Thirty-one members of our Club attended the Zoom meeting on Tuesday, 8 September during which we had a most enlightening talk from Rachel Arthur on the impact of good nutrition on mental well being
Rachel is a respected and widely published naturopath and registered nutritionist specialising in integrative nutrition, with a special interest in diagnostics.
With over 20 years’ experience in both the clinic and the classroom, Rachel is considered a leading nutritional educator, delivering post-graduate training and mentoring to naturopaths, doctors and allied health care professionals alike.
Regularly invited to speak at medical conferences, Rachel’s work helps build a stronger bridge between conventional & nutritional medicine inspiring all health professionals & their patients to walk that bridge, for best health outcomes.
Rachel commenced by pointing out that some observational studies had found that adhering to a healthy diet, in particularly a traditional Mediterranean diet, and avoiding a pro-inflammatory diet appears to confer some protection against depression.
The following were among the many interesting points made by Rachel:
- The most effective components of dietary interventions for depression involved reducing the intake of junk foods (high fat, high sugar and takeaway) and replacing them with high fibre, nutrient dense alternatives such as vegetables.
- Polyphenols from coloured fruit and vegetables, grains and pulses and pre or probiotics from fibrous or fermented foods create a healthy microbiome in the gut.
- Gut probiotics play a major role in the bidirectional communication between the gut and the brain.
- The human brain is mainly made from fat and is rich in cholesterols
- Vitamins and minerals in the correct dosage provide overall assistance.
- In medical patients psychiatric symptoms occur more frequently and are more severe in cases where a person has a folate deficiency.
- SAMe (S-adenosylmethionine - effective Stand Alone or Adjunctive Agent in Major Depression Disorder) have comparable efficacy at least with pharmaceutical antidepressants.
- A shift towards higher plant for, 'primary' over processed & microbiome friendly food choices has the potential to both prevent and improve mental health conditions.
- More targeted nutritional interventions can be as simple as accurate identification and correction of nutrient deficiencies (such as Omega 3 [from fish], folate and others) and avoiding too much Omega 6 (from animal fat).
The Club thanks Rachel for her very interesting talk which was greatly appreciated by members who followed it up with a large number of questions.
Rachel Arthur