What to eat to strengthen the nervous system and psyche?

In a 2010 study, epidemiologist Felice Xhaka found that women who ate more vegetables, fruits, fish, beans, legumes and whole grains were less likely to suffer from depression and anxiety disorders. And those who lived on the typical “Western diet”—pizzas, chips, hamburgers, white bread, sugary drinks, and other highly processed foods—were more likely to experience depression.

The connection turned out to be so strong that it could not be considered a coincidence, and the scientific community accepted the work of Dr. Jaka with great interest. At the same time, similar studies were published, which took place in Spain and the UK. And then they added data for other countries.

It turned out that a healthy diet can help treat mood disorders, and not just prevent them. Studies on groups of patients diagnosed with major clinical depression have shown that the transition to a healthy diet in about 30% of cases helps to go into remission. This is comparable to the effect of antidepressants.

Food for joy

In short: feed yourself and your gut bacteria. When our diet is based on a variety of whole foods with minimal processing, when we consume enough plant and fermented foods, fiber, we get all the necessary nutrients from food and take care of the microbiota (gut bacteria).

1. Feed yourself

If we talk about the typical “Western diet”, then it offers us a very high-calorie, but empty food in terms of benefits. Due to industrial processing, few nutrients remain in it and a paradoxical situation arises when we eat too much and at the same time starve. This is important because hunger is stressful for the body, and this stress increases the risk of depression and anxiety.

2. Feed your bacteria

Our microbiota is made up of large groups of bacteria. Each of them is responsible for the production of different molecules that affect our body. The food on our plate feeds not only us, but also our bacteria. Each group has its own special tastes, so that skewed nutrition changes the distribution of forces in the intestines. Some bacteria remain without food, while others, on the contrary, eat a lot and grow rapidly.

Depressed people have been shown to have massive imbalances in their microbiota: they have more of the bacteria that cause inflammation and less of those associated with the production of the “happiness hormone” serotonin.

To support beneficial bacteria, it is worth eating more fiber and foods with prebiotics. Fermented foods such as kefir, yogurt, sauerkraut, soft cheese are also helpful. It is better to choose products, and not probiotics from a pharmacy, since bacteria get to the intestines better with food.

Healthy food

From the point of view of nutrition for the psyche, Mediterranean cuisine has been best studied. A menu based on it, by the way, is recommended as part of therapy for patients with clinical depression. This is a eating pattern that is based on a lot of vegetables, greens, legumes and whole grains, fish, moderate amounts of dairy products, eggs and meat. And lots of good quality olive oil.

But the Mediterranean diet is not the only option. If we look at the food pyramids and the “healthy plates” recommended by the world health organizations, we can see that they are similar.

This is a simple food with minimal industrial processing – more plant foods, unrefined grains, beans, legumes, fermented foods, fish, eggs, meat. All food groups are important: in particular, the researchers found that the complete refusal of meat doubles the risk of depressive disorders.

This approach is close to traditional pre-industrial cuisine. It can be seen not only in the Mediterranean, but in traditional Japanese, and even in the new Scandinavian cuisine, which is easier to adapt to the conditions of the Russian middle zone. All these approaches are based on whole, simple, local products with minimal processing.