More than Food: 3 Essential Elements of Mental Health Nutrition 

My interest in food’s role in mood and mental health began as a personal journey. I noticed that what I ate reflected changes in my mental health. Over time I wanted to learn more, first for myself and then support my clients.

After studying nutrition science, I understood nutrition’s role in mental health, specifically our food. In particular, the research findings from the Centre for Food and Mood at Deakin University started to shine some light on what food can impact mental health and how to get it into our diet.

Into practice

Many of my clients are experiencing challenges to their mental health. It might be stress, anxiety, low mood and energy. They want to change the way they eat because they want to feel better mentally and physically. 

However, I quickly found that knowing what food or dietary pattern can support physical and mental health was not enough. Knowing what to eat was not enough. Having the perfect meal plan or food list didn’t help – in fact, in some cases, it seemed to add to the stress, anxiety, and overwhelm people were facing.

That’s when I realized I was only addressing one of three essential elements of mental health nutrition. This strategy will not work if the goal is to make lasting nutrition changes that change how we feel. Nutrition interventions must address all three elements to be effective.  

But it’s not even about changes that stick – to get started and not feel completely overwhelmed, frustrated, and relying on motivation and willpower, just knowing the science of what to eat does not work. 

Here is what does: The 3 Essential Elements of Mental Health Nutrition 

Essential Element #1 

How food can impact mood, energy, and health: the science and practice of nutrition for mental health. 

This first element addresses the why, the how, and the what. Why does food impact our mood and mental health? What does eating to support mental health look like? What foods, specifically, are recommended? 

The first element asks how food and nutrition can impact mental health. 

This evidence-based field of study looks at what we eat and what we don’t eat, and how it can directly impact our mental health. The aspect of nutrition science addresses mental health, mood, energy, and brain health. It also encompasses linked areas such as gut health, digestion, and hydration. 

It’s here in nutrition science where we address many of the common misconceptions regarding nutrition science (aka the BS that floods our social media channels), debunk harmful myths, and learn about the simple tools to make food choices to support mood, energy, and health. 

Essential Element #2

How mood can impact food choices; the impact of mental health on nutrition 

Mental health nutrition has a bi-directional relationship between food and mood. Going one direction, food eaten impacts mental health. Going the other way, our mood, energy, and daily mental health can affect the food choices we make. 

At one time, I might have called this a vicious cycle. One affects the other, which affects the other, and so on. I don’t see it that way anymore. I see it as understanding the missing piece for making lasting changes to the way we eat, regardless of the challenges and barriers faced. 

Because that is the truth for many people, it’s not a lack of what to eat knowledge they’re experiencing—the solutions they are giving do not address the reality of the barriers they are facing. 

The mental health impact on food

This element asks the following question; how do mental health challenges impact nutrition and food choices? 

When there are challenges to mental health, such as stress, anxiety, or low mood, this can result in feeling depleted and low on energy. When already feeling down and things are hard, it can be challenging to make ‘healthy’ food choices. In this situation, the last thing anyone needs is more work in the kitchen, more stress in planning, and a restriction on enjoyable food. 

We also do not need the guilt of trying (again) and failing (again) to follow a diet or meal plan. These strategies can set us up to fail, resulting in more stress, more frustration, lower mood, and no improvements in energy. 

The lack of understanding and acknowledgement of mental health’s role in food choices wastes time, energy, and money, putting even more strain on individual mental health. 

Frequently I have clients tell me they have a plan for healthy eating they can’t follow. These plans usually don’t have an individualized implementation strategy to meet their needs. Food or meal plans like this tend to start at the finishing point and expect people to work it out independently. They do not include fundamental tools like creating new food habits and breaking the ones that are not supporting their goals. 

Essential Element #3 

All food and nutrition interventions and changes must support positive mental health practices. 

That means asking the question: is the intervention itself causing harm? Is the way we approach this supportive of an individual’s mental health? 

There is no one answer to this or every one universal example. 

The food intervention must be addressed

The question to ask: do these dietary interventions positively support mental health?

Diets are a symptom of a culture that does not support mental health. Nor is restrictive eating. Diet culture, in particular, can lead to disordered relationships with food. If someone is already experiencing challenges to their mental health, setting them up to have their mental health further challenged unnecessarily is reckless, unprofessional, and ineffective. 

All food and nutrition information and dietary changes must support mental health and not cause further mental health challenges. Diet culture and the diets it promotes can lead to a disordered relationship with food and are not suitable for individual mental health.   

Putting it into practice 

Of these three essential elements of mental health nutrition, no ONE piece is most important. In my experience, people who successfully make long-term changes to their nutrition embrace all three. 

However, the hype tends to be in element #1, the specific food that can influence mental health. And all too often, I see the science turned into a diet, a food list, or a meal plan. It’s frustrating because they did not just have a meal plan, required food list, or diet, even in the original research from which this information originated. The SMILES trial provided nutrition education and support from a trained professional, at regular intervals, over a set period.

Impact of the research

Why is this important? Because the process matters. No food list, pre-made meal plan, or diet can replace individualized nutrition interventions. Either a nutrition professional should be working with you to make a plan that suits your needs, lifestyle, and goals, or they should be teaching you how to do this for yourself. 

(NOTE: this differs from medical nutrition therapy which is only appropriate under the direct care of a Registered Dietician)  

Where to from here

At this point, you might be wondering, what does this all mean? Where do I go from here?

If you are looking for more information for yourself or someone you support, make sure wherever you are getting in from addresses all three elements of mental health nutrition. Critical information to look for includes:

• What sort of evidence-based information is provided about the role of nutrition in mental and physical health?
• What strategies exist to support individuals experiencing mental health challenges, and how are these integrated into food and nutrition coaching? 
• Are all information, support, and nutrition coaching absent of diet culture tactics, references, language, and diets? Are all aspects of the tools, materials, or coaching supportive of positive mental health practices? 

These questions are a great place to start, whether it’s a blog, social media coach, coaching program, or nutrition professional. 

If you want to learn more about how I address these topics, you can book a conversation with me. It’s free, so get into my calendar and let’s get started.

Book a free conversation with me, Kristine Peter, Nutritionist, Coach, and Nutrition Educator.

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How’s your sleep? This is always one of the first questions I ask my clients. If you would like to learn more about how sleep can impact mental health, and learn a great technique for getting better sleep, download the Better Sleep Guide here. 

Discover How Sleep Helps Improve Mood, Anxiousness & Feelings of Depression

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