The link between food and mental health
New research connects nutrition and mental illness, though more rigorous research is needed
By Rebecca A. Clay
September 2017, Vol 48, No. 8
Can nutrition affect your mental health? A growing research literature suggests the answer could be yes.
Western-style dietary habits, in particular, come under special scrutiny in much of this research. A meta-analysis including studies from 10 countries, conducted by researchers at Linyi People's Hospital in Shandong, China, suggests that dietary patterns may contribute to depression (Psychiatry Research, Vol. 253, 2017), for example. Dietary patterns are also related to hippocampal volume in older adults, according to a study led by Felice Jacka, PhD, director of the Food and Mood Centre at Deakin University in Australia (BMC Medicine, Vol. 13, No. 215, 2015).