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Running Head: GOOD MOOD FOOD

Good Mood Food: How Diet Affects Mental Health

Rachel E. Greif

Glen Allen High School Center for Education and Human Development
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Introduction

Food is essential to human life. Countries around the world are plagued by malnutrition,

obesity, or both simultaneously, emphasizing the important role of food in everyday life. Both of

these nourishment conditions affect humans on a physical level, allowing others to visibly see

the effect of the food, or lack thereof, one eats. However, meals affect people on more than just a

physical level. The amount and type of nourishment people consume impact the body

biologically and mentally.

In Western countries, it is not uncommon to hear someone say they regret the food they

have eaten because of how it makes their body feel later. The United States in particular has seen

an increase in childhood and adult obesity, while also experiencing a rise in mental health issues,

especially among adolescents. Psychiatrists and parents alike attempt to cure the rising rates of

depression and anxiety by continually feeding pills to young teenagers. But has anyone stopped

to think that maybe mental health issues could be solved by the other things people put in their

bodies? The biological connection between peoples’ body and diets has been increasingly

investigated in recent years, in hopes to pinpoint certain contributors to mental health issues.

Given that diet affects everyone’s body, it is important to know its implication in mental health

and how people can benefit from altering their diet to improve their mindset.

Background

In order to analyze how a healthy diet affects people’s bodies, it is important to know

what that diet consists of. Without a proper understanding of what a healthy diet entails, it is easy

to fall victim to fad diets and relatively unhealthy eating habits that have the capability of being

promoted as healthy. In today’s social media and internet driven climate, it can be difficult to
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discern what constitutes “healthy.” Merriam Webster’s Online Dictionary defines food as

“material consisting essentially of protein, carbohydrate, and fat used in the body of an organism

to sustain growth, repair, and vital processes and to furnish energy” (Branscum & Manoj 2014).

The basic components of most food substances are included in this definition, however it lacks in

outlining the amount and type of food best fit for a healthier lifestyle. For definitions of these

components, the Food and Nutrition Board created the Dietary Reference Intake (DRI) in 1941

(Branscum & Manoj 2014). The DRI is an umbrella term which helps to define a healthy diet. Its

key components are: fruits, dairy, protein, vegetables, and grains. Many people fail to include all

of these food groups into their diets, and those who do successfully incorporate each of the food

groups often have an imbalance in the proportions. Dietary websites, such as MyPlate, give

accurate suggestions of daily intake of each food group dependent upon age and gender

(Branscum & Manoj 2014). Despite this, it is hard to get an accurate definition of what “healthy”

is across all types of people. Therefore, an emphasis must be placed upon differentiating a

healthy and unhealthy diet and relating the two, rather than focusing on defining each one

independently.

Prenatal Diet

Diet begins to affect one’s mood as early as when a fetus is forming in the mother’s

womb. A mother’s nutrition provides the nutrients creating the baby in the womb, making it a

major factor of later psychological health issues. One of the biggest influencers in this process

linking food and mental health is the gut microbiota, which begins to form in the womb. The gut

microbiota is a specific ecosystem inside each person’s body. It is composed of “approximately

160 species” of different bacteria, and it varies from person to person (Rodriguez, Murphy,

Stanton, Ross, Kober, Juge, Avershina, Rudi, Narbad, Jenmalm, Marchesi, & Collado 2015). In
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recent years it has become the highlight of many investigative papers, as it relates closely to each

person’s immune system and metabolic pathways. The gut microbiota begins its development

through the “placenta, amniotic fluid, and meconium,” and the food a mother eats influences

these structures (Clapp, Aurora, Herrera, Bhatia, Wilen, & Wakefield 2017). Formerly, many

people believed the placenta to be a key factor in keeping a fetus sterile, however, microbial

colonization does indeed begin in the womb. Additionally, any stressor to the mother also affects

the growing child and is shown through the microbiome of the fetus.

The development of the gut microbiota continues past the environment of the womb with

mode of delivery—babies delivered vaginally have “higher amounts of bacteria in their gut” than

those delivered by Cesarean section (Clapp, et al. 2017). An infant’s body quickly comes in

contact with many new objects and encounters new situations, and the diversity of bacteria an

infant is exposed to also affects a growing gut microbiota (Rodriguez, et al. 2015). The gut

microbiota grows rapidly in an infant and is also highly affected by their initial diet and whether

a mother chooses to breastfeed or bottle-feed the newborn. Babies that were breastfed were

found to have higher “IgA levels and Bifidobacterium genus present in the gut,” which persist in

the gut into adulthood, and later affect whether a person has pro-inflammatory or anti-

inflammatory gut microbiota, which largely contributes to different issues associated with mental

health (Clapp, et al. 2017). Specifically, IgA responses are used to fight against certain unwanted

bacteria and provides immunity within the intestines. Formula-fed babies have been found to

have higher concentrations of IL-6, a “proinflammatory cytokine that normally presents in acute

and chronic inflammation,” meaning the baby has less of a concentration of IgA, and therefore is

more likely to experience problems in the gut (Clapp, et al. 2017). In a paper written and
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researched by Rodriguez, et al., the importance and influential nature of the relationship between

prenatal diet, subsequent development of the infant and the gut microbiota is summed up to say:

By the end of the first year of life, infants possess an individually distinct
microbial profile, converging toward the characteristic microbiota of an adult,
such that by 2—5 years of age, the microbiota fully resembles that of an adult in
terms of composition and diversity. Therefore, the first 3 years of life represent
the most critical period for dietary interventions to improve child growth and
development. This is the period when the intestinal microbiota, a vital asset for
health and neurodevelopment is established and its alteration during this period
has the potential to profoundly affect host health and development.

A mother’s prenatal stressors have a large impact on the infant’s future gut microbiota

development, as well as the mother’s diet, as found in a study done on Brazilian mothers with a

range of different diets. Dawson, Marx, & Jacka (2017) highlight the dietary patterns of a mother

are related to the prevalence of major-depressive disorder in pregnant women. The findings

emphasize that diet and parental stress have more impact and correlation with depression, rather

than with anxiety. This distinction is important to note, as diet affects different biological aspects

of humans as they relate to mental health, but these processes cannot be linked broadly to all

mental health in every situation. The study found that women who had a higher intake of refined

sugars were more susceptible to major depressive disorder, and that in general, “poor prenatal

diet quality [correlates] with poorer maternal and offspring mental health outcome” (Dawson,

Marx, & Jacka 2017). Although an individual cannot go into the past to control or alter their

mother’s diet, it is important to know and understand the implications of a mother’s diet on her

and her child’s mental health, as most everyone’s biological makeup will come to be affected by

that diet.

General Gut Microbiota

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The gut microbiota continues to play a large role in the function of a person’s body and

its connection to mental health issues well past infancy. According to a 2017 review, the gut

microbiota is a system in a person’s body which “makes an important contribution to human

metabolism by contributing enzymes that are not encoded by the human genome” (Rowland,

Gibson, Heinken, Scott, Swann, Thiele, & Tuohy). It is a very complex system that contributes

to multiple other systems within the body, however this paper largely focuses on its effects on

mental health. Much of the research regarding nutritional psychiatry and psychology is

preliminary and must be further researched as the veil surrounding the topic is lifted. However,

within the emerging research and studies, the effect of food on the gut microbiota and its effect

on mental health is prevalent.

The adult gut microbiota begins to develop as soon as a child begins eating solid food.

The impact of the gut microbiota on everyday life can be seen in the research paper of

Rodriguez, et al., wherein the authors describe its importance in maintaining “immune

homeostasis,” relating to the body’s immune system and connections with the brain (2015). As

people age, the composition of their gut microbiota shifts slightly from its development during

infancy and early childhood, as presented in studies from Clapp, et al., there is an evident

domination of “Bacteroidetes and Firmicutes, rather than the Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium

genera” (2017). This is a general trend presented in many different studies and papers, plainly

presenting a shift in the specific bacteria which comprises the gut microbiota. It has also become

clear, through many studies and investigations, that a singular and applicable definition for the

composition of a “normal” gut microbiota may be hard to find, as there is not currently a set

answer for the general adult population. Additionally, much of the gut microbiota is based on
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genetic diversity (Clapp, et al. 2017). However, research included in the paper by Clapp, et al.

has shown that

every microbiome falls into one of three enterotypes. These enterotypes differ by
which species dominates one’s bacterial composition, and include Bacteroides,
Prevotella, or Ruminococcus species. The dominant species and therefore
enterotype results from the composition of a person’s diet. Prevotella species
enterotype is associated with diets high in carbohydrates versus people eating
high amounts of protein are more likely to possess a Bacteroides species
enterotype. Interestingly, these enterotypes are independent of environmental
components such as age, body-mass index, gender, and geographic location and
seem to only be dependent on diet and genetics (2017).
These enterotypes seem to indicate the normal condition of a person’s gut microbiota.

The enterotypes are developed through the types of food a person eats and the nourishment they

get from those specific foods. The general composition, based on consistent diet, would

influence whether their gut microbiota is prone to inflammation or not (Clapp, et al. 2017).

However, despite the prevalence of a typical gut microbiota composition based on the general

diet trend of a normal adult, the gut microbiota is very delicate and easy to change, as it can be

altered in “as little as 24-hours,” meaning it is important to consistently strive for a healthier diet

to correlate with an improved mental health (Clapp, et al. 2017). Because the composition of the

gut microbiota can be compromised in less than twenty-four hours, there is a postulation that

binge-eating components of an unhealthier diet contribute to short lapses in otherwise positive

mental health.

Specific Gut Implications

In relation to the brain specifically, the gut microbiota is a “bi-directional communication

network encompassing the central nervous system (CNS), sympathetic and parasympathetic

branches of the autonomic nervous system (ANS)…and gut microbiota” (Kennedy, Murphy,
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Cryan, Ross, Dinan, & Stanton 2016). Through these different systems, the brain and the gut

communicate and influence each other. Kennedy, et al. describes these processes as

A complex reflexive network of efferent fibers projecting to the gastrointestinal

(GI) tract and afferent fibers that project to a number of interconnected regions of
the CNS facilitate communication within the axis. Bidirectional communication
along neural, hormonal and immune pathways thus enable the brain to influence
secretory, sensory, and motor functions of the GI tract, and conversely, signals
arising from the viscera to influence CNS activity (2016).
Overall, the gut microbiota’s communication and signaling with different systems in the body

have a large effect on the brain’s functioning, therefore indicating the effect one’s diet has on

one’s mental health.

When the body is challenged by “changes in diet, stress, or antibiotics,” the typical gut

microbiota undergoes a change and causes leaky gut syndrome (Clapp, et al. 2017). This leads to

increased intestinal permeability. Coupled with inflammation of the gastrointestinal tract due to

mainly western diet associated foods, gut permeability “places stress on the microbiome through

the release of cytokines and neurotransmitters” (Clapp, et al. 2017). Because of the increased

permeability, an increased amount of rogue molecules are able to escape the gut and make their

way into the bloodstream, ultimately affecting the brain. This was found with IgA and IgM

responses in depressed patients. In a study by Maes, Kubera, Leunis, & Berk, research

demonstrates that both of these responses to Lipopolysaccharides (LPS)—large molecules from

the gut—were more prevalent in depressed patients.

The first major finding of this study is that depression is accompanied by

increased IgA and IgM mediated immune responses directed against the LPS of
gram negative, commensal bacteria. These findings confirm those of our previous
pilot study (Maes et al., 2008). As explained in the introduction, these findings
point towards a loss of integrity of the intestinal barrier function whereby gram
negative commensal enterobacteria are no longer contained by the tight junction
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barrier and thus may be translocated from the epithelial mucosa into the lamina
propria and the MLNs (2012).
Increased environmental stress is a major contributing factor to the bacterial translocation that

causes the inflammation associated with depression (Maes, Kubera, Leunis, & Berk 2012). All in

all, a change in diet to promote a healthier anti-inflammatory gut microbiota is a preliminary step

to preventing and possibly treating depression.

Inflammation has been noted to be at the root of the problem regarding the connection

between the gut microbiota and mental health. Inflammation refers to the inflammation of the

Gastrointestinal (GI) Tract, which leads to increased permeability of the gut. Specifically, it

“places stress on the microbiome through the release of cytokines and neurotransmitters” (Clapp,

et al. 2017). Increased TNF and MCP (monocyte chemoattractant protein), two different

cytokines, increase the permeability of the blood-brain barrier, and rogue molecules from the

permeable gut affect the body in larger ways, relating back to the connection between the gut and

systems such as the CNS and ANS. This influences brain function, leading to anxiety,

depression, and even memory loss (Clapp, et al. 2017). Diet has a major impact, if not the largest

impact, on the gut microbiota. The evidence provided from numerous studies involving the gut

microbiota support the need for the population to be informed on how their diet affects their

biological makeup and subsequently affects their mental health.

Hippocampus

The “Western diet” can be defined as a diet largely based in carbohydrates and refined

sugars, aligning more with the unhealthy diet associations. A study by Jacka, Cherbuin, Anstey,

Sachdev, & Butterworth found a Western (unhealthy) diet to be independently associated with a

shrinkage in the left-hemisphere of the hippocampus, and a healthy diet to be linked with a
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larger, or at least maintained size/amount of tissue in the left-hemisphere of the hippocampus.

This link between diet and the hippocampus has been studied in mammals before, but this is the

first study to investigate the topic in human terms.

The hippocampus is largely linked to memory, but it is also linked to mood regulation

and is an important aspect when looking at and diagnosing depression. The research article,

“Western diet is associated with a smaller hippocampus: a longitudinal investigation” by Jacka,

et al., found that the smaller the hippocampal size, the more susceptible to mental illness one is

(2015). They “hypothesized that diets higher in nutrient and antioxidant-rich foods would be

associated with larger hippocampal volumes, and that diets higher in saturated fats and refined

carbohydrates would be associated with smaller hippocampal volumes” (Jacka, et al. 2015).

Their hypothesis was correct, illustrating that not only do bodily function such as the gut have an

effect on mental health, but that your diet also has a direct effect on your brain and how it

functions. This is particularly important for mental diseases like Alzheimer’s that deal with

memory.

Conclusion

Knowing the engrained connection between a diet’s effect on the body’s biological

functions and one’s mental health, there begs a question: how can this information be used to

benefit the general population? The correlation with a healthy diet and more positive mental

health implications should encourage those with unhealthy leanings to make an attempt to switch

their diet for their mind’s sake. Additionally, because the gut microbiota plays such a large role

in the connection between diet and mental health, studies have been done investigating the use of

probiotics in improving mental health. Kennedy, et al. reports that “treatment with the probiotic

Lactobacillus rhanosus reduce[s] anxiety and depressive-like behavior,” meaning there is a

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future for psychiatrists to prescribe healthy probiotics rather than SSRIs, which do not work for

every patient (2016).

What to eat or what not to eat is a decision a person faces every day. With the knowledge

of the link between diet and mental health, the general population has a better understanding and

incentive to fuel their bodies in a healthy manner, not only for their physical appearance, but for

their own mental health, possibly their offspring’s as well. The future of mental health should lie

not in tampering solely with the human brain, but looking at the body as a whole, and how one

can affect a positive change in a natural and safe way. Diet has the potential to be a mood

improver and life changer, as long as we recognize and take advantage of it.
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