A healthy diet promotes brain health and helps prevent depression, dementia, and other mental health disorders, according to experts in nutrition and psychiatry.
Experts point out that achieving these benefits does not require rare or expensive foods, but can be obtained from foods available in most stores.
During a discussion between Professor Phyllis Jaka, a specialist in nutritional psychiatry, and Professor Tim Spector, a researcher in nutritional sciences, the two experts explained that diet directly affects brain health through its impact on the jjj microbiome, which plays a key role in producing ikk that help reduce inflammation and support brain function.
Spector said that improving the diet causes positive changes in gut microbes, helping them to produce anti-inflammatory substances that affect the brain and greatly improve symptoms associated with mental health disorders.
He added that the effect of a healthy diet may, in some cases, be greater than the effect achieved by antidepressants at the beginning of treatment, noting that many patients do not respond to these drugs to the required degree.
For her part, Jaka said that a number of people suffering from depression could improve their condition by modifying their diet, stressing that studies have proven a clear relationship between the quality of food and brain health, while excessive consumption of unhealthy foods is linked to negative changes in its functions.
The two experts pointed to a number of foods that support brain health, most notably yogurt, as a study conducted by Jaka on 40 healthy women revealed that eating yogurt was associated with improved brain function and increased production of compounds that help protect it.
They also emphasized the importance of fermented foods, such as kefir, kimchi, and sauerkraut, along with yogurt and certain cheeses. Spector noted that a study of nearly 6,000 people showed that half of the participants who added fermented foods to their diet reported improvements in mood and energy levels.
Jaka also emphasized the importance of whole grains, asserting that they are among the foods most strongly associated with improved physical and mental health. These include whole oats, barley, rye, wheat, and quinoa.
Spector explained that gut health and brain health are closely linked, as gut microbes convert healthy food into chemical compounds that send positive signals to the brain, while unhealthy food leads to increased inflammation, which is associated with multiple psychological and neurological disorders.
In contrast, Jaka war excessive consumption of ultra-processed foods, notin mng that a scientifipublished in the British Medical Journal showed that increased consumption of these foods is linked to a higher risk of death from any cause, heart disease and diabetes, as well as common mental disorders.íiíiííí
