Dietetics:CommunicationCollaboration/Mental Health and Nutrition 2023

So What About Nutrition?

Although nutrition cannot fully improve your mental health, there is research and evidence that shows it does have an impact. Ongoing research also investigates the potential bidirectional relationship between mental health and nutrition; while nutrition may have an influence on mental health, mental health may also influence diet and nutrition.

A healthy and balanced diet can reduce your risk for depression, anxiety, and other mood disorders. Ensuring your baseline diet is well-balanced and has the adequate vitamins and nutrients to support your body is an important step in taking care of yourself. On the other hand, mental health challenges are one of the most common barriers to healthy eating.

Nutrition & Mental Health

What Does the Research Say?

When looking at the research, we can conclude that nutrition does have an impact on mental health. From a researcher’s perspective, conclusions can be drawn about the effects certain nutrients can have on mental health, such as zinc, B vitamins, probiotics, omega-3 fatty acids, antioxidants, and vitamin D improving mental health status . While there is research to support that certain micronutrients share a role in impacting mental health, and deficiencies can exacerbate certain symptoms, what does this mean from the perspective of an everyday human being, like yourself? With the exception of Vitamin D, isolating these nutrients to consume in a concentrated amount would not be effective for improving mental health.

Mental health is complex, and several factors contribute to poor mental health conditions. Social determinants, such as housing situation, socioeconomic status, employment status, or even history of eating disorder/disordered eating can significantly affect your mental state. These factors can contribute to poor eating patterns, and conversely, poor eating patterns can exacerbate mental health conditions. As mentioned before, the relationship between mental health and nutrition exists bi-directionally! Improving your mental health through nutrition does not mean bypassing these underlying factors, but rather, it allows your body to reach a baseline where it can adequately address these external and internal forces which may impact your mental health negatively.

So What about Vitamin D?

Vitamin D is one of the key nutrients that has been well researched to have an impact on mental health. Vitamin D can be obtained through endogenous synthesis in the skin via UVB radiation or through food and/or supplements. However, in many parts of the world, it is not possible to get sufficient UVB radiation all year round. Therefore, in certain situations it may be recommended to consume more foods with fortified vitamin D and/or a vitamin D supplement. Based on a review regarding nutrition and mental health, it has been proven that 3 months of vitamin D supplementation (4000 IU/day for 1 month and 2000 IU for 2 months) significantly reduces a variety of negative health factors such as depression, mood swings, sleep difficulties, weakness, the ability to concentrate and more. However, while vitamin D may present many positive health effects, it is still crucial to try and consume a well balanced diet if you are able to.

What Should We Eat?

Fortunately and unfortunately, human beings are unique - all bodies have different requirements to satiate their own biological, cultural, and emotional needs. When it comes to nutrition, there is no “one size fits all” approach. Within the culture of “healthy eating”, there is a lot of discourse surrounding what is and is not considered an ideal diet. Anything from the Mediterranean diet to intermittent fasting has been debated; however, the most ideal diet is the one that provides you with what you need at the moment.

In general, there are basic and loose guidelines for an ideal eating pattern, but these guidelines should be adjusted according to your individual needs:

• Consume a balanced diet that contains:
  • Plenty of fruits & vegetables
  • Different sources of protein (animal or plant-based)
  • Choose a variety of grains, including whole grains
  • Drink water and stay hydrated
• Choose whole foods more often if possible
• Encourage mindful eating that centers away from weight
• Choose foods that have cultural or spiritual meaning
• Try your best to create a habit of consuming at least three meals a day, big or small

These guidelines can allow you to embrace your own unique physical, cultural, and emotional needs while also serving as a reminder about the different reasons food can be important. Additionally, an emphasis on a diverse and balanced diet will allow you to obtain your nutrition requirements, including those macro/micronutrient, antioxidants, and fiber needs which are vital in supporting your overall health.

Other Considerations

Other considerations regarding food and mental health include but are not exclusive to having a healthy relationship with food, the ability to cook for oneself within a shared household, food and household insecurity, side effects from medications, chronic health conditions, and so much more. Many of these factors may be difficult to overcome alone; having a healthcare team, social support service, or even trusted loved one involved will be crucial in the endeavour of creating a supportive mental health care plan.

Strategies for Self-Help

What is Self-Help?

Self-help is defined as the activity of providing what you need for yourself and using strategies to better understand your thoughts, emotions, and behaviours to improve your mental health. Self-help is a broad term that can bring up a lot of questions and perceptions about it, but generally can help individuals deepen their self-awareness, coping skills, and improving/regulating emotions. As the name suggests, it focuses on self-guided instead of professional guided efforts to cope with life problems. Specifically in university, there are a lot of environmental and emotional changes that can be increased depending if one moves away from home for the first time, struggling with academic transitions, or stresses related to growing older. In these cases, self-help may be more necessary due to different social supports in your life such as being away from your immediate family. And so, finding self-help strategies that work for you in coping with specific challenges is very important during transitions in your life. However, self help does have its limits, and we do recommend those undergoing more severe or challenging mental health concerns to seek external help - especially when things feel like they are out of your control or capacity.

Strategies for nutrition when at home/not cooking for yourself

No student is in exactly the same situation, and we can’t assume all university students live on their own. Some live with their parents, in shared housing, or in unstable living situations. Many students may not even have access to a kitchen if they are living with a meal plan while on residence on campus. While a lot of what we discuss here can work if you are living on your own or with roommates, we recognize that living in a place where you don’t do the cooking for yourself can have some unique challenges.

Some strategies for those living with their family are included in this list below. Please note that this is not an extensive list or applicable to everyone.

• Go grocery shopping with whoever mainly does the shopping in your house. Making it an activity to help your family with grocery shopping can help you bond with your family with food and show them that you are interested in nutrition and having a role in shaping the meals you eat everyday. If you can suggest certain foods that you want to eat, you can have more of an influence on your own dietary habits and foods you do like to eat and nourish your body with. Living in a household means that everyone must pull their weight through cooking, chores, and maintenance, and if you are interested in having more of a role in cooking, going grocery shopping with your family is a good place to start!

• Help with cooking! Living at home may mean that your parents still cook dinners for you, and if you feel like you want to have more of a role in what you eat - help your parents cook meals or even have nights where you alternate cooking. Being in a situation where you are not a child or teenager anymore, your parents may not realize that you want more responsibility in the household. Overtime, you may realize that living with parents can be more of a co-roommate situation and you can have more opportunities to eat what you want. Helping with cooking can also increase your autonomy and personal skills if you plan to move out soon.

• Cook foods that you do like, when you can. You may realize that you are able to control some of your meals, but not all of them. Mainly meals like dinner in your house may be “set” in which you will eat when you come home from school, and lunch and snacks can be made at home and eaten at school. This means that approximately more than half of your meals can still be controlled by you. Being able to have some autonomy on some of your meals can add confidence to your cooking skills and independence especially when living at home. Having a section in your pantry or fridge just for your food at home can be a good strategy for meal prepping and creating some boundaries with you and your family’s food. A big issue for eating at home is that foods your family cooks may not be as nutritious, adventurous, or culturally diverse as you want. By focusing on what you do have control of, you can add the nutritious foods you love and explore foods that your family may not be comfortable with. Not familiar with meal prepping? Meal prepping can be a great way to make healthier food choices that are individualized just for you.

• Share resources with your family. Resources like Canada’s Food Guide and Healthlink BC may be helpful to send to your family to read if they are curious about learning nutrition and getting new recipe ideas. Many resources are available in a variety of languages and include different cultures too! However, it is important to realize that not everyone’s family is the same and will not always be receptive to what you have to teach, nor have the capacity to learn about.

Coping Strategies

There are a lot of coping strategies available for a variety of mental health stressors. Healthlink BC has a great list of coping strategies, we’ve added some nutrition related examples to their list below:

• If we feel afraid to make changes, try to remember that there’s no such thing as “winning” at your health. Change doesn’t have to be all or nothing, you can try to make small changes. If you use white bread, try a whole grain option this week. Or just try something new, never used kale before? Give it a try! You’d be surprised how one small change can lead to another.
• If we feel like we’re not good at changing, we can try to shift our mindset. Try not to think of this as changing, it’s adding or modifying what and how you eat to help you in the long run. Also, you make choices and changes everyday, even if you don’t think of it as changing. If you’re making a recipe and you don’t have an ingredient, that’s okay, it’s just a change from the last time you made it. You might have the same breakfast every weekday, but mix it up on the weekend and go out to brunch, that’s a change too! You don’t need to change to be able to add some more variety to your meals.
• If we feel like there’s not enough time, that’s okay. Maybe today there just isn’t enough time. Not every meal has to have a purpose, and there is no judgment. If there’s not enough time right now, then eating anything at all is good enough. Your body needs fuel, that is the most important part. Maybe there’s more time tomorrow, or on the weekend. Some snacks that don’t require any prep work: a piece of fruit, a handful of nuts, a granola bar.
• If we feel like we don’t like or want healthy foods, then think about what you do like! What could you add to that using some of the balanced meals concepts? Changing your diet completely isn’t the answer, it’s about how to modify and add foods that will support you and your mental health. Add fruits and vegetables to your meals, choose whole grains and drink water.
• If we feel like we’ll be made fun of for eating healthier, then it’s important to remember that prioritizing your health will always matter, and will always be worth it. Maybe the people that would make fun of you don’t have your best interests at heart. Maybe they’re facing their own barriers to healthy eating. It’s not your job to change someone else’s mind, and remember that prioritizing your health also means that sometimes we don’t have the capacity to dig deeper with someone else. That’s okay too.
• If you feel like you’re not motivated to make anything new, it’s understandable. It can be easy to stick to the same things every day because it’s convenient, but that can get uninspiring. Nourishing your body can be joyous, food can be exciting! Find inspiration online through food TikToks, reels, or websites to find something new.
• If you feel like there’s too many rules or that there’s foods you shouldn’t be eating, please remember that the purpose of food and eating is not to make you feel bad, or stressed or overwhelmed. Eating and fueling yourself throughout the day is an important part of mental health.
• If you feel like you don’t have enough energy to make and eat food, sometimes that’s okay, you may not be hungry at that moment, but eating regularly will help you build up your energy. It’s important to listen to our bodies when we’re hungry, but your body needs to have enough fuel to be able to talk to you. If you give your body energy, you will get more energy from your body, so any fuel you can get in, please try.

If you feel like you’re struggling with eating, please contact a healthcare professional such as a dietitian or a counselor to help you on a more individual basis. Remember these tips are general and are not meant to replace the advice of your personal healthcare practitioner.

What is Self Care? How is it different from Self-Help?

Self care, paired with self help is often confused by one another, is focused more on what people do for themselves to establish and maintain health, and to prevent and deal with illness. It is a broad concept that encompasses hygiene, nutrition, lifestyle, environmental factors, socioeconomic factors, and self-medication. Self help looks at more of a personal strategy method for dealing with mental health and struggles, but self care is actions you can do in your every day like the name suggests, to care for yourself. Self-care is often described as a lifelong habit and culture in which people actively realize what they are doing is for themselves. Self care activities can range drastically, such as staying at home if you are too tired, setting boundaries, or forgiving yourself to taking a bath or eating your favourite meal after a hard day.

Student Recommended Self Care-Strategies

Katie: “I have 2 cats and I make time for cat cuddles every day. When I need a moment to refocus, I look at pictures of my cats and of other important people in my life, it helps me keep perspective. I’ve been trained in mindfulness, and while it’s not something I always prioritize, taking a 5 minute meditation every day is very effective to help keep my mind in the present. I find when I can keep my mind in the present, not obsess over the past or worry about the future, it’s easier for me to concentrate. I also work with a mental health professional because I recognize there are some things that are too big for me to work through on my own.”

Chanel: “Most of my self-care methods in my life are surrounded by things I can do for my body and soul. Moreover, putting time into myself helps me appreciate and focus on my own being. Things such as doing my makeup everyday and making sure this process is not rushed gives me a moment to myself at the beginning of the day. Committing 20 minutes of my time makes me prepared for my day with a clear mind. For those not interested in makeup, it can be putting cream on in the morning or doing affirmations to yourself in the mirror. For me, it's finding the joy in the little things and finding at least a little nugget in your day that is just reserved for you!”

Nutrition & Mental Health Booklet [Tool]

Download our free mental health and nutrition guide here:
File:Mental Health and Nutrition Tool.pdf

Building a Plan

This section builds upon the “Let’s Make a Plan” section of the tool, which is all about setting goals and building a plan based on the nutrition and mental health tips as shared in the previous sections.

This page has 4 main sections:

“The Next Time I Feel…”

Emotions are a part of life and the first section embraces that by prompting the reader to identify the emotion they currently experience in relation to eating, meal planning, cooking, or anything related to food. This acknowledges that everyone has diverse experiences and all feelings are valid and a starting point for meaningful change.

“I Can Try To…”

Once a feeling is identified, this tool offers four checklist options that we believe will guide the you in a constructive manner.

1. Try this booklet →  This one is already checked off! It assumes that you have been diligently following the booklet and are finding it to be helpful which is why you are in the last section.
2. Hydrate with water → This is a helpful recommendation in the newest 2019 Canadian Food Guide which identifies water as the option-of-choice for beverages. Evidence supports water as a beverage that has a calming and mentally nourishing effect as it is one of the best ways to rehydrate. However it is understandable due to any circumstance, that you may be unable to achieve this, but if you can, this can be helpful.
3. Enjoy your favourite snack → It is also advantageous to be reminded of the positive emotions associated with food. This prompt hopes to achieve that by reminding you to enjoy a simple food item that brings them happiness and comfort.

1. Supercharge your Plate → By following the recommendations as outlined and shared in pages 4-6, you could benefit from improvement to mood and energy levels, as it relates to your food choices amidst various emotions. The idea is to implement simple options that require little additional effort, as a way to incorporate a small but impactful habit change to your life.

“Affirm Our Food Choices”

The next section, offering a space for you to Affirm Our Food Choices is a way to remind you that there are many reasons why we enjoy food or nourish our bodies, and having that reflection can help motivate and provide an underlying reasoning as to why eating matters, in an effort to rebuild positive associations to food.

“Set 3 New Goals for Future You”

Finally the last section is all about planning for the future in an effort to be kind to your future self. It is easy to focus on the present while neglecting habits, leaving your future with the short end of the stick. When these emotions resurface in the future, whether it’s feeling stuck, pressed for time, insecure, having a few things prepared can drastically change your mindset.

Two example goals have been set up as optional prompts for you to fill out

1. Fueling your body with a new food this week
2. Find a 4 ingredient recipe to try out this week

These options aim to be simple, measurable, actionable and timely. They have also been identified in pg. 7-8 as strategies for self help that can have beneficial outcomes. The idea is that eating well can transform your life, it is foundational to one’s physical and mental health.

However, you are not limited to these options and can feel free to adjust based on their preferences.

Resources

UBC - Find Health Support

2020 Updated Guide on Free & Low Cost MH Resources in the Lower Mainland (Extensive)

Health Link BC - Find Services & Resources

Health Link BC - Service & Resource Locator

E- Mental Health Support (Finding MH Support in your Area - Canada Wide)

Open Counseling - Free & Low Cost in BC

-- Results include both sponsored and non-profit providers. We may earn a commission if you choose a sponsored provider (learn more). Fees are set by providers and are usually free-to-low-cost based on your income.

Peak Resilience - List of Free & Low Cost Counseling in Vancouver (List of Resources)

No Fear Counseling - Low Cost

Resources supplied by Asian Mental Health Collective

-- Includes: Reduced Fee & Therapy Support Providers, Asian Therapist directory, mental health support groups, and more...

UBC Dietetics Class 2024 - Beating Burnout Link to Resources

-- Created by Abeera Irfan, Megan Lochhead, Amber Brideau, Merrie Martin, Olivia Loehr, Sara Chan

Student authors

Nutrition & Mental Health © 2023 by Chanel Soo, Chris Wong, Madi Fan, Jenny To, Katie Mack, Raymond Hsia is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0
Developed for Dietetics FNH 480, April 2023