Advances in Integrative Medicine 2 (2015) 34

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Advances in Integrative Medicine

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/aimed

Nutrition: A dimensional perspective

Judith Pentz *
University of New Mexico, United States

A R T I C L E I N F O

A B S T R A C T

Article history:
Available online 15 April 2015

This commentary explores the concerns of poor nutrition on mental well being as there is a growing body
of data suggesting that what we eat impacts our genes and our vulnerability to develop a mental illness.
2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Keywords:
Nutrition
Holistic
Traditional perspectives

As we enter deeper into the 21st century, nutrition has been in

the forefront of integrative medicine and yet, it has always present
in the traditional medicines of the world. Research has begun to
assist in validating the wisdom of Ayurveda, TCM, Tibetan
medicine and Persian medicine. From the awareness of the impact
of food quality and lifestyle on our genes to the simplicity of
returning to simple, local foods to deeply nourish us at all levels of
our human beingness, it is hard to ignore how far off center
Western culture has shifted in the daily food consumption for the
average Westerner.
What we eat matters, how we prepare food matters, where we
eat matters, with whom we eat matters. Why does all of it matter?
And why would a psychiatrist want to stress this? It matters
because what we CHOOSE to eat impacts WHO we are. This
includes our ability to manage stress and impacts our intrinsic
tendencies or weaknesses towards mental health challenges. We
have some awareness of how these choices impact us physically
yet little awareness is present in regards to their impact on our
mental health.
There is a growing body of evidence that we are facing an
epidemic of mental health problems that are being worsened by
the presence of processed food or junk food. This is known to be
nutrient poor and energy dense food that is cheap to purchase but
what is the high price we are paying as a culture? It is interesting to
consider that people are being overfed yet undernourished. One
study noted that there was a greater incidence in depression in
those individuals who consumed primarily processed food as well
as a level of malnutrition in these subjects [1]. If the body is unable
to absorb nutrients then the brain is not being given the key

* Tel.: +1 5053798271; fax: +1 5058839587.

E-mail addresses: pentz@swcp.com, jpentz@salud.unm.edu
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.aimed.2015.03.003
2212-9588/ 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

nutrients for the many enzymatic reactions needed to make the

neurotransmitters. This observational data suggests looking
deeper into the causal factors that diet has on the population at
large.
Diabetes, heart disease and smoking all have in common the
following key factors: poor diet, physical inertia and smoking.
Interestingly, we are now nding these same risk factors in
common mental health disorders. It has been suggested from a
preventive public health perspective that the focus would best be
on lifestyle as it is the most uid or plastic aspect in a persons life.
And most specically, the focus needs to be on habitual dietary
intake, not necessarily on nutrient supplementation [2].
From an Ayurvedic perspective, it has long been known that
poor quality food leads to health problems. It is also known that
certain foods deemed as rened are very hard for the body to
actually digest the processed food, as this food is not easily
recognized as familiar by the body. The process of what happens in
Ayurvedic terms is that this food ends up clogging the passageway
in the gastrointestinal system.
Seeking ways to introduce more traditional, closer to the source
foods that include vegetables, fruits, whole grains, pulses, nuts,
legumes, lean meats and seafood would allow for food to be our
medicine. Working with spices to aid in the digestion and
absorption of food is important part of aiding in the healing
elements that food can offer to us. Again, in the traditional healing
systems in the world, this is often the rst level of practical
knowledge imparted onto the person and the family when
someone is ailing. Beginning with the food we eat with healthful
choices, we are then more able to provide the body and brain with
the nutrients they need to be at an optimal level of functioning as
well as structure, thus reducing the risk of mental health as well as
physical disease. This holds true for all age groups, especially in the
more vulnerable parts of our population.

J. Pentz / Advances in Integrative Medicine 2 (2015) 34

Nutritional psychiatry is a growing eld of professionals who are

exploring these important considerations. And these concepts need
to move into mainstream mental health. Too often, the dietary
choices of patients are not addressed in the most basic of ways in
various mental health settings, including mental health institutions.
These settings are important opportunities to instill the changes that
need to happen for improved habitual dietary intakes.
Research is ongoing to explore these important topics. Having
governmental agencies support endeavors improving nutritional
information can be a rst step, which has happened with the
changing food pyramid, but further efforts are needed in the public
health sector worldwide. Increased nutritional education is needed
in medical schools including focus on the role of diet on brain/
mental health.
The role of the food industry and its impact on the world needs
to be further examined at a government level. A consideration of
policies toward supporting a return to more sustainable, whole
food diets that would be sensitive to culture would be welcomed as
well.
In conclusion, nutrition is increasingly being seen as an
important aspect in the health of the individual at the physical

level and now at the mental health level. Returning to a more

simple, wholesome diet reective of culture and region would
allow for a sustainable, healthful approach to improving the
health of the individual, the family and the community. It would
be signicant to seek ways to include communities to incorporate
these simple changes. There are traditional, proactive methods
available via the ancient traditions such as Ayurveda that can
assist us on this path to wholeness. Let us explore what these
traditions have to offer. Let us support the research that can
strengthen the wisdom of our elders from another time. And it is
important for the changes to be supported with governmental
efforts through education.

References
[1] Jacka F, Pasco J, Mykletum A, Williams L, Hodge A, OReilly S, et al. Association of
western and traditional diets with depression and anxiety in women. Am J
Psychiatry 2010;167(March).
[2] ONeil A, Itsiopoulos C, Skouteris H, Opie R, McPhie S, Hill B, et al. Preventing
mental health problems in the offspring by targeting dietary intake of pregnant
women. BMC Med 2014;12:208.