Why I’m Obsessed
Let’s talk about nutritional psychiatry which is how what we eat influences our mental health and brain health.
This field of study is what I am constantly curious to learn more about and I hope to turn the evidence-based information
I am investigating the bread and butter of my business….although can we eat bread and butter?…yes…it’s delicious ….
So what does the research tell us and what do we do about it?
We know that there are several ways that food impacts our mood:
Specific nutrients can improve brain health
Example: Omega-3 fatty acids have been shown to help insulate the wiring in our brain so that we can send messages faster and longer. This may help to slow or prevent cognitive decline and dementia as we age.
Some dietary patterns are better suited for robust mental health
The Mediterranean Diet has been continually shown to improve depression and anxiety compared to a Western Diet.
A Mediterranean Diet is a plant-heavy diet that focuses more on vegetables, fruits, whole grains, beans, nuts, and legumes with some lean proteins from fish and poultry, and good fats from things like extra virgin olive oil. There is an important emphasis on sharing meals with others and daily activities.
3. Finally, we know that the way food is processed and cooked can influence our mental health and general well-being.
Ultra Processed foods have been linked to higher rates of depression and inflammation in the body
What do we do with this information??
Not sure about you, but I have been through the psychological treatment tornado trying to figure out how to make my brain work.
I am now on my fourth or fifth antidepressant medication and I think it may be helping… (only several months and several hundred dollars later).
I highly recommend talk therapy, super helpful! Buuuut can also be expensive…
I work out semi-regularly and am lucky to live in sunny San Diego, so I am getting Vitamin D and endorphins. Endorphins make you happy right?!?
But I still get depressed….
And I still live with the anxiety that feels like it may bubble up and overflow anytime. WHY?!?
Well, I don’t know all the answers…but I do know that food can help.
As an avid foodie and amateur chef, I have found also cooking to be an effective (and mostly delicious!) therapy for myself. This is nice anecdotally, but what about everyone else?
Can cooking food for oneself improve depression? YES
Especially when cooking these brain-healthy nutrients and dietary patterns garnered from nutritional psychiatry research. In a study of over 700 participants, I concluded with statistical significance that the more often you cook at home, the less severe your depression symptoms are. So let’s take our mental health to the kitchen! We can fire up some meals that make our neurons fire more effectively. We can bake some descendant antidepressants. We can even assemble anxiety-fighting snacks in five minutes or less!
This is my passion, this is my calling, and this is what I will explore here with all of you. I want to investigate the rapidly increasing research in the nutritional psychiatry space and turn that into tangible tools for your own kitchen. Don’t worry if you don’t know the difference between a carrot or a currant, or why most chefs only have one pairing knife (this is a pun, a joke because pair usually means two, but in the kitchen, it is just a little knife…ha..ha…I’m so funny…I told you food would make you happy not humorous so bear with me). I will walk you through the basics of setting up your kitchen, meal planning, grocery shopping, and cooking amazingly fun meals that are budget and belly friendly. Whether it turns out to be delicious or a disaster, I promise the journey that food can take you on will transform your mental health and your life.