YMCA Healthy Living Magazine, powered by n4 food and health YMCA SUMMER 2020 | Page 8

JACKSON BARNARD
Jackson Barnard is a recently graduated dietitian currently working with the Coburg
Football Club. Jackson is passionate about sports nutrition and helping people achieve
their health goals, whether they are an elite athlete or weekend warrior. You can find out
more about Jackson on Instagram @barnyardnutrition
FOOD AND
MOOD
Explore the link between what we eat and how we feel, with dietitian Jackson Barnard.
Does what we eat affect our mood?
The short answer here is “yes” – undeniably. The relationship
between what you eat and how you feel is an emerging area
of research with plenty yet to be discovered. But we already
know it goes way beyond eating comfort foods when we’re
stressed, or feeling tired if we skip meals. There are so many
ways that food can either harm or heal, when it comes to our
mental health.
Many studies over the years have looked at the connection
between food and mental health. Most of these have been
observational in nature (observing people and their diets) and
focused on whole diets rather than single nutritional factors
(for example, particular foods, vitamins or minerals). And
although no two studies are the same, the common thread
among the vast majority is that diet quality appears to predict
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YMCA HEALTHY LIVING MAGAZINE SUMMER 2020
the risk of developing depressive disorders − regardless of
factors such as education, weight, physical activity levels and
socioeconomic status.
Diet quality encompasses food variety, nutrient density,
nutritional adequacy, and balance within an individual’s eating
habits. In short, it appears that eating a diverse range of
foods (particularly from plant sources), minimising processed
foods and eating a balanced diet, can substantially lower
your risk of developing depression.
With all this evidence about better diets helping our mental
health, the question that follows is: “If I’m already depressed,
can I recover simply by eating better?” And that’s exactly the
question that was set out to be answered in the SMILES Trial,
where SMILES stands for “Supporting the Modification of
Lifestyle in Lowered Emotional States”.