Anxiety, depression, cognitive decline, dementia … Mental illnesses struggle to find treatment. What if the cure was at the end of the fork?
Mental illnesses progress. It is estimated, for example, that the number of people with dementia worldwide is expected to almost double every twenty years. The means to treat them remain very limited. However, some researchers believe they have found a way to prevent and reduce these pathologies.
They even created a new discipline, psychonutrition, which focuses on exploring the right alliance between food and the spirit. The brain is indeed the most greedy organ in our body. “It has very high energy needs,”.
It depends on amino acids, fats, vitamins, minerals and trace elements. Hence the idea of understanding how, with certain essential nutrients, we could ensure optimal development of our neurons. And thus protect our mental health. A therapeutic avenue that already makes us salivate!
Good germs against stress!
Admittedly, a cocktail of bacteria at lunch is not very appetizing. But if it can alleviate some forms of stress or even depression, it may be worth giving it a try. Several studies have shown that stressed people often have a depleted microbiota (all of the billions of bacteria that inhabit our intestines).
Does the lack of microorganisms promote certain types of anxiety? An initial response was provided by INRA (National Institute for Agronomic Research). Experiments in rats have shown that ingestion of a lactic acid bacterium (Lactobacillus farciminis) significantly reduced its state of tension, by reducing the permeability of the intestinal barrier.
This “protection” indeed limits the entry into the intestines of lipopolysaccharides, themselves responsible for triggering neuroinflammation which accentuates the effects of stress.
Another study showed that administration of intestinal flora from anxious and depressed individuals to healthy rats was sufficient to infect rodents. The anxiety component thus seems to be transferable via the microbiota.
Could we therefore imagine probiotics capable of alleviating the anxieties of those with abnormal microbiota? Why, not. It remains to find the necessary quantity of bacteria to administer. For now, we totally ignore it.
Treat Depression with Fat and Green!
For several years, they have been promoted to fight “bad cholesterol”. Polyunsaturated fatty acids (fatty fish, rapeseed oil, walnut oil, etc.) and monounsaturated fatty acids (nuts, olive oil) also benefit our mind.
They would notably reduce brain aging. A large epidemiological study has shown that a high blood level of polyunsaturated omega-3 fatty acids may be correlated with a lower frequency of depressive symptoms in the elderly.
Across the Atlantic, US researchers are looking at the Dash diet, designed specifically for people with high blood pressure. On the menu: lots of fruits, vegetables, grains and a minimum of salt, saturated fat and sugar.
Tested on people over 65, Dash has given good results on blood pressure and depression, reducing the risk by 11%. The “catch” for some specialists: this dietary formula contains too few unsaturated fatty acids to meet the body’s long-term needs.
Reduce cognitive decline with salads!
According to Chicago scientists, eating a portion and a half of leafy green vegetables (spinach, kale, green cabbage, green salad, etc.) daily would protect against cognitive decline.
These leaves contain an important source of folate (vitamin B9), necessary for brain development. Other research suggests that B vitamins are essential for synaptic transmission (communication between neurons) and may lower the risk of dementia.
Finally, they are thought to be involved in the repair and replication of DNA, which is essential in the neurogenesis of the hippocampus (a part of the brain associated with memory).
Change diet to maintain your neurons!
Developed by an American team from Rush University in Chicago, the Mind diet is a miracle recipe for keeping our intellectual faculties on top. How? ‘Or’ What?
By combining the best of the Mediterranean diet (which has proven itself in particular against cardiovascular diseases and, to a lesser extent, against Alzheimer’s disease) and the “Dash” menu (effective against hypertension and depression), adding some additional ingredients known for their protective properties on neurons.
In the end, Mind is based on ten groups of main nutrients: vegetables and in particular leafy greens, nuts, berries, pulses, grains, fish, poultry, olive oil and red wine (one glass per day).
For nearly five years, more than 900 Americans, ages 58 to 98, followed this nutritional program. Those who applied the instructions as strictly as possible recorded the smallest cognitive decline. Their brains remained, on average, seven and a half years “younger” than those of the people who were least adherent to this type of diet.
In addition, the most Mind-loyal lowered the likelihood of developing Alzheimer’s disease by 53% compared to the less serious “practitioners”. The effectiveness of the Mind plate is said to be such that even “moderately adept” individuals have benefited from its strengths: among other things, with a 35% lower risk of being affected by Alzheimer’s.
Have scientists found the holy grail of neurons? In order to have proof of this, they are launching a large clinical study in the United States on elderly people, for three years. In the meantime, nothing prevents you from trying out the “mind diet”. To date, it has not caused any side effects. Aside from, perhaps, the desire to salivate over a good dish of sauerkraut!
Reference: https://theconversation.com/why-nutritional-psychiatry-is-the-future-of-mental-health-treatment-92545
Photo by Katerina Holmes from Pexels
