Exercise, Healthy Eating, Friends and Other Mental Health Shields | Health and Wellness

Not all medications come in syrup or tablet blister packs. Science has shown that following a healthy lifestyle, such as eating a healthy diet, exercising, not smoking and getting good sleep, can prevent cardiovascular disease, cancer, obesity or diabetes, among other diseases. But there is growing evidence that these healthy habits create a protective wall against mental illness. A study from the Hospital del Mar Research Institute shows, for example, that following a healthy diet, such as a Mediterranean diet, reduces the risk of depression by 16%. Other studies reported similar effects of exercise: Those who did more exercise were 21% less likely to develop depression. “Exercise, a balanced diet, avoidance of toxic substances, social support and respect for circadian rhythms are protective factors,” summarizes psychiatrist Victor Perez.

Healthy habits are like a protective wall, helping to avoid symptoms that can lead to complex mental disorders. “The best prevention is to choose the right parents, because the genetic code and zip code are passed on to us by them. But because we can’t do that, we develop all those healthy habits that protect us. They are not preventative; we cannot say that a person who follows a balanced diet does not become depressed. But these factors, when put together, increase protection,” says Perez, head of the psychiatry department at Del Mar Hospital in Barcelona.

The effects of diet on mental health are not the most studied, but there are already several studies that point in the same direction. The latest is a meta-analysis conducted by the Hospital del Mar Research Institute and published in the journal. European Journal of Nutritionwhich assessed the effect of four types of healthy diets (Mediterranean, one vegetarian, one recommended by the World Health Organization, and another to prevent depression) on the risk of developing depression. The study concluded that following any of these diets was a protective factor against depression, with the Mediterranean diet receiving the highest score.

Gabriela Luján, the author of this study, notes that there are several hypotheses that could explain this connection. The first, the so-called gut-brain axis, a bidirectional pathway between the intestinal tract and the central nervous system, may underlie some pathologies. “What we eat affects our microbiome (the ecosystem of microbes that inhabit the gut and contribute to health and disease). From there, nutrients, amino acids, and other molecules are absorbed to produce proteins and neurotransmitters. If this microbiome-gut-brain axis changes, it will affect the development of these pathologies,” Lujan explains.

Another hypothesis, the researcher points out, is related to the role of inflammation. “There is a chain of stress that affects our body,” he says. Perez, who was not involved in Luján’s research, elaborates on this phenomenon and recalls that, for example, depression is a pathology associated with inflammatory processes. In contrast to healthy eating, current Western eating habits, rich in carbohydrates, sugar and ultra-processed foods, contribute to this inflammatory state of the body. In this spirit, a study published last February found that the risk of depression increases sharply when ultra-processed foods exceed 30% of a person’s daily diet.

Experts also emphasize that many of the pathologies closely linked to unhealthy diets are also closely linked to the development of mental health problems. And, like a cascade of events, both eventually become communicating vessels. “Obesity and depression have a bidirectional relationship, with diet being a determinant of body weight and therefore the causal pathway,” Luján cites the example in her study. In a paper published in 2020, Joseph Firth from the University of Manchester also noted that “high glycemic index diets are a risk factor for diabetes, which is often a comorbidity of depression.” And he added: “Although the underlying patterns of pathophysiology (origin) of diabetes and mental illness are different, the shared abnormalities in insulin resistance, brain volume and neurocognitive function in both conditions support the hypothesis that these conditions have an overlapping pathophysiology.”

Joaquim Radua, a psychiatrist at the IDIBAPS Hospital Clinic, also took part in the study, which aimed to develop reliable guidelines for reducing symptoms of anxiety and depression. And after analyzing data from nearly a thousand people, they concluded that avoiding overexposure to stressful news and maintaining a healthy and balanced diet, followed by spending time outdoors and doing exercise, were the behaviors most associated with reducing anxiety and depressive symptoms. . “We saw the greatest benefit from a healthy diet, and anxiety symptoms improved not only in the short term, but also in the long term. The effect is not miraculous, but it may be sufficient for people with minor symptoms,” he explains.

However, the scientific community recognizes that despite evidence suggesting the protective role of a healthy diet, there is still a need to “improve the understanding” of how diet and nutrition affect your brain. In their article, Firth and colleagues remind us that “the causes of mental illness are many and varied, and they often occur and persist independently of nutrition and diet.”

Physical activity and sleep quality

Another healthy habit that can prevent mental disorders is exercise. A review of studies found that adults who engaged in the recommended amount of physical activity had a 25% lower risk of depression; And even those who did half the recommended exercise had an 18% lower risk. Based on the scores of the groups studied in this study, the authors stated: “If the least active adults met current physical activity recommendations, 11.5% of cases of depression could be avoided.”

Sleep quality is another key aspect that affects mental health. “It appears that the amount of time you sleep is not so important, but rather the rhythms, such as when you get up and go to bed at the same time,” notes Perez. A meta-analysis summarizing 50 years of sleep deprivation research found that all forms of sleep loss (total sleep deprivation, partial sleep loss, and sleep fragmentation) cause emotional changes the next day, with the most consistent effects being a decrease in positive mood. and increased levels of anxiety.

The team of researchers from the University of Manchester also highlight that there is already “a significant body of evidence that poor sleep is another key modifiable lifestyle factor, with large-scale meta-analyses showing prospective associations with some mental disorders and MRI studies suggesting a causative role for bipolar disorder.” And they add: “Sleep disorders have been found to significantly increase the risk of suicidal behavior in people living with mental illness.” In fact, a study of 8,000 preteens found that sleep disturbances at age 10 were associated with an increased risk of suicidal thoughts and behavior in the following two years.

The mystery of the neurobiological pathways that explain how and why various lifestyle factors influence health has not yet been solved. But the phenomenon of inflammation and the role of the microbiome are two key points in the influence of a healthy lifestyle. “By following healthy habits, you can prevent some mental illnesses, since stress and inflammation caused by that stress are part of the etiopathology (cause) of many mental disorders. All healthy habits add up, but exercise, healthy interpersonal relationships, healthy eating and good family support are essential,” concludes Marina Díaz Marza, vice-president of the Spanish Society of Psychiatry.

Radua refers to a Latin aphorism Healthy men in healthy bodies: “It is very important to look for new treatments for people suffering from mental disorders. But sometimes we forget about prevention. It may be easier to follow a healthy diet and exercise, which are strategies that are not harmful and beneficial to the body, and we could avoid many cases of mental disorders,” he says.