simple carbs should be eliminated, and starchy complex carbs should be monitored consciously concerning mood support. When simple carbs are eaten, they should always be paired with a source of whole protein or healthy fat.
5) Eat breakfast
One of the primary reasons we wake up each morning is our blood sugar has fallen below normal into the low blood sugar range. These signals alert the adrenal glands to flood the body with adrenaline, cortisol, and epinephrine (the energizing stress hormones that launch you into fight or flight). This serves to stabilize the BSAA by raising blood sugar levels back up to normal.
In fact, by the time one wakes up in the morning, they most likely haven't eaten for at least 9-10 hours. If their first meal of the day is around lunchtime, that puts them in the cortisol fat storage/stress response realm for at least 14 hours per day.
6) Learn to connect to the body and its responses to foods
We must learn to identify (listen to) and react to their body's responses to the foods they are consuming. A diet high in processed and sugary foods will produce adverse reactions in the body and brain in the form of poorer mood, mental health, and increased disease.
For an individual to gain the ability to respond to their body’s responses to foods, the processed foods must be decreased from the diet. After two weeks of eating this way, it will become more evident how your body responds to foods. Within a few weeks, one should be able to much more powerfully assess whether they are eating at the right times and whether they are eating the right foods for their body. Eliminate processed foods and food toxins from your diet. Add whole foods, good fats, and therapeutic foods to your diet.
These are powerful techniques that will have a discernible and positive contribution to our energy and mood levels if used for most of our eating style.