Tag: Diet

What is the SnackWell Effect?

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Introduction

The SnackWell effect is a phenomenon whereby dieters will eat more low-calorie cookies, such as SnackWells, than they otherwise would for normal cookies.

Outline

Also known as moral license, it is also described as a term for the way people go overboard once they are given a free pass or the tendency of people to overconsume when eating more of low-fat food due to the belief that it is not fattening.

The term, which emerged as a reaction to dietary trends in the 1980s and 1990s, is also used for similar effects in other settings, such as energy consumption, where it is termed the “rebound effect”. For example, according to a 2008 study, people with energy-efficient washing machines wash more clothes. People with energy-efficient lights leave them on longer, and lose 5–12% of the expected energy savings of 80%.

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Book: Orthorexia – When Healthy Eating Goes Bad

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Book Title:

Orthorexia – When Healthy Eating Goes Bad.

Author(s): Renee McGregor.

Year: 2017.

Edition: First (1st).

Publisher: Nourish Books.

Type(s): Paperback and Kindle.

Synopsis:

Can healthy eating become a dangerous obsession?

Orthorexia is an eating disorder that is hard to see. It is not about purging or cutting calories. But by excluding foods in pursuit of a “clean” or ideal diet, it can quickly turn into a compulsion with serious consequences for mental and physical health.

For the first time, dietician, nutritionist and eating disorder campaigner Renee McGregor reveals the true messages behind these dangerous diets. Packed with first-hand experiences and analysis, it provides the tools to guide sufferers back to a balanced, truly healthy way of eating.

Book: Travel Light: A Handbook for Mental Health

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Brain Changer eBook

Book Title:

Travel Light: A Handbook for Mental Health.

Author(s): Linda Margaret.

Year: 2019.

Edition: First (1st).

Publisher: CCS.

Type(s): Paperback and Kindle.

Synopsis:

Linda Cowan is a counsellor/therapist; she has worked at her Private Practice for many years.

Linda has drawn on the experience she has learnt over the years to inspire her to write her new book, ‘Travel Light a Handbook for Mental Health’.

Linda acknowledges that not everyone has access to private therapy (this book is not a substitute for personal therapy) however, it will go a long way to help people understand themselves in a way they have never before. If you are: tormented by anxiety- doubts and self-critical thoughts- stressed and overwhelmed by unhealthy addictive behaviours – weighed down by the mental clutter of unforgiveness, anger and shame.

This book is for you; Whether you have a strong faith or no faith, this book will transform and revolutionise your life. You will learn to find peace in a frantic world.

Book: Brain Changer

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Brain Changer eBook

Book Title:

Brain Changer: How diet can save your mental health – cutting-edge science from an expert.

Author(s): Felice Jacka.

Year: 2019.

Edition: First (1st).

Publisher: Yellow Kite.

Type(s): Paperback, Audiobook, and Kindle.

Synopsis:

A combination of Professor Felice Jacka’s love of food and her own experience of depression and anxiety as a young woman led her to question whether what we put in our mouths everyday affects more than our waistline. Felice set out on a journey of discovery to change the status quo and uncover the truth through rigorous science. Beginning her PhD in 2005, she examined the association between women’s diets and their mental health, focusing on depression and anxiety. She soon discovered – you feel how you eat. It is Professor Jacka’s ground-breaking research that has now changed the way we think about mental and brain health in relation to diet.

Brain Changer explains how and why we should consider our food as the basis of our mental and brain health throughout our lives. It includes a selection of recipes and meal plans featuring ingredients beneficial to mental health. It also includes the simple, practical solutions we can use to help prevent mental health problems in the first place and offers strategies for treating these problems if they do arise.

This is not a diet book to help you on the weight scales. This is a guide to good habits to save your brain and to optimise your mental health through what you eat at every stage of life.

Is there a Relationship between Diet & Mental Health in Children & Adolescents?

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Research Paper Title

Relationship between diet and mental health in children and adolescents: a systematic review.

Background

The researchers systematically reviewed 12 epidemiological studies to determine whether an association exists between diet quality and patterns and mental health in children and adolescents; 9 explored the relationship using diet as the exposure, and 3 used mental health as the exposure.

They found evidence of a significant, cross-sectional relationship between unhealthy dietary patterns and poorer mental health in children and adolescents.

They observed a consistent trend for the relationship between good-quality diet and better mental health and some evidence for the reverse.

When including only the 7 studies deemed to be of high methodological quality, all but 1 of these trends remained.

Findings highlight the potential importance of the relationship between dietary patterns or quality and mental health early in the life span.

Reference

O’Neil, A., Quirk, S.E., Housden, S.E.Q., Brennan, S.L., Williams, L.J., Pasco, J.A., Berk. M. & Jacka, F.N. (2020) Relationship between diet and mental health in children and adolescents: a systematic review. American Journal of Public Health. 104(10), pp.e31-42. doi: 10.2105/AJPH.2014.302110.

What is the Effect of Nutrition on Mental HEalth?

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Research Paper Title

The Effect of Nutrition on Mental Health: A Focus on Inflammatory Mechanisms.

Background

Neuropsychiatric disorders are closely associated with a persistent low-grade inflammatory state.

This suggests that the development of psychopathology is not only limited to the brain, but rather involves an additional systemic aspect, accounting for the large body of evidence demonstrating co-presentation of mental illness with chronic inflammatory conditions and metabolic syndromes.

Studies have shown that inflammatory processes underlie the development of neuropsychiatric symptoms, with recent studies revealing not only correlative, but causative relationships between the immune system and psychopathology.

Lifestyle factors such as diet and exercise may influence psychopathology, and this may occur via a bidirectional relationship.

Mental illness may prevent health-seeking behaviours such as failing to maintain a balanced diet, whilst adopting a ‘healthy’ diet rich in fruits, vegetables and fish alongside nutritional supplementation correlates with a reduction in psychiatric symptoms in patients.

Obesity and the gut microbiome have proven to be further factors which play an important role in inflammatory signalling and the development of psychiatric symptoms.

In a related paper the authors focus on the role of exercise (another significant lifestyle factor) on mental health (Venkatesh et al. 2020).

Conclusions

Lifestyle modifications which target diet and nutrition may prove therapeutically beneficial for many patients, especially in treatment-resistant subgroups.

The current evidence base provides equivocal evidence, however future studies will prove significant, as this is a highly attractive therapeutic avenue, due to its cost efficacy, low side effect profile and preventative potential.

By promoting lifestyle changes and addressing the limitations and barriers to adoption, these therapies may prove revolutionary for mental health conditions.

Reference

Edirappuli, S.D., Venkatesh, A. & Zaman, R. (2020) The Effect of Nutrition on Mental Health: A Focus on Inflammatory Mechanisms. Psychiatria Danubina. 32(Suppl 1), pp.114-120.

Book: Brian Changer: How Diet can Save your Mental Health

Published on by Andrew MarshallLeave a comment

Book Title: Brain Changer: How diet can save your mental health – cutting-edge science from an expert.

Author(s): Professor Felice Jacka.

Year: 2019.

Edition: First.

Publisher: Yellow Kite.

Synopsis:

A combination of Professor Felice Jacka’s love of food and her own experience of depression and anxiety as a young woman led her to question whether what we put in our mouths everyday affects more than our waistline. Felice set out on a journey of discovery to change the status quo and uncover the truth through rigorous science. Beginning her PhD in 2005, she examined the association between women’s diets and their mental health, focusing on depression and anxiety. She soon discovered – you feel how you eat. It is Professor Jacka’s ground-breaking research that has now changed the way we think about mental and brain health in relation to diet.

Brain Changer explains how and why we should consider our food as the basis of our mental and brain health throughout our lives. It includes a selection of recipes and meal plans featuring ingredients beneficial to mental health. It also includes the simple, practical solutions we can use to help prevent mental health problems in the first place and offers strategies for treating these problems if they do arise.

This is not a diet book to help you on the weight scales. This is a guide to good habits to save your brain and to optimise your mental health through what you eat at every stage of life.

Is Protein Intake Associated with Cognitive Functioning in Individuals with Psychiatric Disorders?

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Research Paper Title

Protein intake is associated with cognitive functioning in individuals with psychiatric disorders.

Background

Schizophrenia and bipolar disorder are associated with reduced cognitive functioning which contributes to problems in day-to-day functioning and social outcomes.

A paucity of research exists relating dietary factors to cognitive functioning in serious mental illnesses, and results are inconsistent.

The study aims to describe the nutritional intake of persons with schizophrenia and those with a recent episode of acute mania and to determine relationships between the intake of protein and other nutrients on cognitive functioning in the psychiatric sample.

Methods

Persons with schizophrenia and those with acute mania were assessed using a 24-h dietary recall tool to determine their intakes of protein and other nutrients.

They were also assessed with a test battery measuring different domains of cognitive functioning. Results indicate that lower amounts of dietary protein intake were associated with reduced cognitive functioning independent of demographic and clinical factors.

Results

The association was particularly evident in measures of immediate memory and language.

There were not associations between cognitive functioning and other nutritional variables, including total energy, gluten, casein, saturated fat, or sugar intakes.

Conclusions

The impact of dietary interventions, including protein intake, on improving cognitive functioning in individuals with psychiatric disorders warrants further investigation.

Reference

Dickerson, F., Gennusa, J.V. 3rd, Stallings, C., Origoni, A., Katsafanas, E., Sweeney, K., Campbell, W.W. & Yolken, R. (2019) Protein intake is associated with cognitive functioning in individuals with psychiatric disorders. Psychiatry Research. doi: 10.1016/j.psychres.2019.112700. [Epub ahead of print].