Junk Foods Cause 'Mental Illness'

January 18, 2006

18 Jan 2006 10:51:12 -0000

Health Supreme Update: Junk Foods Cause 'Mental Illness'

sepp

Health Supreme Update: Junk Foods Cause 'Mental Illness'

2006.01.18 11:51:10

http://www.newmediaexplorer.org/sepp/2006/01/18/junk_foods_cause_mental_illness.\

htm

January 18, 2006

Junk Foods Cause 'Mental Illness'

Mental illness, which really boils down to unusual and socially

'unacceptable' behavior and ideas, may be caused by wrong nutrition,

according to some recent studies reported in the UK press.

" Food can have an immediate and lasting effect on mental health

and behaviour because of the way it affects the structure and function

of the brain " .

donuts.jpg

Image credit: Amanda Paganini

Most psychiatrists vehemently deny that foods, (lack of)

nutrients, allergies and poisonous substances may be at the bottom of

the 'deviant' behaviors they have laboriously codified in the

psychiatric diagnostic manual. No wonder, accepting the obvious would

make their profession all but superfluous. At the very least,

psychiatrists would have to take some hints from clinical ecologists

and nutritional counsellors.

Instead of merely classifying the manifestations of damage from

wrong nutrition and toxic input, they would have to search for the

real causes of biologic disequilibrium and propose remedies, not only

to their patients but also to health authorities and even their

colleagues in general medicine. The 'epidemics' of autism and

attention deficit disorder, for instance, are time coincident with a

multiplication of " preventive " vaccinations - from four in the

seventies to twenty and in some places even more than thirty

recommended " immunizations " today.

Certainly, drugging people is not the solution. Let's do something

constructive about the disastrous 'mental health' situation.

The Guardian has a good article on the studies just released:

- - -

Rise in mental illness linked to unhealthy diets, say studies

· Patients benefit by cutting intake of junk food

· NHS warned of rise in £100bn bill

Felicity Lawrence

Monday January 16, 2006

The Guardian

Changes in diet over the past 50 years appear to be an important

factor behind a significant rise in mental ill health in the UK, say

two reports published today.

The Mental Health Foundation says scientific studies have clearly

linked attention deficit disorder, depression, Alzheimer's disease and

schizophrenia to junk food and the absence of essential fats, vitamins

and minerals in industrialised diets.

A further report, Changing Diets, Changing Minds, is also

published today by Sustain, the organisation that campaigns for better

food. It warns that the NHS bill for mental illness, at almost £100bn

a year, will continue to rise unless the government focuses on diet

and the brain in its food, farming, education and environment policies.

" Food can have an immediate and lasting effect on mental health

and behaviour because of the way it affects the structure and function

of the brain, " Sustain's report says. Its chairman, Tim Lang, said:

" Mental health has been completely neglected by those working on food

policy. If we don't address it and change the way we farm and fish, we

may lose the means to prevent much diet-related ill health. "

Both reports, which have been produced collaboratively, outline

the growing scientific evidence linking poor diet to problems of

behaviour and mood. Rates of depression have been shown to be higher

in countries with low intakes of fish, for example. Lack of folic

acid, omega-3 fatty acids, selenium and the amino acid tryptophan are

thought to play an important role in the illness. Deficiencies of

essential fats and antioxidant vitamins are also thought to be a

contributory factor in schizophrenia.

A pioneering nutrition and mental health programme, thought to be

the only one of its kind in Britain, was carried out at Rotherham,

South Yorkshire. According to Caroline Stokes, its research

nutritionist, the mental health patients she saw generally had the

poorest diets she had ever come across. " They are eating lots of

convenience foods, snacks, takeaways, chocolate bars, crisps. It's

very common for clients to be drinking a litre or two of cola a day.

They get lots of sugar but a lot of them are eating only one portion

of fruit or vegetable a day, if that. "

The therapy includes omega-3 fatty acids and multivitamins, with

advice on cutting out junk food and replacing it with oily fish, leafy

vegetables for folic acid, Brazil nuts for selenium, and food

providing tryptophan.

Some patients who resist treatment with drugs accept nutritional

therapy and most have reported an improvement in mood and energy. Ms

Stokes said: " Within the first month there's been a significant

reduction in depression. We've had letters from [the patients']

psychiatrists saying they can see a huge difference. "

One sufferer who benefited from a dietary change was James McLean,

who was at university when first diagnosed with bipolar disorder

(manic depression). After he had been sectioned repeatedly, his father

read about the role of nutrition in mental health. The pair went

privately to the Brain Bio Centre, in London, where Mr McLean's

nutrient levels were checked; he was allergic to gluten and yeast and

was given supplements, including vitamin B and essential fatty acids.

" I'd been eating lots of intense carbohydrate foods ... because

they were cheap, and very little fruit or vegetables, " Mr McLean said.

Now, he excludes wheat from his diet too. He added: " I have more

energy and confidence, I sleep better, and I came off the

anti-psychotic drugs, although I still take mood stabilising ones. "

Andrew McCulloch, chief executive of the Mental Health Foundation,

acknowledged that mental illness results from a complex interplay of

biological, social, psychological and environmental factors, but

thought diet should be an everyday component of mental health care.

" It costs £1,000 a week to keep someone in a psychiatric hospital. How

much does good food cost? We need mentally healthy school meals, and

mentally healthy hospital foods, " he said.

Best choices and worst:

Good for the brain:

Vegetables, especially leafy

Seeds and nuts

Fruit

Whole grains

Wheatgerm

Organic eggs

Organic farmed or wild fish, especially fatty fish

Bad for the brain:

Deep fried junk foods

Refined processed foods

Pesticides

Alcohol

Sugar

Tea and coffee

Some additives

Download " Changing Diets, Changing Minds " here

The Mental Health Foundation's " Food and Mental Health " Campaign

posted by Sepp Hasslberger on Wednesday January 18 2006

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