The Link Between an Unhealthy Diet and Poor Mental Health

An unhealthy diet can wreak havoc on your mental health. Vitamin and mineral deficiencies can cause mental health symptoms to spiral out of control, leaving you struggling with your well being. Furthermore, without a healthy diet, you cannot properly apply the healthy coping skills you normally use to handle stressful situations. Thankfully, simply switching to a better diet can have a profound impact on your ability to manage your mental health conditions.

How Food Impacts Mental Health

Your central nervous system needs adequate daily nutrients to work properly and help you think clearly. These nutrients help support cell function, protein synthesis and other integral bodily processes. When a poor diet results in vitamin and mineral deficiencies, however, the brain has trouble keeping up. Mental health symptoms can start to increase in duration and severity as a result.

Beneficial Vitamins and Minerals

Although you should strive to eat a balanced diet each day, there are a few vitamins and minerals to pay attention to as you create your meal plans. The full range of B vitamins, for example, help create mood-stabilizing chemicals in the brain, including serotonin. Other helpful vitamins and minerals include:

• Omega 3 and 6
• Zinc
• Magnesium
• Vitamin D

You can maximize your vitamin and mineral intake by choosing the right foods for your meals and snacks.

Foods That Support Good Mental Health

You can focus on building meals around the most beneficial nutrients for mental wellness to minimize your symptoms and better manage your condition. If you want to improve your omega 3 intake, for example, you can incorporate fatty fish, such as salmon and sardines, into your daily meals. Ensuring you get enough B vitamins in your diet only requires that you eat spinach, citrus fruit, nuts and seeds, eggs, avocados and bananas.

Once you have a healthy diet in place, you can fine-tune your nutrient levels by taking a daily multi-vitamin. You should try to obtain as much nutrients from fresh food as possible, however. If you need support in finding the right balance, you can partner with your healthcare professional to figure it out.

Eating Healthy for Improved Mental Wellness

Although achieving your mental wellness goals can never come down to something as simple as changing your diet, doing so can definitely set you up for success. With a simple diet change, you can reduce your mental health symptom severity and duration while improving your ability to apply healthy coping skills. You can begin your journey toward wellness and recovery with Sober Living America. Call 866-901-7206 to talk with a knowledgeable intake specialist.