Listen to the podcast.

Eating and Thinking Well

Researchers in England have given new meaning to the phrase “You are what you eat,” with two reports that draw a direct line between the foods we consume and the way our brains work.

The reports summarize a growing body of evidence linking what we eat with how we feel, think and behave. Released jointly by the London-based Mental Health Foundation and Sustain, a British alliance for better food and farming, the reports describe growing evidence that mental health problems such as Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), depression, schizophrenia and Alzheimer’s disease can be prevented and/or relieved through proper nutrition.

The foods we eat have changed radically over the past several decades, along with our eating habits. People eat fewer fruits and vegetables and more junk food that’s high in saturated fats, especially trans-fats. Over the last 50 years, much of the food found in today’s grocery stores – junk or not – has come to contain high levels of food additives, artificial coloring, and pesticides. Even the meats that we eat aren’t the same as they used to be, with factory farming methods pushing animals to slaughter weight far more quickly and antibiotics given to farm animals on a routine basis. The result is chemical-laden food drained of many essential nutrients. What’s particularly problematic is that the meat that we eat now contains far higher levels of omega-6 fatty acids and much lower levels of omega-3 fatty acids. Unfortunately, our brains need equal levels of both.

Previous research shows that unequal levels of these fatty acids in our brains are associated with a number of mental health problems, including depression, and problems with memory and concentration. Trans-fat contributes to the problem by taking the place of essential fatty acids (such as omega-3) in the brain. This makes it harder for the brain to send and receive messages smoothly.

Pesticides and other chemicals added to foods carry their own set of problems. Studies have linked pesticide exposure to numerous adverse health consequences, including cancer, nervous system and neurological problems and, when exposures occur early in life, to the later development of diseases such as Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s.

Numerous mental health groups, including organizations focused on treating children with autism spectrum disorders, have long argued that nutrition plays a critical role in reducing symptoms. Some advocate removing gluten and casein, along with food additives, and have reported dramatic results. These reports support the idea that nutrition can and should play an important role in keeping not only our bodies, but our minds, healthy.

To download copies of the reports (“Feeding Minds” and “Changing Diets, Changing Minds,”) click here.

For information on how to select chemical-free foods, go to www.feingold.org.

To read more about this and other environmental health issues, go to: www.environmentalhealthnews.org, www.ourstolenfuture.org, or www.healthandenvironment.org