We think of food for our waistline or our heart, but rarely for our mood. And yet the brain is an organ like any other, and what we put on our plate is also the fuel it thinks and feels with. In recent years, science has begun to measure this link.
The SMILES trial, published in 2017 in BMC Medicine by Felice Jacka’s team, was the first randomized study to test a diet as support in moderate-to-severe depression. For twelve weeks, one group received the help of a dietitian to adopt a modified Mediterranean diet — more vegetables, legumes, fruit, whole grains, fish and olive oil — while the other received only social support. The result: symptom remission was reached by 32% of the diet group, compared with 8% of the comparison group. A change on the plate had accompanied a change in mood.
You don’t need a perfect diet, you need small shifts in the right direction: one more plate of vegetables, legumes twice a week, olive oil instead of butter, fewer ultra-processed foods and less sugar. It’s important to remember that food supports, but does not replace, medical care: if you’re going through a hard time, talking to a doctor remains the first step.
Nourishing the body with care is also a gentle way of caring for the mind. One meal at a time, we can give the brain better ground on which to feel well.
Sources
- Jacka, F. N., et al. (2017). A randomised controlled trial of dietary improvement for adults with major depression (the ‘SMILES’ trial). BMC Medicine, 15:23.
Follow me on social media
If you found this article helpful, I share content like this every day on my channels too. Subscribe and follow along:
Lascia un commento