An Updated Perspective on Diet and Depression

Dear Colleagues,

We are organizing a Special Issue on “An Updated Perspective on Diet and Depression” under the section of Nutritional Psychiatry in Nutrients.

Is our dietary pattern linked to our mental health? At present, the number of people with stress-induced cognitive vulnerabilities, mood disorders and psychiatric disorders will continue to rise globally over the coming decades. Exposure to unhealthy dietary behaviours during the prenatal, preschool, adolescents, adult and elderly stages may have effects on mental health across their whole life course. Evidence has shown that diet and nutrition have significant effects on mood and mental wellbeing. Solid scientific research is needed to explore the association between dietary pattern and cognitive performance. However, scientific findings have illustrated the unequivocal and inconsistent reasons which may be considered as part of the complex exposure of dietary pattern, poor methodological strategies, and multifactorial effect on psychiatric disorders etc. The previous research exploring the relationship between nutrition and mental health showed that a reduced risk of depression was associated with a healthy diet, defined as a high consumption of fruit, vegetables, fish and whole grains. This Special Issue is based on the interests: healthy dietary pattern associated with depression and mental disorders, food–mood connection, whole-of-diet intervention among the vulnerable population. Finally, food–mood connection in public health is not enough when it provides limited evidence on nutritional psychiatry. Nutritional policies on intervention, implementation of best practices to protect the vulnerable population, and measures to avoid cognitive dysfunction should all be more advanced, visible, and strengthened.

Prof. Dr. Hsien-Wen Kuo
Guest Editor

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