Balanced diet, without restrictions, can improve mental and cognitive health

Follow a balanced diet It is the key to a healthier life physically and mentally. A new study, published in Nature Mental Health This month, he analyzed four types of diet and discovered that, among them, an unrestricted diet, with a balance of different nutrients, may be the best for mental health and cognitive function.

To reach this conclusion, the search analyzed the eating patterns of more than 180,000 UK adults and divided these patterns into four categories:

  • Starch-free or reduced-starch diet;
  • Vegetarian diet;
  • Diet with high protein and low fiber intake;
  • Balanced diet (no restrictions).

More than half of the study participants fell into the “balanced ” and, among these people, the Outcomes for mental health and cognitive function were better than in any of the other three groups .

Those who followed a high-protein/low-fiber diet had lower volumes of gray matter in a part of the brain called the postcentral gyrus, which coordinates how the body moves through the environment, compared to those who followed a diet balanced.

Furthermore, the study found a increased risk for mental health-related disorders associated among participants who consumed more vegetables and fruits and restricted other types of nutrients, such as proteins and carbohydrates.

On the other hand, people who followed a vegetarian diet had larger volumes of gray matter in parts of the brain called thalamus and precuneus, responsible for transmitting and converging information to the sensory systems.

Based on these findings, the study suggests that a balanced diet without restriction of specific foods, is associated with better mental health and cognitive function . However, in addition, other factors must be taken into consideration, such as sleep quality, physical exercise and stress management.

Restrictive diets can cause nutrient deficiencies

Another recent study, published in the journal Perceptual and Motor Skillsresearchers from Brazil and Portugal investigated the main reasons why people adopt restrictive diets.

Conducted by scientists from the Universidade Estadual Paulista (Unesp), the Federal University of Alfenas (Unifal) and the University Institute of Psychological, Social and Life Sciences (Portugal) with support from FAPESP, the research found that the factors most associated with this behavior were health, mood, weight control, ethical concerns and those related to the consumption of natural products.

However, for researchers, this practice goes against the Food Guide for the Brazilian Populationpublished by the Ministry of Health. The document considers healthy eating to be a diet without severe restrictions and inflexible attitudes.

“Our findings highlight that investing in dietary changes thinking only about what you consume has a high chance of failing. Highly restrictive diets, for example, tend to generate inflexible and obsessive behaviors, which cause biopsychosocial difficulties, such as nutrient deficiencies, withdrawal from social environments and emotional suffering”, says Wanderson Roberto da Silva, professor of the Postgraduate Program in Food, Nutrition and Food Engineering at Unesp and first author of the study.

Source: CNN Brasil

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