MindTribe Explains Nutritional Psychiatry: How Food Impacts Your Mental Health

MindTribe Explains Nutritional Psychiatry: How Food Impacts Your Mental Health

I’m Sudi Kar and I’ll be the host for today’s workshop. Uh I work as a psychologist at Mind Tribe and I’m just glad to be a part of this workshop today that you all are joining. Um with me I have u Yadi who will be co-hosting the workshop with me. So Yadi would you like to introduce yourself? Sure. Um, good afternoon everyone. I’m Yatri. I’m your co-host for today and I’ll just be explaining a few of the ground rules for the workshop. First of all, kindly keep your videos off. This is a strictly videos of meat. If you’d like to ask something or if you’d like to say something, you can put in your responses or questions in the chat box or you can raise your hand and only then open your mic. Also this presentation is the intellectual property of mind tribe. So kindly refrain from taking any screenshots and let’s just ensure that this is a very safe and non-threatening space. Thank you. Thank you so much for that. Uh so let’s begin with our workshop for today. So as you can see the topic is nutritional psychiatry. So let’s begin with it. Okay. Now let me take you down on a memory lane for you. So um do you guys remember ever your parents or your grandparents telling you to have almonds before an exam or to drink turmeric milk if you were feeling low or weak? Has it ever happened? You remember any such incident? Or maybe you know taking or having a sweet curd before uh going for an exam. You can just give a thumbs up if you remember having such experiences. Yes. Okay. Yeah. So a lot of you do remember having such experiences. Great. So you know this wisdom that wasn’t just tradition. It was actually backed by science that we’ve only started to understand deeply now. You know for example almonds which you know we were suggested to take before a few days before our exams. They’re actually rich in healthy fats and vitamin E which is great for brain function and memory. Saffron or queser, it contains compounds that have mood boosting properties and anti-depressant properties. Turmeric or haldi, it is curcumin which is a very powerful anti-inflammatory and that you know it supports your brain health and it reduces anxiety and depression. When we talk about having green leafy vegetables like spinach and matey, these are full of B vitamins and iron which you know is very important for emotional balance and energy. Now even you know a lot of times you might have also seen your parents maybe insisting you on having a spoon of ghee. Well, ghee in moderation it supports gut health and it helps to improve the absorption of fat soluble vitamins and it helps to nourish your brains. So you see our elders may not have used some terms like serotonin or gut brain axis but they intuitively knew what modern science is now proving that you know what we eat has a direct impact on how we feel. So nutritional psychiatry which is our topic for today it is simply bringing back that ancient wisdom with the backing of neuroscience and evidence-based research. All right. Okay. Now let us move to the next slide. What exactly is nutritional psychiatry? Uh would anybody want like to give a guess or maybe just share your uh you know thoughts on the chat box? Uh Ana is asking will this workshop be available on available on YouTube? Yes, it will be uploaded on YouTube. So don’t worry about that. Yeah. So, anybody would like to give a guess on what exactly nutrition psychiatry is? Yes. Eating healthy nutritional food. Okay. Great. More guesses like you can just break down the word, right? There are it’s near two words, nutrition and psychiatry. So, what’s the correlation? What do you think it is in the most simple way? Hm. It da says it looks it looks at how we eat influences our mood, emotional behavior, risk of mental ill mental illness is perfect. Ana says food affects mind. Uh mind affect eating habits. Absolutely. Diksha says eating with balance and avoiding emotional eating. Beautiful. Very very well said. Uh Kina says healthy food habits to deal with mental health issues. Perfect. Tony says nutrition and mental health relationship. Absolutely. It’s the relationship between a mental health and nutrition. Okay. Healthy gut leads to healthy brain. Absolutely. Okay. So all of you have given pretty you know to the point answers about what nutritional psychiatry is. uh well if I have to describe it in a bit more technical term or in a very you know easy to understandable way as well it is you know a new and evolving field that explores how the food we eat affects our mood our emotions our well-being uh psychiatric conditions like anxiety depression ADHD and much more so as a lot of you have uh you know put your answers in the chat box it’s basically that okay so you know we all know the saying that you are what you eat. When we talk about nutritional psychiatry, it takes it a bit further and it says you feel how you eat, right? So, when you take whole nutrient-rich food that supports the production of neurotransmitters like serotonin, dopamine, these regulate your mood. But when you have a lot of highly processed food, a lot of sugary food that can lead to inflammation in the brain affecting your focus, affecting your energy level, affecting your stability. Right? So in the most simple words, nutritional psychiatry studies how our brain and gut are connected and how our daily food choices can support or sabotage our mental health. So this field is all about learning how to nourish the mind by nourishing the body. Okay. So everyone is giving pretty uh good and to the point answers about what nutritional psychiatry is. So great job guys. Um okay now let’s talk about why is it so important to talk about food habits when thinking about mental health. Uh because you know when we talk about mental health the first thing that comes to our mind is usually therapy or maybe medication or some mindfulness practice right. So why do you think it is important to talk about food habits when we are talking about mental well-being or mental health? Anybody would like to give a guess on why is that so? Just maybe share your answers or thoughts in the chat box. Yes, Dja Priya says very correctly that food affects our mood and in turn our mood affects our actions too. Perfect. Rani says food healthy food regulates our mood totally. Huda says it is important because nowadays many things are mixed in regular food and that affects us barely. True. Very true. Uh okay. So you know it’s very much uh correct with what you guys have guessed about why is it so important to talk about food habits when talking about mental health. Uh Ro says stress and emotion affects food habits. Yes, physical fitness and fat loss totally. Uh Vani Priya talks about stress eating again something very much related to mental health. Totally. Uh right. Nana says it helps break the cycle of poor diet and poor mental health. Mental mental illnesses can worsen eating habits and poor eating habits can worsen mental health. Right? It’s like a cycle. So correctly pointed out says it’s because by balancing food it’s important to be healthy and mental stress. Okay, great job guys. So, okay, let’s discuss about why is it actually so important to talk about our food habits when we’re talking about our mental health and emotional health. So, as I said, you know, in today’s world, when we talk about mental health, we often talk we often think about therapy and medication, right? And of course, all those things are very important, but one key pillar that often gets overlooked is our nutrition, right? Now, let’s think about it. Our brain is like you know it’s an organ just like our heart like our lungs right and just like any other organ our brain also needs the right fuel to function at its best. So all our thoughts, emotions, our concentration levels, memory, mood, they are all affected by what we eat because that is the fuel of our the food we eat, that’s the fuel of our brain, right? So that is why our food habits matter because firstly food directly impacts the brain chemistry. The nutrients that are used to make brain chemicals like serotonin which is the you know happy hormone, the dopamine, these all regulate our mood, right? And secondly, you know, poor food choices can increase inflammation. So chronic inflammation is now known to be linked to depression and anxiety, right? And then thirdly, your gut and your brain are connected. So when your gut is upset, your mind often feels the two. That is why we say gut feeling, right? We say, “No, I’m having a gut feeling of so and so.” Because actually in reality our gut and brain are kind of really connected through the gut brain axis which we will talk about in a while. So you know even simple food habits like eating a little bit of more green leafy vegetables every day, adding on some healthy fats, reducing your junk food can make some real difference in how we feel emotionally. So next time when we are thinking about improving our mental health, let’s not forget to check in with our kitchen too. All right. Okay. Now let’s talk about how our diet influence our mind and our body. So let’s explore this powerful truth that what we eat doesn’t just shape our body, it also shapes our brain. So when we talk about diet, we usually think about weight, fitness or physical health, right? But diet is also equally important for our mental and emotional well-being. And how does it influence our body and our mind? Well, when we talk about our body, well, food is the fuel. It gives energy to the body. It supports immunity. It builds every cell in your body. So, a good diet will help you with better sleep, more stamina, clearer skin, better digestion. But most importantly, it also helps reduce inflammation, which is linked to a lot of mood disorders and even physical uh diseases. Right? Then talking about our mind now our brain needs specific nutrients to function well. For example, omega-3 fatty acids are known for you know better memory and focus. B vitamins are known to prevent low mood and brain fog. Magnesium is known to kind of calm down your anxiety. So this is how you know there are certain nutrients that help your brain to function well. And then talking about your gut which you know where 90% of your serotonin is made that communicates directly with the brain through the gut brain axis. So serotonin by the way is a neurotransmitter which is basically known as the happy hormone. It is what contributes in making you feel happy. Right? So that’s why you know a poor diet can lead to brain fog. It can lead to mood swings. It can lead to anxiety and even depression. Right? not okay nutrition might not be the only factor which leads to it but it is also a major factor which plays a good amount of role in how we feel emotionally. So in short we can say that you know a clean balanced diet creates a clear calmer mind while a lot of having a lot of processed sugary food can cloud both your like your brain as well your body right so the next time when we sit down to eat it’s not just about feeding your body it’s also about nourishing your mind okay now let’s go to the next slide now this is what we will you know discuss in kind of a bit more detail okay slowly and slowly about brain growth and development nutrient deficiency inflammation your gut microbiome hydration some endogenous gut hormones and neurotransmitters all right so let us kind of go uh one by one to each of these okay now let us talk about brain growth and development so the brain needs nutrients and vitamins to grow appropriate appropriately and that can be you know obtained through our diet. So from infancy to childhood our brain needs a steady supply of nutrients and vitamins to grow to develop to function well and that would include things like omega-3 fatty acids for your brain structure you know iron for a good oxygen supply and all of these comes directly from what we eat these are not produced in the body in large amounts. So you know our body doesn’t produce all these. So we need to obtain them through majorly through our diet. So that is why you know kids who eat balanced diet nutrient-rich diets they tend to have better focus. They have a better learning ability and a better emotional regulation as well. And similarly for adults when we talk about adults it helps them with mental clarity with better memory and with stress resilience. That is resilience towards stressful conditions. Okay, then let’s talk about nutrient deficiency. Now, you know, when nutrients are missing, our mental health kind of begins to suffer. For example, B vitamins, especially B12 and B6, they’re needed for making serotonin and dopamine. And lower levels of these neurotransmitters like serotonin and dopamine, they can lead to mood swings. They can lead to fatigue. They can also lead to depression. So you know vitamin D deficiency has been strongly linked with depression and anxiety especially you know with people who don’t get a lot of sunlight you know sunlight is you know we get a lot of vitamin D through sunlight so that is how the correlation has been seen now these deficiencies are more common than we realize especially you know with our busy lifestyle with our skipped meals with having so much of processed food we don’t realize that you know we are having all these deficiency in us. So, nourishing the brain is not just about eating more. It is about eating right. Okay? And we will discuss uh you know in detail about nutrients where we get them from what food to have for which nutrient. So don’t worry we’ll get into the details of that as well. I’m just giving you a brief about the uh you know some of the things we need to some of the terms we need to know when we talk about nutritional psychiatry. Okay. Now let’s talk about inflammation. Now foods that are high in sugar in you know refined carbs, unhealthy fats and processed ingredients, they can trigger inflammation in the body and you know but this isn’t just about swollen joints or skin flare-ups. Inflammation can also affect the brain and when the brain is inflamed it is more prone to depression, anxiety, low energy, brain fog and that is the reason why you know when diet is when your diet is full of junk food that can leave you feeling not just physically tired but it also makes you feel emotionally heavy and anti-inflammatory food like you know turmeric or haldi berries green leafy vegetables these all things even seeds they can help calm both the body as well as the mind. Right? Okay. Now, let’s talk about gut microbiome. You know, your gut is like your second brain. The gut is called the second brain of your body. Why? Because it contains trillions of bacteria that plays a huge role in digesting food, producing neurotransmitter like serotonin, regulating the immune system and also influencing our stress response and our mood. So you know when your gut is happy your brain tends to be more balanced but when your gut flora is off due to let’s say poor diet or stress it can affect your emotional stability and your mental clarity as well. So you know when you take a lot of um you know probiotic rich foods like cur or fermented pickles and a lot of prebiotics like garlic and bananas and oats that supports the microbiome and it helps to improve your mental wellness. Now we will go into detail about what probiotics and prebiotics are. So don’t worry. Okay. Um so you know if you want to support your mind you can start by nourishing your gut and reducing inflammation. And this connection is you know stronger than we think. Okay. All right. Let’s move on to the next part. Okay. Now let’s talk about some gut hormones and neurotransmitters first. So you know uh around 90% of serotonin the chemical responsible for our mood and happiness and emotional regulation 90% of that hormone is produced actually in the gut and not in the brain. Right? It might come as a surprising fact to a lot of you but yes 90% of serotonin is produced in your gut and the gut and the brain communicates through what we call as the gutb brain axis. So gut brain axis is like a two-way channel through which the gut bacteria influences the brain behavior and the brain affects how our gut functions. So it’s a two-way channel. Okay. So you know when we feed our gut with the right foods like fiber, fermented food, colorful vegetables, we support the production of neurotransmitters like serotonin which is responsible for mood. uh it also helps production of neurotransmitters like dopamine which is you know responsible for uh the levels of motivation you have right so in simple words a happy gut is equal to a happy mind all right okay now let’s talk about hydration now water might seem very basic but it is the foundational uh uh step for mental clarity and emotional stability why you may ask because water helps to maintain maintain the communication between your brain cells, right? It helps to flush out toxins that may impair your mental function and it also helps to transport nutrients effectively to the brain. So, you know, even if you have a mild level of dehydration that can lead you to feel tired you know it can lead to fatigue, it can lead to brain fog, it can lead to irritability, it can lead to you know having difficulty in concentrating as well. So hydration isn’t just about glowing skin. It’s also about well functioning mind too. And since we’re talking about hydration, I would really encourage you all to take a moment and have a sip of water if you have it uh besides you. Right? So let’s just not neglect water as we usually do and make sure that you know we are hydrated at all times. Okay. All right. Now let us move to the next slide. We have a little case study here. So this case study is about um a 30-year-old software engineer Rohan and like many young professionals Rohan had a very demanding job. He had you know a long working hours, high stress levels and he had been experiencing you know moderate depression and anxiety you know some symptoms like low mood, persistent worrying, lack of motivation. So Rohan was already seeing a therapist and taking medication which did help him to some extent but not completely. His symptoms would come and go and he didn’t feel like he was making the kind of progress that he had hoped for. Now seeing his u seeing this his psychiatrist suggested something that not a lot of people consider right away. The psychiatrist recommended Rohan to visit a nutritional psychiatrist. All right. So if you want you can take a moment to read the case study and you can give me a thumbs up you know if we can move to the next slide if you’re done reading. Okay great let us then move on to the next slide. Okay. So now during the consultation with the nutritional psychiatrist, they took a deep dive into Rohan’s diet and lifestyle habits. And here’s what they found. They found that Rohan’s diet was high in processed food, in sugary food, you know, and a lot of unhealthy fats. He very frequently consumed fast food, packaged snacks and sugary drinks which you know a lot of times when we are working we don’t have time for home-cooked meals or having healthier food. So we do rely on a lot of packaged food on a lot of processed food. So that is exactly what was happening with Rohan as well. So you know at the same time his you know his diet was very much low in fresh fruits, leafy vegetables, lean proteins and whole grains. the very food that supports healthy brain and emotional stability. And also his hydration levels were also seemed to be you know suboptimal which may sound minor but even mild dehydration can actually affect your mood and energy and your focus level. So you know here we have a person Rohan who is doing everything right on paper right he’s you know going to therapy he’s taking medication but he’s still feeling stuck so what is the missing link here it’s nutrition right so once Rohan starts making gradual uh improvements in his diet he might be able to see some change right okay so now I have a question for you all. What do you think can be done or what do you think can be improved to you know help Rohan have a better mental health here? Any suggestion? There’s no wrong or right answer in it. You know the the case study is very much similar to a lot of our lifestyles as well. So you might take your own example or you might take Rohan’s example and just suggest what you feel could be done a little bit of tiny step that might help him improve his condition. Yes. Cut down on sugar and processed food. Eating healthier food. Yes. Drinking water and food when he’s hungry instead of relying on junk food. Absolutely. Drinking lots of water. Yes, exactly. You you all are completely right. Um yeah, eat raw foods like nuts, cereals totally include green leafy vegetables. Yes, I think a planned diet like eating healthy breakfast and then a little break for hydrated watery food, lunch, then dinner but to actually eating after small breaks to remain healthy. Perfect. on base uh make the body hydrated drinking lots of water preparing home-cooked food as well as eating fruits chewing food properly that’s also very important so yes you all are absolutely correct you know’s diet was as we all can see it was high in processed food low in nutrients and it lacked hydration so that was you know likely playing a major role in maintaining the inflammation which was disturbing ing his gut health and even you know impacting the production of you know some key neurotransmitters like serotonin which is the neurotransmitter responsible for making us happy right so now you all have definitely kind of very well able to point out what was going on with uh Rohan so you know we can see that nutritional psychiatry is not about replacing therapy or medication it is about enhancing treatment by addressing what we so often overlook that is the food that we eat every single day. Okay. Now let’s talk about what kind of food does the brain and body like. Before I say anything, I want you all to give a guess. What do you think? What what does our brain and body like to have? I’m not talking about what we like to have in terms of our taste buds but what does our brain like to have in terms of you know maintaining uh helping it be healthy and steady. So what do you think the kind of food is that our body likes? Glucose. Okay. Yes. Fiber is very important. Fresh vitamins, minerals, very very very correct. Protein rich diet extremely important. Protein and mineral rich. Yes. Okay. Anything else? Balanced nutrition, hydration, good sleep, movement, sunlight. Perfect. Water rich. Yes. cold foods very important. Okay. So you all are again you know giving perfect answers. So now now let’s just talk about this very topic because it’s very important you know what kind of food does our brain and body actually like. Now think of your brain like a high performance machine. So just like a car needs the right fuel to run smoothly, your brain also needs the right nutrients to function at its best. So you know not just emotionally but also cognitively and physically. So you know our body and our brain loves foods that are rich in for example omega-3 fatty acids which is found in flax seeds, in walnuts, in chia seeds. So that supports your brain health, right? Omega-3 fat uh fatty acids. Then our body and brain also loves to have antioxidants. Where are antioxidants found? It’s found in berries. It’s found in dark chocolate. It’s found in green leafy vegetables. Now what does antioxidants do? They protect our brain cells from damage. Right? So very important to make sure that our food is rich in antioxidants. Now our body and brain also likes complex carbs. Okay? And we’re talking about healthy carbs, right? So for example, oats, brown rice, quinoa, these provide us steady energy. So carbs are important. They give us steady energy. Just the right kind of carbs, right? Then we talk about fiber. Fiber coming from fruits, vegetables, you know, roughage basically, uh legumes. So these are very crucial for your gut health and you know which we now know that is connected to our brain that our gut is connected to our brain. Then we have also talked about hydration. Hydration when we talk about that we talk about hydrating fluids like not just water but it could also be coconut water. It could be your herbal teas you know even you know if you take things like you know food like cucumber it is also you know very much hydrating for your body right. So these things you know hydrating fluids and hydrating food they help to keep your brain cells communicating clearly right then we have our B vitamins and vitamin D which is very important for mental clarity for stable mood and for your you know proper cognitive function for you for you to be able to think clearly and then finally protein like a lot of you have mentioned right protein whether it’s coming from tofu lentil paneer, nuts, they, you know, help with neurotransmitter production. So very much important. So just to sum up, we can see that you know the brain loves natural, colorful, unprocessed food. All of food, you know, all of the foods I’ve mentioned, they all are unprocessed, right? So food that nourishes both your gut and your mind. So when we feed our body with these kind of whole foods, we are not just supporting our physical health but we are actively boosting our mental well-being too. All right. Okay. Okay. Now let’s talk about some of the interventions. So you know now that we understand what kind of food the brain and body likes, let’s explore how we can you know practically bring these foods into our daily lives. So this you know this is where these interventions come in. So first we see it’s fruits and vegetables very basic right. So a diet which is rich in fruits and vegetables it ensures that our body gets antioxidants fibers our body is getting you know all the micronutrients that is needed for our brain to function properly. So colorful veggies and fruits they help to reduce inflammation and to support mental clarity. So you can think of spinach rich in antioxidant, berries, bell peppers, apples. These are nature’s multivitamins. Okay, which is coming from these fruits and vegetables. After that we have probiotic and prebiotic food. Now we know that our gut and brain are very deeply connected through the gut brain axis that we have already discussed. Now probiotics like curd, fermented pickles, they promote healthy gut bacteria. They are responsible for promoting healthy gut bacteria. All these probiotics and then prebiotics like you know uh onion, garlic, oats, these feed those good gut bacteria. So probiotics are promoting healthy gut bacteria. Okay, they’re producing healthy gut bacteria and prebiotics are helping to feed those good healthy bacteria. So together these keep our gut microbiome balanced which supports mood and reduces our anxiety. All right. So this was about probiotic and prebiotic rich food. Now foods which are rich in various vitamins and nutrients. So this would include your B vitamins, vitamin D, iron, magnesium, zinc. All of these you know play a very important or major role in your energy level, mood, focus and even sleep. So you know a deficiency in any of these nutrient can actually directly impact your uh emotional well-being. Okay. And then we have superfoods. Now what are superfoods? Superfoods are nutrientdense foods like chia seeds, flax seeds, walnuts, amla, turmeric, dark chocolate. So you take all these in small quantities but they are rich in mental health benefits. So they fight your stress levels. They f you know they help to boost serotonin and they help to support memory. All right. In addition to those we have complex carbohydrates. We have fatty acids. We have antioxidants. Yeah. So superfoods generally uh these are Yeah. Superfoods are foods that are nutrients dense. They are, you know, dense in nutrients like you know chia seeds, flax seeds, walnuts, amla, uh haldi, you know again even dark chocolate as I mentioned what they do you take them in small quantities. You don’t take a lot of haldi, right? Only a pinch, right? You don’t take a lot of amla in one go. You eat them in smaller quantities. flax seeds and all these stuffs. You have them in smaller quantities, walnuts, all these things, right? But they are very much rich in providing you with great mental health benefits. They help to fight stress. They help to boost the serotonin levels and they also help in supporting good uh memory. All right. Okay. Uh so apart from that we also focus on complex carbohydrates, fatty acids and antioxidants. So complex carbohydrates you can get them from brown rice, oats, sweet potatoes. So they provide you with sustained energy and they stabilize your blood sugar which keeps your mood steady. Then fatty acids especially omega-3 fatty acids which are found again in walnuts, flax seeds, chia seeds. They are very crucial for brain structure and reducing you know depression symptoms. Then antioxidants as we have already discussed they fight stress in the brain. You will find them in foods like berries, green tea and green leafy vegetables. So antioxidants they help to you know prevent your brain cells from being damaged. So very important to have antioxidant rich foods as well. Okay. Now these are some of the probiotic rich food. Now I have discussed about what probiotics do. Can anyone you know type in chat box and let me know what probiotics are? Yes, good and fermented pickles. But what they exactly are? What do they do? Absolutely. They promote healthy gut. And how do they promote healthy gut? They produce healthy gut bacteria. So perfect guys, good job. Okay, so yes, Kitika helps create good gut bacteria. Absolutely great. Okay, so these are some of the probiotic rich foods. So you know, yogurt, dosa, idli, you know, fermented foods, kimchi, misho, misho is also a good source of proteins. So having misho soup, kombucha, pickles, traditional buttermilk, these all are good probiotic rich food that we can take. Okay. Now let’s talk about prebiotic. I also discussed about what prebiotic does. So anyone wants to uh you know type down in the chat box what prebiotics do. Great job, John Chandri. They feed the healthy gut bacteria that is produced by probiotics. Absolutely. Great job. So, yes. So, probiotics, they promote healthy gut bacteria and prebiotics, they help to feed those, you know, healthy good uh bacteria. And where do you get those uh prebiotic rich foods from? So, you know, they they come in, you know, from various kinds of food. So that garlic, you know, apples, flax seeds, asparagus, onion, cocoa, oat milk. So these are all your uh prebiotic uh rich foods that you can have. All right. Okay. Now let us move to the next slide. Let’s talk about some of the benefits of probiotics and prebiotics in a little more detail. So now that you know we have discussed the kind of foods that our body and brain loves, let’s take a little more you know let’s dive a little deeper into these two powerful dietary components probiotics and prebiotics and how they support our mental well-being. So again let me just you know briefly tell you what prebiotics and probiotics are. So probiotics are live beneficial bacteria. So these are the good guys that helps to keep our gut healthy. Okay. And prebiotics are the fibers and compounds that feed these good bacteria. So together they build a strong and balanced gut microbiome which directly communicates with our brain. So the first benefit you can see reduce anxiety, stress, depression, mood imbalance. So you know multiple studies have shown that improving gut health through probiotics and prebiotics can calm down the nervous system lower your chronic stress and reduce symptoms of depression and anxiety. And this happens because a healthy gut reduces inflammation and enhances the neurotransmitter activity which is you know the brain’s chemical messaging. Okay. The next benefit is that it helps increase serotonin. So I have already mentioned this that you know 90% of the serotonin which is the feel-good hormone is actually produced in the gut and not the brain. So if you have a nourished gut microbiome that will help to boost your serotonin levels and thus help to improve mood, emotional balance and even your sleep quality. Isn’t that great? That how you know having a healthy gut can actually make you happy and help you live a happier life. All right. Then the third benefit is reduce cortisol. So cortisol is our primary stress hormone and you know it is chronically elevated. You know when you have a chronically elevated cortisol level that can lead to burnout or poor focus and emotional dysregulation. So probiotics and prebiotics they help to reduce the cortisol production which helps the brain to feel more calm and emotionally present. So you know next time when we think about mental health let’s also talk about or think about our gut health. So the better we nourish our inner ecosystem the better our mind can function. So this is the heart of nutritional psychiatry treating our mind through the gut. Right? Okay. Let us move to the next slide. Okay. Now let’s talk about some of the nutrients and vitamins. We talked about prebiotics and probiotics. Let’s talk about nutrients and vitamins. So, uh let’s start with zinc. Now, zinc plays a crucial role in regulating neurotransmitter function and brain signaling. So, low level of zinc has been linked to increased anxiety, depression and even poor memory. So, it also supports you know when you take food with an adequate amount of zinc in your diet, it helps support immune system and reduce inflammation in your body which impacts your mental health. And where do you get these um you know where do you get zinc from? You get them from pumpkin seeds, you get them from cashews, from chickpeas or chanas, from dairy, from you know dairy like paneer, curd, from whole grain foods. So that’s where you get a lot of your zinc from. Then let’s talk about magnesium. Now when we talk about mag magnesium you might be knowing that you know it’s often called the nature’s calming mineral because magnesium helps to relax the nervous system and help to support stress regulation in your body. So it’s especially beneficial for those dealing with anxiety or sleep problems or restlessness. So magnesium is really helpful for those. So many people today are unknowingly defi deficient in magnesium due to so much of processed diet that they are having. Now where do you get magnesium from? So Pritika said bananas well you get magnesium from bananas. Uh so you know uh bananas are there. There are dark chocolate where you get your magnesium from almonds and peanuts. even you know spinach or palak very much rich in magnesium right then let’s talk about omega-3 fatty acids I have a couple of times mentioned omega-3 fatty acids let’s see a bit more in detail what it does so omega-3 fatty acids they are the essential fats found in food like flax seeds walnuts chia seeds and they support the brain structure they reduce inflammation they improve communication between brains cells and study shows that you know omega-3s can significantly improve symptoms of depression, ADHD and cognitive decline. Now where do you get that from? Where do you get your omega3 from? Again as mentioned from walnut, flax seed, chia seed. Apart from that you also get magnesium from soy beans, from canola oil. So that is uh not magnesium sorry omega3 from all these uh uh food that I mentioned. Okay. Now B vitamins. So B vitamins especially you know uh B6, B9, B12 the whole B vitamin group it is you know very vital for producing energy for regulating mood and for synthesizing key neurotransmitter like dopamine and serotonin. So a deficiency in B vitamin is commonly linked to fatigue, low motivation and mood disorders. So where do you get your vitamin B from? from having whole grains like you know uh having dalia or even having brown rice for that matter from lent from lentils like you know masud dal moon dal okay from leafy vegetables like matey from spinach um you can also take eggs if you’re taking non-ch yeah eggs are there uh vitamin B rich from dairy like curd and milk rich in vitamin B right then let’s talk about vitamin D now Vitamin D known as the sunshine vitamin. So vitamin D is actually a hormone that influences over thousands of genes in the body including those related to the brain development and emotional regulation as well. So low level of vitamins are very strongly associated with seasonal effective disorder, depression and fog like brain fog is what I’m talking about. Now where do you get your vitamin D from? Now sunlight is a major source of uh vitamin D you know is something that I think all of you know here. Apart from that fortified milk or orange juice these also have you know they are also rich in vitamin D. Uh even mushrooms have a they are also rich in vitamin D. Uh eggs and fish rich in vitamin D again. Okay. So these are how nutrients and vitamins are are important for our mental and emotional well-being. So how can nutrients, vitamins and minerals helps with you know our mental health? So they help us to think more clearly and be more alert. They help deal with anxiety and depression as I’ve already mentioned. They help reduce stress level. Right? So to sum it up, you know, this is what uh having a food rich in nutrients and vitamins and minerals can help you with. Okay. All right. Let’s talk about some of the superfood for uh brain health. Uh I have uh briefly discussed about what super superfoods are, right? So let’s see again what these are. So um now that we have covered you know the key nutrients that the brain needs now let us look at all these superfoods which not only they not only fuel your body but they also actively protect repair and enhance your brain’s function. So starting with blueberries. So these little berries are like antioxidant bombs. Okay they are rich in flavonoids and they improve your memory. They help boost your learning capacity and they protect the brain from aging and stress. So think of them as your brain cell bodyguards. Okay? Bodyguards for your brain cells. Right? Next, coffee. Okay? Now that might, you know, seeing this might make a lot of you happy, especially if you are someone who likes to have their regular coffee every day. So yes, coffee in moderation. It is great for the brain. Okay. It contains caffeine and antioxidants that improves alertness, concentration and even sometimes elevate mood. So you know if taken in moderation, caffeine can also increase brain function by enhancing the release of dopamine which is again the feel-good chemical. Right? Then we have avocados. So avocados are rich in healthy fats, especially you know the monossaturated fats which support the blood flow to the brain and enhance your focus and avocados also you know avocados contain vitamin K which helps with memory and helps that that helps to kind of protect you against any sort of cognitive decline right so that’s there then we have dark chocolate so dark chocolate with minimum of 70% of cocoa it is again full of flavonoids caffeine and magnesium. So, it boosts neuroplasticity. It reduces the, you know, stress hormone and it enhances the mood and attention span. Plus, again, it’s a delicious way for you to take care of your mind. Uh, yes guys, it does harm your sleep cycle if you um have a messed up sleep cycle. So, having a caffeine or coffee at night might not be the best idea. That’s why you know I mentioned having it in moderation given that you already have a proper sleep cycle. Having it in moderation can actually help you but yes being overly dependent on it uh is obviously not a very healthy way to go about it especially if you have your sleep cycle not in place. Okay. H so after dark chocolate there are nuts and seeds. Okay. So walnuts, almonds, chia seeds, flax seeds as we discussed they are rich in omega-3 fatty acids, vitamin E and zinc. All of which are linked to better mood, memory and it helps to slower your brain aging. So just a handful of them daily can make a big difference. Okay. Then whole grains. The whole grains like oats, brown rice, quinoa, they release glucose slowly providing a steady energy supply to the brain. So they help with focus and prevent fatigue that comes from sugar crashes. Right? Then haldi or turmeric. Now the golden spice turmeric it contains curcumin which is a powerful anti-inflammatory and antioxidant. So it can cross the blood brain barrier and it boosts your serotonin and dopamine and even promote the growth of new brain cells. And you know as as Indians most of our diet it does contain turmeric like you know in most of the subzies that we have there’s a pinch of turmeric added. So we Indians usually don’t lack or we are not deficient in turmeric at all. So that’s one good thing. Then we talk about beans. So beans are an amazing source of plantbased protein. So you know B vitamins, magnesium and fiber as well. So they help to balance blood sugar. They keep your brain energized and your mood stable throughout the day. Okay. So now just to wrap it uh up the whole superfoods you know if you are wondering how to feed your brain better just think of color variety and whole foods. So adding even a few of these superfoods in your daily routine can sharpen your focus, boost your mood and even protect your brain in the long run. So you know food is truly you know a medicine especially for your mind. So that’s how you know when we say food is medicine this is what we mean you know how it helps to uh kind of holistically protect us in terms of our physical health in terms of our emotional and mental health as well. Okay. Now let’s just briefly see what we need to avoid because till now we’ve been talking about uh you know what we are kind of what we need to have what we need to eat. So let’s just kind of see that you know what we need to avoid. So too much of sugar can lead to neural damage can lead to inflammation in body can lead to cognitive impairment basically impairment in your thinking pattern cognitive impairment and can lead to mood changes. Similarly, having a lot of alcohol and other such substances can lead to agitation, can lead to lack of motivation and it can also lead to large changes in the mood. It can lead to increased stress and anxiety. So these are things that we must try to avoid as much as we can or have in moderation. Right? Having a little bit of sugary food here and there is fine but in extreme amounts this is what it can do. Okay? Okay, the next thing that we can look out to avoid is packaged and processed food. So having a lot of packaged and processed food is linked to depression and anxiety, having low mood, you know, and even cognitive impairments that is impairment in our thoughts, impairments in our thinking patterns, right? Then having a lot of trans fats and refined carbs is what can lead to insulin spike. it can lead to depression and a lot of mood fluctuations. So again that is also something that we can look out for to avoid or to have you know in very moderate quantity right. Okay. Now let us look at the case study again. So we remember Rohan right whom we talked about you know in the beginning of our workshop. So the nutritional psychiatrist who worked with Rohan to revamp his diet. What did the psychiatrist do? He encouraged Rohan to increase his intake of omega-3 fat uh rich foods like fatty fish, chia seeds, walnut to support healthy brain health. He was also guided to include more fruits and vegetables to boost his intake of essential vitamins, minerals and fibers. Okay. Now to enhance his gut health, Rohan was advised to include probiotic rich food like yogurt and fermented foods in his diet. We talked about how probiotic rich foods help to uh you know promote a healthy gut microbiome. So yes, that is what he would suggested to. Now he was also encouraged to you know reduce his intake of processed food. Again, this is something that we discussed that you know just now how we talked about taking uh as less of processed food as possible is something that can help us think more clearly. You know it can elevate our energy levels because you know when you take a lot of processed food you might have noticed that it makes you feel lethargic like let’s say you’re having a lot of uh chips. Let’s say you’re having a lot of packaged food items right? It makes you feel lethargic. lethargic makes you feel uh tired, right? So yes, he was encouraged to reduce his intake of processed food, sugary drinks and stay adequately hydrated throughout the day. All right. Okay. So now let us talk about uh okay uh someone’s asking can you mention food for iron? So iron you get iron in spinach a lot you know I spinach is rich in iron in matey you get it in matey uh you get it in even tofu paneer rich in iron legumes if you take rajma chana they are all iron rich food but spinach as we know if you can include spinach you know that is definitely something uh which will give you a lot of iron if that is something that you’re lacking okay let us Now move on to the next slide. Okay. Now we have a little quiz time for you all. So let’s see what is the quiz. So only medication and therapy can improve mental health and food has no role to play. True or false? And if it is false, why is it false? If is it true, why is it true? Okay, false. A lot of people are saying false. But why do you think it’s false? How do you think food is impacting it? In short, you can tell how is it helping you improve your mental health. Yes. Mental health also depends on gut health. That’s right. Because food does help plus to regulate our mood and body regulation. Yes, Ka very rightly mentioned healthy gut equals to mind healthy. Perfect. The easiest way to sum it up. Great job. So, you know, everyone definitely did learn something then uh from today’s workshop. Uh food good food increase brain function and release hormones. Yeah. releasing neurotransmitters like serotonin which in turn helps to you know regulate your uh mood. Gut health depend on gut health depends on mental health. Yes, food is important for mental health because it gives our brain the nutrients it needs to make mood regulating chemicals and support gut health. Absolutely. Dasha, perfect answers everyone. like it definitely shows that you know you all uh kind of had some sort of takeaway from the workshop so far. Great job. Okay, now the next one is how does hydration affect mental health? Uh I’ve talked about it briefly. So let’s see if you remember what hydration does and how it helps in your mental health. So you can just share your answer in the chat box. Perfect answer Chandana. It improves communication between our brain cells. Exactly what I had mentioned. Great job. Water helps maintain balance of neurotransmitter and flush out toxin. Absolutely. Hydration helps because it reduces rehydration example has in coconut water os or simply water totally reduces inflammation as well as purify blood cells of our body. Yes, improves digestion. Okay, great. So yes very correctly mentioned everyone uh you know proper hydration plays a very crucial role in our mental health. When a body is dehydrated, it can lead to fatigue, poor concentration, mood swings and increased feelings of anxiety or depression. So yes, water is very essential for brain function because it also helps you know in maintaining optimal neurotransmitter balance and ensures efficient delivery of nutrients and removal of toxins. Right? So st staying well hydrated supports uh supports clearer thinking supports emotional stability and just you know better overall mental wellbe. So yes that is absolutely correct what are you know everything that you have mentioned. Now let us just look at uh you know some of the food that can help you with stress anxiety. So these are you know you can just note them down if you want having a lot of whole grain uh bread uh avocados uh you know legumes pickles these these all are foods that will help you with uh your stress and anxiety if you are suffering from that having a good amount of these foods or the right uh uh you know concentration of these uh food being included in your diet can help you with uh your stress and anxiety. Then we have depression. Now as we have already discussed that you know the the food that we eat also uh is kind of helping us in u balancing the neurotransmitters and depression is a lot of the times u a reduced amount of seroton in our uh body. Right? So these are foods that can help you elevate your mood and kind of help you with depression. So you know eating dark chocolates, yogurt, green vegetables, sunflower seeds, you know having prebiotics, you know antioxidant rich food, healthy fats. These are what helps you uh kind of fight depression to certain extent, right? So you can again note few of these down if you want and with that let us you know see and sum up everything that we have seen so far right so we talked about how hydration helps everyone just mentioned you know how hydration is going to help you in having a healthy you know communication between your brain cells then we talked about how healthy Whole grain carbs help to have a help you have a steady energy level. Antioxidant rich foods very important to protect your brain cells from damage. Fatty acids you know omega-3 fatty acids very much in deep we discussed about that. Taking good amounts of fruits and vegetables and obtaining your vitamins and minerals from them. How important that is. fermented foods like yogurt, uh pickles, you know, for your probiotics and prebiotic. Again, we talked about how that helps in having a good healthy gut microbiome, right? To sum it up, this is what we discussed and this is these are the main things or the areas of nutrition we focus today for our mental health. So, that is basically all that we have for today’s workshop. Uh and thank you all for attending and staying till the end. uh you know okay yeah so yeah thank you everyone for staying till the end and uh I hope you know after this workshop uh this gives you a little bit of motivation to uh you know go with healthier diet and to kind of focus on your mental health through changing your diet a little bit right so I hope this encourages you to eat healthier and care for your mental health in a different way today right thank you so much uh yes most brown bread is basically maida so as much as you can avoid h having breads in general even the brown bread that you get is not very much different from the white bread you get so yeah u avoiding bread is what I would recommend uh and yes oatmeal is definitely any day way better than uh having those packaged brown breads Okay. All right. Thank you all everyone. U I hope this was able to kind of change your mind about how you see mental health only in terms of therapy and medication and also encourage you to change your diet in order to elevate your mood. All right. So, you know, I hope you have a nice fun day and I hope this kind of uh you know, you’re able to take on what you learned today uh into your day. And all right, thank you everyone

🥗 Can what you eat heal how you feel?
At MindTribe, we believe mental health is more than just therapy — it’s everything that nourishes you. In this eye-opening workshop, we dive into Nutritional Psychiatry, a revolutionary field that explores how your diet directly influences your mental and emotional well-being.

Whether you’re experiencing anxiety, low energy, mood swings, or burnout — this video reveals how food might be playing a bigger role than you think.

🧠 What Is Nutritional Psychiatry?
It’s more than just “eating healthy.”
Nutritional Psychiatry is the science of how your gut and brain are deeply connected through a network of nerves, hormones, and microbes known as the gut-brain axis.

When your gut is inflamed or imbalanced — often caused by sugar, processed foods, or nutrient deficiencies — your mood suffers.
When your gut is nourished and supported, your brain becomes clearer, calmer, and more resilient.

Research now shows that people with diets rich in:
✔ Whole grains
✔ Leafy greens
✔ Omega-3s (like flax seeds & fatty fish)
✔ Fermented foods (like curd & kimchi)
✔ Nuts and seeds

… experience lower levels of depression, anxiety, and cognitive decline.

This workshop will help you understand why what you eat is mental health care — not just self-care.

👩‍⚕️ Led by Experts at MindTribe
MindTribe is India’s leading mental wellness platform, founded by Dr. Prerna Kohli (Ph.D., M.Phil), clinical psychologist and trauma specialist. We offer therapy that’s not just talk — but rooted in holistic, science-backed practices that address the mind, body, and soul.

Our psychologists integrate nutritional insights into mental health care, using:
✔ Gut-brain healing strategies
✔ Psychoeducation on inflammation and mental health
✔ Behavior-based habit tracking
✔ Personalized food-mood journaling

At MindTribe, we believe emotional healing can begin on your plate.

🎯 This Workshop is for You If You:
Struggle with anxiety, irritability, or low energy

Want to understand the emotional effects of sugar, caffeine, and ultra-processed foods

Are seeking natural ways to manage stress and mood

Work as a therapist, parent, coach, or caregiver and want to support others holistically

💬 What You’ll Take Away:
A clear understanding of the gut-brain connection

Food categories that support or sabotage mental health

Lifestyle changes that go beyond diet to support brain wellness

Hope — not as a trend, but as a sustainable lifestyle shift

📍 What’s Next?
✔ Visit www.mindtribe.in to work with a therapist who can guide your food-mood journey
✔ Follow @MindTribe on Instagram & YouTube for daily, evidence-based content
✔ Subscribe and share this video with anyone looking for natural ways to feel better

MindTribe: Empowering Minds, Transforming Lives — one meal, one moment, one mind at a time.