Take Me To Post Comment Form I am turning into a health nut -- thinking more and more about what I eat and what effect it will have and reading nutrition labels to be certain I make good decisions about food choices. I want to have every advantage possible as I head into being one of those “older old Americans." According to Mental Health America, we know that mental health problems are a risk regardless of our health history and that older adults have the highest suicide rate in the country.

A recent headline on BBC News caught my eye: “Healthy Diet Cuts Dementia Risk. I am not on the treadmill or lifting weights just for my heart and lungs -- now I know I am doing it for my brain as well! A study in the journal Neurology reported that researchers looked at the diets of more than 8,000 healthy men and women over 65. The results: “People who ate fish at least once a week had a 40% lower risk of dementia, while eating fruit and vegetables once a day reduced the risk by 35%.

In Reintegration Today, a magazine about living with schizophrenia, I came across the article “We Are What We Eat. It states that …the public is much less aware of the mounting evidence that a healthy diet is just as important for our mental health. Similar to the heart, liver and stomach, the brain is also an organ of the body, nourished -- or not -- by what we eat and drink.

It is good news that researchers and nutrition experts are gathering more understanding of how our food choices influence our brains. According to nutrition and health educator Amy Scholten, “growing evidence suggests that omega-3 fatty acids -- fats found in fish (salmon, tuna, halibut, etc.) and certain plant foods (tofu, soybean oil, walnuts, leafy greens, etc) -- may also be helpful for the prevention and treatment of certain mental illnesses.

Dr. David Horrobin, pioneer in fatty acids research and schizophrenia, provides this wonderfully rational view of nutrition as it relates to mental illness. “Schizophrenia is not caused by a nutritional deficiency...Nutrition is a way of putting the biochemistry of the brain in the best possible shape to allow other treatments to work. Nutrition is a partner in the therapeutic alliance, not the only player.

While there may be no firm conclusions about the role nutrition plays in mental illness, there is enough evidence to suggest that we should use some plain old common sense about what we eat. According to the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, healthy brain nutrition is one that emphasizes fruits, vegetables, whole grains, fat-free or low-fat milk and milk products. It includes lean meats, poultry, fish, beans, eggs, nuts, and is low in saturated fats, trans fats, cholesterol, salt, and added sugars.

No matter what our nutrition goals -- whether it is for a healthy heart, controlling diabetes, stabilizing bipolar disorder, or living well with schizophrenia, we all need to focus on fruits and vary our veggies!