Food and Wellness

Do you think how you eat impacts your wellbeing? And would you be likely to change your diet if it might improve mental health issues, such as depression?

When Dr Jessica Bayes asked these questions to a group of young men during her PhD project, she was initially met with scepticism.

‘Young men don’t care,’ she was told. To which she suggested ‘Well, why don’t we ask them and see what they think?’

Her insistence on the survey paid off; 90% of those surveyed said they would indeed change their diet if it would improve their mood.

Dr Jessica Bayes is a clinical nutritionist and researcher who completed her PhD at the University of Technology Sydney, where her research focussed on the emerging field of nutritional psychiatry. 

Her recent clinical trial looked into the effects of the Medittarean diet on mental ill health in young men, aged 18-25, with clinical depression. Many had already tried anti-depressants, and we know that depression makes it even harder to eat healthier, or even get out of bed.

At this age, when young men have just moved out of home or are living in student or shared accommodation, they may also have limited resources (from food choices to cooking utensils) or lack space to make their own meals. So, there were lots of challenges, but Jessica saw this research as an important opportunity.

And the trial was far more successful than she expected. Some men began the trial with such low energy they’d struggle to go into uni, find a job, or even get out of bed and shave, but ended it with depression scores so low that it indicated that they no longer had depression.

With mental health issues being one of the leading causes of disability worldwide, with depression accounting for a large proportion of that, it’s essential that we keep working on new treatment options and multiple pathways.

While talking about mental health may seem less taboo today, it’s still met with a lot of unhelpful assumptions and stigma, so it can be particularly hard for young men to talk about. But Jessica points out that it’s so important to find treatment options for men in this demographic - just look at the male suicide rates to see how pressing this matter is.

Another thing that drew Jessica into the area of mental health was the idea that nutrition is a tool that anyone can use to support their wellbeing, which can be pretty empowering. When you’re feeling really low and potentially trying out different medications that aren’t working or on a waiting list, being empowered to make a change right now can be helpful.

What does a healthy diet look like?

Achievable

At the beginning of the 12-week trial, many men appeared apprehensive; perhaps they’d be met with a strict dietician who’d tell them to eat their broccoli, whether or not they enjoyed it.

However, Jessica takes a practical, sensible approach to nutrition and designed her diet with this in mind.

Some nutritionists might say that you need 15 really obscure ingredients you can only get from a costly health food shop or that healthy eating requires spending hours prepping meals, but this isn’t helpful or realistic.

She says that nutritionists should make guidelines that are achievable for the average person. Ideally, diet recommendations should be easy, affordable, and (just as importantly) tasty. Sensible, wholesome, yummy food that even minimal cooking experience, time, and equipment can prepare.

Drop the guilt

A healthy diet doesn’t have to be perfect all the time.

‘People need to let go of this idea of ‘diet perfection.’ I don’t think this is particularly helpful for mental health either when we get hung up on being perfect all the time. Eating should be enjoyable. It’s easier said than done, but we need to drop the guilt around food.’

It’s OK to buy pre-chopped or frozen veggies; you don’t need to do everything from scratch. And adding a little BBQ sauce to your peas is OK if that will help you eat another vegetable.

Focus on eating healthy, not losing weight.

Nutritional guidance often works better when focusing on eating healthily rather than losing weight. People can still lose weight but without the guilt over whether they hit rigid goals.

Diet culture and language in media can also have damaging effects. For example, much of it focuses on weight loss, but many young men may want to avoid losing weight but instead put on muscle or get more physically fit. Jessica ponders whether reframing language like ‘eat healthily to build mental resilience’ may be more appealing.

Identify your barriers to healthy eating.

When asked what one thing everyone could do to improve their diet, Jessica says it’s different for everyone. Instead, it’s worth identifying your barriers so you can overcome them.

If it’s time, then choosing pre-chopped or pre-washed goods might be the best thing you can do. If it’s cost, maybe you can find ingredients that can be bought in bulk. Or if you have aversions to a particular food, you might try cooking those ingredients differently or using substitutes.

Consider your major obstacles and devise strategies to get around them.

Planning

For some people, the timing around eating can be challenging, such as those with little time, shift workers, or those who eat meals within stressful environments. Others, such as neurodivergent people, may struggle to get hunger signals altogether.

Planning can be helpful in these instances, whether you meal-prep nutritious meals or just stock cupboards in a way that makes it easier to grab something healthy. It’s always better to get your nutrients through whole foods rather than supplements or capsules when possible.

Jessica feels that being prepared is crucial to her success, so meal-prepping is a big part of her routine, whether making overnight oats with fresh berries and chia seeds or cooking spicy food, such as Laksa, Daal, and Thai, whereas her go-to snacks are bananas, peanut butter and almonds. Of course, this will be different for everyone! Finding healthy food you enjoy makes eating it much more manageable.

Take a well-rounded, holistic approach to your wellbeing

Nutrition is just one important pillar of ‘lifestyle medicine,’ along with other pillars, including exercise, stress management, sleep, social connection, and reducing substance abuse. We can use these tools, alongside traditional medical advice, to aid us in becoming our best selves.

These pillars work in synergy, so doing things like sitting and eating a meal with your family or having a picnic outdoors allows us to combine the elements.

Wellbeing can also be as simple as doing things you enjoy. In Jessica’s case, that’s dancing, and in particular salsa dancing. When something allows you to have fun, away from your desk and out socialising, and move your body at the same time, that’s truly ideal. ‘You can’t be out salsa dancing and not having the best time!’

She also loves just being out in nature - even if it’s just sitting under a tree, listening to the birds. ‘Bliss.’

Summary:

Let go of the idea of perfection and just do what you can.

While it’s fantastic that some people get really into nutrition, this can end up being to the detriment of their mental health if they end up getting too obsessive over which diet is best or what they eat each day. Others struggle with guilt when they don’t adhere to their expectations around what they eat, while some might not bother trying if they don’t feel they’ll ever be ‘perfect.’

Instead, make small, easy changes, as these will build up over time and significantly impact over time.

When it comes to nutrition, doing the best we can do is much better than perfection. So don’t be afraid to start, and find something small to change today.

If you want to connect with Jessica LinkedIn is best and for more resources, the Food and Mood Centre https://foodandmoodcentre.com.au/ is a great place to start. Future Learn free course is an excellent place to start if you need something accessible to everyone.