Recent evidence is showing that diet and nutrition affects a person’s mental health. Nutrients like omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids appear to play a key role in disorders like depression.
“Lead author, Dr Jerome Sarris from the University of Melbourne and a member of the International Society for Nutritional Psychiatry Research (ISNPR), said psychiatry is at a critical stage, with the current medically-focused model having achieved only modest benefits in addressing the global burden of poor mental health.
‘While the determinants of mental health are complex, the emerging and compelling evidence for nutrition as a key factor in the high prevalence and incidence of mental disorders suggests that nutrition is as important to psychiatry as it is to cardiology, endocrinology and gastroenterology,’ Dr Sarris said.
‘In the last few years, significant links have been established between nutritional quality and mental health. Scientifically rigorous studies have made important contributions to our understanding of the role of nutrition in mental health,’ he said.
Findings of the review revealed that in addition to dietary improvement, evidence now supports the contention that nutrient-based prescription has the potential to assist in the management of mental disorders at the individual and population level.”
IMI understands that your mental health is very important to your overall well-being, which is why we have a wide range of services available dedicated to treating mental illness.
