Nutrition & Diet
Physical Activity and Mental Health
Physical activity may play an important role in the management of mild-to-moderate mental health diseases, especially depression and anxiety. Although people with depression tend to be less physically active than non-depressed individuals, increased aerobic exercise or strength training has been shown to reduce depressive symptoms significantly. However, habitual physical activity has not been shown to prevent the onset of depression. Anxiety symptoms and panic disorder also improve with regular exercise, and beneficial effects appear to equal meditation or relaxation.
In general, acute anxiety responds better to exercise than chronic anxiety. Studies of older adults and adolescents with depression or anxiety have been limited, but physical activity appears beneficial to these populations as well. Excessive physical activity may lead to overtraining and generate psychological symptoms that mimic depression.
Several differing psychological and physiological mechanisms have been proposed to explain the effect of physical activity on mental health disorders. Well controlled studies are needed to clarify the mental health benefits of exercise among various populations and to address directly processes underlying the benefits of exercise on mental health.
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References
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Caspersen CJ, Christenson GM, Pollard RA. Status of the 1990 physical fitness and exercise objectives: evidence from NHIS 1990. Public Health Rep 1986; 101 (6): 587–92
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Paluska, S.A., Schwenk, T.L. Physical Activity and Mental Health. Sports Med 29, 167–180 (2000). https://doi.org/10.2165/00007256-200029030-00003
Exercise and Mental Health
Physical exercise is increasingly being advocated as a means to maintain and enhance good mental health. In general, findings from research indicate that exercise is associated with improvements in mental health including mood state and self-esteem, although a causal link has not been established. Research on acute exercise indicates that 20 to 40 minutes of aerobic activity results in improvements in state anxiety and mood that persist for several hours. These transitory changes in mood occur in both individuals with normal or elevated levels of anxiety, but appear to be limited to aerobic forms of exercise.
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In the case of long term exercise programmes, improvements in the mental health of ‘normal’ individuals are either modest in magnitude or do not occur, whereas the changes for those with elevated anxiety or depression are more pronounced. Evidence from studies involving clinical samples indicates that the psychological benefits associated with exercise are comparable to gains found with standard forms of psychotherapy. Hence, for healthy individuals the principal psychological benefit of exercise may be that of prevention, whereas in those suffering from mild to moderate emotional illness exercise may function as a means of treatment.
Exercise may also result in detrimental changes in mental health. Some individuals can become overly dependent on physical activity and exercise to an excessive degree. This abuse of exercise can result in disturbances in mood and worsened physical health. In the case of athletes the intense training, or overtraining, necessary for endurance sports consistently results in increased mood disturbance.
Extreme cases of overtraining may result in the staleness syndrome; a condition associated with deteriorating performance and behavioural disturbances including clinical depression.
Exercise can result in either beneficial or detrimental changes in mental health, and the outcome appears to be largely dependent on the ‘dosage’ employed. Although recent studies have provided promising findings regarding the efficacy of exercise in clinical samples, additional research is clearly needed.
The influence of various programmatic aspects of exercise (i.e., mode, duration, frequency, intensity, setting) on changes in mental health have not been systematically investigated, and the proposed mechanisms by which exercise acts to affect mental health remain largely unsubstantiated.
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References
Raglin, J.S. Exercise and Mental Health. Sports Med 9, 323–329 (1990). https://doi.org/10.2165/00007256-199009060-00001
Diet & Nutrition as Preventative Measures
Nutritional psychiatry is a new, rapidly emerging field of nutrition and mental health and is one such avenue of prevention. Over the past decade, there has been a steady increase in epidemiological studies investigating the relationships between dietary patterns and mental states. Both cross-sectional and longitudinal studies have shown that the more one eats a Western or highly processed diet, the more one is at risk for developing psychiatric symptoms, such as depression and anxiety.
Conversely, the more one eats a Mediterranean-style diet, the more one is protected from developing a mental disorder( 5 ). In terms of direction of causality, in several studies, the dietary pattern has been shown to precede the onset of psychiatric symptoms. One randomised controlled trial published this year in BMC Medicine demonstrated quite striking effects of a 3-month dietary intervention on moderate-to-severe depression, with a significantly greater improvement in the dietary intervention group and remission achieved in 32 % of this group( 6 ).
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The consequences of a poor diet also impact on a further global health hazard: obesity. Alzheimer's disease and depression are comorbidities of obesity, leading to the theory that vascular impairments may have a role in the development of dementia and psychiatric pathologies. As a result of these observations, Alzheimer's disease and other dementias are now being thought of as potentially preventable diseases. In a 27-year longitudinal study, obesity in mid-life was shown to double the risk of developing dementia at a later age( 7 ); moreover while cognitive deficits have been associated with glycaemic regulation in diabetes, only in the recent years has it been observed that cognitive deficits exist in young healthy, normal weight individuals with poor glucoregulation, again exemplifying the need for early, rather than later life, preventative nutrition measures.
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In addition to whole dietary and intervention strategies, significant advances have also been made in the study of nutraceuticals. Previous research in this area has been badged as ‘complementary medicine’ and scientific rigor of research investigating these interventions has not always matched that of pharmaceutical research. However, good converging evidence from high-quality randomised controlled trials is now demonstrating effectiveness of a large number of nutraceuticals as mood-modifying and cognitive-enhancing agents in both clinical and healthy populations (a comprehensive review is beyond the scope of the editorial). Recent mechanistic work has indicated plausible, modifiable, cognition-related targets for nutraceuticals, including processes involved with systemic and central vascular function, inflammation, metabolism, central activation, improved neural efficiency and angiogenesis.
The quantity of good, well-controlled clinical trials examining nutraceutical interventions has meant that nutraceuticals are increasingly being used and prescribed in psychiatric practice.
A further new avenue in nutritional psychiatry has been the eruption of research targeting the modulation of the gut microbiota (through probiotic and prebiotic foods and supplements) as a novel therapy for the treatment of various neuropsychiatric conditions. The bidirectional communication between the gut microbiota and the brain has been shown to influence neurotransmission and the behaviour that is often associated with neuropsychiatric conditions, and likewise the microbiome has been associated with multiple systemic pathologies and obesity( 8 ). However, this research is still in its infancy with an urgent need for prospective studies.
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The mechanisms of nutritional impact on the brain are likely to be many, complex and compound. However, recent research has focused on adult hippocampal neurogenesis. The hippocampus is a brain region associated with learning, memory and mood and is one of two structures in the adult brain where neurogenesis persists. The degree of neurogenesis in the hippocampus has been linked directly to cognition and mood, thus modulation of hippocampal neurogenesis by diet has recently emerged as a possible mechanism by which nutrition may impact on brain plasticity, function and mental health( 9 ).
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References
Vigo, D, Thornicroft, G & Atun, R. Estimating the true global burden of mental illness. Lancet Psychiatry 3, 171–178.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
World Health Organization (2012) Dementia: a Public Health Priority. World Health Organization.Google ScholarPubMed
Bertolote, JM & Fleischmann, A (2002) A global perspective in the epidemiology of suicide. Suicidology 7, 6–8.Google Scholar
World Health Organization (2014) Global Status Report on Alcohol and Health 2014. World Health Organization.Google Scholar
Jacka, FN, Mykletun, A & Berk, M (2012) Moving towards a population health approach to the primary prevention of common mental disorders. BMC Med 10, 149.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Jacka, FN, O'Neil, A, Opie, R et al. (2017) A randomised controlled trial of dietary improvement for adults with major depression (the ‘SMILES’ trial). BMC Med 15, 23.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Whitmer, RA, Gunderson, EP, Barrett-Connor, E et al. (2005) Obesity in middle age and future risk of dementia: a 27 year longitudinal population based study. BMJ 330, 1360.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Carding, S, Verbeke, K, Vipond, DT et al. (2015) Dysbiosis of the gut microbiota in disease. Microbial Ecol Health Dis 26, 26191.Google Scholar
Stangl, D & Thuret, S (2009) Impact of diet on adult hippocampal neurogenesis. Genes Nutr 4, 271–282.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Nutrition and Depression: Implications for Improving Mental Health Among Childbearing-Aged Women
Adequate nutrition is needed for countless aspects of brain functioning. Poor diet quality, ubiquitous in the United States, may be a modifiable risk factor for depression. The objective was to review and synthesize the current knowledge of the role of nutrition in depression, and address implications for childbearing-aged women. Poor omega-3 fatty acid status increases the risk of depression. Fish oil and folic acid supplements each have been used to treat depression successfully. Folate deficiency reduces the response to antidepressants.
Deficiencies of folate, vitamin B12, iron, zinc, and selenium tend to be more common among depressed than nondepressed persons. Dietary antioxidants have not been studied rigorously in relation to depression. Childbearing-aged women are particularly vulnerable to the adverse effects of poor nutrition on mood because pregnancy and lactation are major nutritional stressors to the body. The depletion of nutrient reserves throughout pregnancy and a lack of recovery postpartum may increase a woman’s risk of depression.
Prospective research studies are needed to clarify the role of nutrition in the pathophysiology of depression among childbearing-aged women. Greater attention to nutritional factors in mental health is warranted given that nutrition interventions can be inexpensive, safe, easy to administer, and generally acceptable to patients.
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References:
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Author links open overlay panelLisa M.BodnaracKatherine L.Wisneracb
Department of Epidemiology, Graduate School of Public Health
Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology, and Reproductive Sciences; School of Medicine
Department of Psychiatry, Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Received 17 March 2005, Revised 28 April 2005, Accepted 4 May 2005, Available online 25 July 2005.
Sleep Deprivation & Depression
The relationship between sleep and depression has a most puzzling aspect: On one hand, sleep disturbances are among the most common symptoms in depression, and the particular type of altered sleep pattern is highly characteristic for the disease. On the other hand, the deprivation of night-time sleep often results in a distinct, though usually short-lived, improvement in depressive symptomatology.
It is difficult to understand why the denial of an apparently impaired sleep process should have an antidepressant effect. Although explanations have been offered to account for either the depressive sleep pattern or the therapeutic effect of sleep deprivation, few hypotheses have so far attempted to encompass both aspects. In the present article we propose a new hypothesis based on the two-process model of sleep regulation
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Reference:
Human Neurobiolog y O Springer-Verlag 1982
A Hypothesis Derived from a Model of Sleep Regulation A.A. Borbely and A. Mrz-Justice Institute of Pharmacology, University of Zurich, Zürich, Switze~land Psychiatnc University Clinic, Basel, Switzerland
Nutritional Deficiencies
5 Body Signs of Nutritional Deficiencies
Nutritional deficiencies gone undetected or without cause for alarm over long periods can lead to life altering health complications. Different areas of your body can present with signs signaling to you that something is physiologically wrong. Being in tune with your body’s needs and aware of these signs of nutritional deficiencies are critical to whole body wellness.
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Optimal vitamins and minerals are required by the body to properly eliminate toxins from the body, promote the health needs of your digestive system, cardiovascular system, metabolism and total body strength. Signs can be both external and internal and can be caused by the over consumption of one vitamin or mineral which can leave your body out of balance and deficient in another mineral.
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Learn these 5 body signs of nutritional deficiencies so that you can better detect how your body is functioning and to enable you to heal faster if you notice something is wrong. These small signs today are fixable and can prevent you from long term health problems.
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Chronic Stress
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Everyday stress to the body can create a vicious cycle which can cause nutrient deficiency and induce symptoms of stress such as depression and anxiety which further depletes the body storage of vital vitamins and minerals (8). Especially as you age, the body becomes less efficient at absorbing nutrients and detoxification pathways are further hindered.
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Nutrients are one of several environmental influences that can either support or impede epigenetic gene expression. From this perspective of gene regulation, diseases may not only be inherited but modified and expressed through changes in an individual’s environment. Researchers have recently begun to show how the intake of nutrients and their bioavailability is essential to maintaining health especially under stressful conditions. (25)
The stress response is another influencing factor for epigenetic gene regulation which reduces the availability of bioactive food compounds and uses up antioxidant supplies. Quality nutrition is critical to combating the damage to cells and tissue in the body resulting from stress responses.
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References:
https://drjockers.com/5-body-signs-nutritional-deficiencies/?ck_subscriber_id=855225872
