A high-quality diet helps: 
- Regulate the gut microbiota 
- Reduce stress and inflammation in the brain 
- Maintain proper cognitive function throughout life

To diversify the gut microbiome, researchers suggest:
- Diets enriched in omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids, eicosapentaenoic acid, docosahexaenoic acid, and docosapentaenoic acid and vitamin A 
- High fiber diets 
- Mediterranean diets
- Consuming fermented foods

Diet & the Gut Microbiome

- Evidence points to a critical interaction between microbiota in pre natal and postnatal environments and the risk for psychiatric disorders later in life
- Data has identified it as a key player in responses to stress and affective disorders (ex. anxiety, depression and cognition)
- Important for serotonin metabolization
- Also impacts disorders such as ADHD, autism spectrum disorders and anorexia nervosa

Saint Louis University

The brain's composition, structure and ability to function, are dependent on the availability of appropriate nutrients: including lipids, amino acids, vitamins and minerals. Therefore, food intake and quality have an impact on brain function, which makes diet a modifiable variable to target mental health, mood and cognitive performance.

Likewise, endogenous gut hormones, neuropeptides, neurotransmitters, and the gut microbiota, are affected directly by the composition of one's diet

Role of Nutrition Regarding the Brain & Body

Adan, R. A., van der Beek, E. M., Buitelaar, J. K., Cryan, J. F., Hebebrand, J., Higgs, S., ... & Dickson, S. L. (2019). Nutritional psychiatry: Towards improving mental health by what you eat. European Neuropsychopharmacology, 29(12), 1321-1332.

Nutrition Psychiatry: Towards Improving Mental Health by What You Eat

A personalization of nutrition for mental health should take early life development into account. Any effects of nutritional intervention during the period of early brain growth (from conception until 2 years of age) may have a larger impact on later health than do later interventions.

Nutrition's Role in Early Cognition

- A higher diet quality in adult life has been associated with a reduced risk of cognitive decline
- The intake of antioxidant polyphenols in the elderly is associated with improved cognitive abilities
- A Mediterranean diet supplemented with olive oil and nuts is associated with improved cognitive function 

Healthy Diet & Later Cognition

- Obesity is associated with hippocampal dysfunction and episodic memory deficits in humans 
- Studies in rodents have also linked obesity with hippocampal dependent cognitive impairment 
- A strategy to cope with stress appears to involve increased consumption of a high fat diet, as it has antidepressant and anxiolytic effects 
- But, this diet in the longer term carries the risk of becoming obese which is associated with decreased cognitive functioning and mood disorders

Obesity & Cognition

Role of the Gut Microbiome

- Iron deficiency is the most common nutritional deficiency
- It's early manifestation can alter sleep structure
  - Structural abnormalities may persist years after it has been cured


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