Mental Health &
Brain Health
Nutrition plays an important role in the health of your brain, both now and in the long-run. Your brain needs a variety of nutrients for proper functioning. Without proper nutrition, your mood, cognitive function, memory, sleep quality, and other mental health symptoms could be affected.
Mental Health
Not getting enough nutrition could worsen symptoms of mental health conditions, including mood disorders, depression, anxiety, cognitive impairment, and dementia.
Mental health challenges often make it harder to take steps to improve your health and to meet your nutrition requirements. Many factors can get in the way, including low motivation, food as a coping strategy, lack of interest in meals, reduced or heightened appetite, and disordered eating.
A dietitian can help you find an achievable step to take, from wherever you are in your journey. It doesn’t have to be a huge change, as this is often unattainable, but could be starting with a small change that can lead to gradual improvements.
Alongside other important strategies for managing mental health challenges, such as psychological counselling and treatment, and stress reduction and management, nutrition can also contribute to feeling better.
While the area of research on mental health disorders and its relationship to nutrition is lacking, there is a lot of science-based information about the role of different nutrients in brain function and mood-related neurotransmitters, as well as associations between nutrition deficiencies and mental health issues.
Disclaimer: Dietitians do not provide counselling specifically for mental health problems. Dietitian services are not meant to replace vital services for mental health including doctors, psychiatrists, and counsellors.
Dementia Prevention
While there are some things you can't change, such as age and genetics, that may increase your risk of developing dementia, there are also many factors that can help reduce risk of developing this condition, or that can help delay onset, slow progression, or reduce symptoms. This includes diet, physical activity, and vascular health (including managing blood pressure, cholesterol levels, and blood sugars).
A dietitian can help with reviewing your diet and guide you on the nutrients and foods that are helpful to include on a daily basis to help with either preventing or managing dementia.
If you're interested in getting support from a dietitian for mental health or reducing risk of dementia, go to this page to check out the nutrition counselling packages.
Want to see if this service is right for you?
Suggested package for those
currently struggling with mental health concerns:
Includes 2 Initial appointments for further exploration of barriers
and 2 follow-up sessions to review changes and adjust your goals/plan
Suggested package for support with
dementia prevention:
Includes 1 Initial appointment for a nutrition assessment and support
2 follow-ups to review changes and adjust your goals/plan