A RAMBLE THROUGH HISTORY. NUTRITION AND MENTAL HEALTH
From «How Have Views on Nutrition and Mental Health Changed?” (Kaplan BJ and Rucklidge JJ, University of Calgary, Canada and University of Canterbury, New Zealand)
The theme nutrition and mental/emotional health is now growing in scientific literature, but human knowledge goes back in time for many thousands of years (documented for about 2700 years).
- Reference: Bible, first part of Book of Daniel
- Date: At the beginning of the Babylonian exile (about 538 BCE)
- The story: King Nebuchadnezzar pillaged Jerusalem and took captives back to Babylon. Nebuchadnezzar wanted the captured youths. The king expected that youths were trained for 3 years to serve in his palace, to eat the same food as the royal family. However, one captive, Daniel, opposed a diet rich in meat and alcohol, proposing instead a comparison with an alternative diet (only legumes and water), for him and 3 friends for a 10-day trial.
What is a clinical trial?
A clinical trial is a study in which participants receive specific interventions according to the research plan or protocol. These interventions may be medical products, such as drugs or devices; procedures; or changes to participants' behavior, such as diet. Aim of clinical trials is comparing a new medical approach to a standard one that is already available, to a placebo that contains no active ingredients, or to no intervention. The investigators try to determine the safety and efficacy of the intervention by measuring certain outcomes in the participants. (see for more information)
A clinical trial is a study in which participants receive specific interventions according to the research plan or protocol. These interventions may be medical products, such as drugs or devices; procedures; or changes to participants' behavior, such as diet. Aim of clinical trials is comparing a new medical approach to a standard one that is already available, to a placebo that contains no active ingredients, or to no intervention. The investigators try to determine the safety and efficacy of the intervention by measuring certain outcomes in the participants. (see for more information)
⇒ We can translate diet comparison among captives into a modern research study approach describing a clinical trial, i.e. the comparison between 2 groups with a different kind of diet (not randomly assigned) for a period of follow-up of 10 days.
Group 1 Diet rich in meat and alcohol
Group 2 Diet with legumes and water
Group 1 Diet rich in meat and alcohol
Group 2 Diet with legumes and water
- Study results: The king found Daniel and his friends ten times better than group who had consumed mainly meat and alcohol.
- Conclusion: We can interpret these findings stating that diet may affect brain function with some food elements more appropriate than others. However, we should consider that nutrients might provide many neurochemical modulatory activities that are beneficial in the management of mental health not only in isolation, but often in combination. Examples of these nutrients include foods elements containing omega-3 fatty acids, zinc, B vitamins (and folic acid), and vitamin D. (Rucklidge and Kaplan. Expert Rev Neurother 2013, 13:49–73).
"Let medicine be thy food and let food be thy medicine." — Hippocrates
Food influenced almost every aspect of life in ancient Greek society (Skiadas and Lascaratos. EJCN 2001;55:532-537). In ancient Greece dietetics was a prestigious branch of medicine and philosophers, such as Plato (born in Athens in 428 BC), paid special attention to nutrition because they believed that a proper diet was a precondition for corporal and intellectual well-being.
PLATO’S DIET
Plato’s trips around the Mediterranean gave him the opportunity to become familiar with different cultures also on nutritional aspects. Plato discussed a balanced diet, which included the consumption of all kind of nutrients in moderate quantities, sharing many common components with the highly-reputed Mediterranean diet, in order to achieve both physical and mental well-being.
Plato’s trips around the Mediterranean gave him the opportunity to become familiar with different cultures also on nutritional aspects. Plato discussed a balanced diet, which included the consumption of all kind of nutrients in moderate quantities, sharing many common components with the highly-reputed Mediterranean diet, in order to achieve both physical and mental well-being.
Healthy foods according to Plato: cereals, legumes, fruits, milk, honey and fish
Foods to be consumed in moderate quantities: meat, confectionery and wine
Foods to be consumed in moderate quantities: meat, confectionery and wine
Other traces regarding nutrition impact on mental health
In medieval times, food elements seemed to have different effects on mood, for example some were considered mood "lifters" (quince, elderberries, dates), or tranquilizers (lettuce, chicory). Disease was considered a disharmony that could be treated also by dietary approaches. Similarities can be found between medieval and current day concepts concerning health and nutrition, including the responsibility of the individual for assuring nutritional adequacy, the significant influence of life style, and the importance of certain foods.
More recently in 1861 Mrs Beeton, in Victorian Britain, wrote a book on household management where appreciated the role that food played in the expression of psychological symptoms:
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If we consider the amount of ill-temper, despondency, and general unhappiness which arises from want of proper digestion and assimilation of our food, it seems obviously well worth while to put forth every effort, and undergo any sacrifice, for the purpose of avoiding indigestion, with its resulting bodily ills.
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If we consider the amount of ill-temper, despondency, and general unhappiness which arises from want of proper digestion and assimilation of our food, it seems obviously well worth while to put forth every effort, and undergo any sacrifice, for the purpose of avoiding indigestion, with its resulting bodily ills.
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Furthermore modern era has observed the rise of pharmaceuticals for physical and mental health and maybe this eclipsed the rich historical knowledge that our ancestors had about the importance of food in maintaining good mental health.
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