Food for Thought: Nutrition and Mental Health

In this episode, Dr. Emily Deans discusses the field of evolutionary psychiatry and its connection to mental health. Dr. Deans is a board certified psychiatrist and writes the blog Evolutionary Psychiatry, based on the observation that our brains are healthiest when we embrace a diet and lifestyle reflecting the conditions under which we humans evolved.  Dr. Deans has presented at the Ancestral Health Symposium in 2012 and 2018 on topics related to this theme.

In this discussion, we dive into what some of the recent clinical studies are telling us about the connection between food and mood disorders conditions such as depression. In particular, she reviews studies showing anti-depressive effects of a Meditarrean diet with meat, and also omega-3 supplementation.  Dr. Deans emphasizes the importance of considering individual dietary needs and preferences when implementing diet interventions in psychiatric practice. She shares success stories of patients who have experienced improvements in mood through dietary changes, including ketogenic and low-carb diets. She also highlights the connection between glucose tolerance and violent behavior, and the importance of smoothing out blood sugar response by incorporating whole foods into the diet. 

Dr. Deans discusses the emerging recognition within the medical profession of food's impact on mental health. She shares her approach to helping patients reduce or come off psychiatric medications, emphasizing the importance of a multifactorial approach that includes diet, exercise, and psychotherapy. Dr. Deans also discusses the potential risks and benefits of dietary changes for individuals with eating disorders. 

Resources:

* Blog:  Evolutionary Psychology, at Psychology Today:

 https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/evolutionary-psychiatry

* Studies:

* Smiles Trial (Felice Jacka et al): 

 https://foodandmoodcentre.com.au/smiles-trial/

* ISNPR position statement on nutrition and psychiatry:

 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4592666/

* ISNPR guidelines on the use of omega 3 fatty acids in the treatment of major depressive disorder:

 https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31480057/

* Mediterranean diet and older adults and depression over time:

 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4454450/

* Ketogenic diet and mood and anxiety disorders:

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10134254/

* Microbiome and depression in mice (and cannabinoids!):

 https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-020-19931-2

Here is a guide to topics discussed in this podcast episode:

Time     Topic

01:30      Introduction to Evolutionary Psychiatry and Nutritional Psychology

04:32      Dr. Deans' interest in the connection between diet and mental health

08:00      The evidence from observational and randomized controlled studies

12:00      Felice Jacka's Smiles trial:  Adding meat to diet reduced depression

19:03      Effects of single nutrients on mental health

20:10      Anti-depressive benefits of omega-3 fatty acids

22:22      Mental health in pre-modern populations

26:43      Impact of sugar and processed carbohydrates on mood

28:22      Physiological mechanisms: inflammation and mitochondrial dysfunction

34:37      Using diet as a tool in clinical psychiatric practice

43:20      Success stories: dietary reversal of psychosis and bipolar disorder

49:12      Ketogenic and "Slow-Carb" diets for control of anxiety and panic attacks

51:05      Violent behavior and poor glucose tolerance

53:00      The bidirectional relationship between physical and mental health

53:33      Medical profession's belated acceptance of the food-mood connection

55:58      Helping patients reduce or come off of psychiatric medications

58:07      Successes in reducing or stopping medications

58:28      Dietary changes and eating disorders

1:01:10   Current work and future plans

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