While many individuals intuitively understand the link between how we fuel and move our bodies and how we feel, the medical community is in the midst of a paradigm shift.

“This mind/body dichotomy that has informed psychiatry for at least the last 50 years or so, we know that is erroneous and is not based on evidence because we are increasingly understanding that the whole body is involved in mental health,” says Professor Felice Jacka, head of the Food and Mood Centre at Deakin University.

“Psychiatry is really starting to understand that we need to get back to treating the whole person, not just bits of their brain.”

Jacka, who is also a Black Dog Institute external fellow, is referring to the mounting evidence that our immune system plays a central role in depression and other mental health problems.

“We’re increasingly understanding that the gut and its resident microbiome has a leading role in prompting immune function and is very much involved in brain health,” she says.

“We have extensive evidence from animal studies, showing when you manipulate diet, you manipulate the function of the hippocampus, which is a key area of the brain involved in learning and memory, but also in mood regulation.”

The hippocampus is a “central target” in antidepressant treatment, but Jacka says the impact on its functioning (as well as the immune system and gut health) through diet and exercise helps to explain their pivotal role in influencing mental health.

In fact, she says, in adults and older adults, the size of the hippocampus is linked to the quality of diet.

“Diet and nutrition are as relevant to brain and mental health as they are to physical health. This should be no surprise because nutrition is fundamental to every process of the body and brain,” says Jacka, whose latest study found that improving the diets of those with major depressive disorder had a “substantial beneficial impact” on their mood.

– Sarah Berry

Read More: Your mental health involves your whole body and starts with diet

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