Just working out how to function in everyday life can be tough. The brain is a powerful and multifaceted tool that, if working at full potential, has the ability to regulate the influx of dense emotions and control complex networks around the body. Feeding the brain what is needs for optimal function can be challenging even for typically programmed individuals, and often it is impacted by pressures of everyday life which varies so dramatically from one person to another.  And to top it off, the “treatment gap [1]” means that there are limited resources accessible for those in need of neurological support and is often more focused on medicinal remedies. However, with the increase mental health difficulties over the recent years [2], this type of management isn’t achieving the desired outcome and the spotlight is being redirected to more accessible, holistic remedies in the form of nutrition.

This can be easy for people to over-look when they are living with a fully functioning brain, because for the majority, any short-term, minor deficiencies will be undetectable. However, for the neurodivergent individual, the reduction in certain mechanisms that enable their brain to function sufficiently could be greatly improved with sufficient supplementation and nutritional support [3], which just means we should maybe pay a little more attention to the finer details.

But before you take my word for it, lets look at the science…

As we know, nutrition has the ability to provide an abundance of goodness for our brains and bodies, especially in those whose brains are still developing [4][5]. There have been many scientific trials revealing the positive impact that micro-nutrients (vitamins and minerals) have on health [6] [7]. The type of food I’m talking about when referring to micro-nutrients is whole food that is high in nutritional value such as:

• fruit and veg
• fish
• some nuts and seeds
• lean meat
• fish

Basically, not food that has been stuffed full of sugar, salt, fat and preservatives or “ultra-processed”.

Long-story-short, almost all scientific evidence we have indicates that consumption of nutrient-dense foods with high levels of micro-nutrients on a regular basis is consistent with overall better health [6][8]. What’s more is that when compared to those people that have low consumption of micro-nutrients, the gap is even bigger. But what’s worth noting, is the notable difference in phycological well-being [9]. Evidence suggests that the overall improvement in mood is greater in those individuals that eat more food containing essential nutrients, and those foods high in sugar, slow down the uptake of nutrients from the nutritious food we do eat [10][11]. So it’s unsurprising that a number of studies that observed dietary patterns of teenagers which showed:

• high intake of ultra-processed foods high in refined sugars, salt and fat (such as fast-foods and snacks), was related to poor mental health and psychological functioning which improved after the increase of more whole foods[12][13].
• In younger children, healthier diets have even reduced behavioural symptoms and medicinal interventions for psychological treatment!

Ultimately, what the evidence is saying is that this kind of food is good for our brain as well as our bodies. Who knew? Well actually, quite a lot of people knew, but most of those people were scientists whose jobs were to specifically research this stuff and ethically they needed concrete evidence to be able to put the message out there. Up until very recently, people tended to view physical and mental health as 2 separate entities, instead of one effecting the other, which is pretty obvious, when you think about it. Historically, people either didn’t pay that much attention to psychological health or didn’t really talk about it. We were more of a stiff-upper lip kind of culture, and this outlook has changed dramatically in recent years, especially with the emergence of neurological diseases such as depression, anxiety and ADHD/ADD (Attention Deficit and Hyperactivity Disorder/Attention Deficit Disorder) in the media. Because of this we are a little bit behind on research surrounding nutrition in regards to management of cognitive function in neuro-diverse individuals, such as those with autism and ADHD, but what we do know is that in general, high levels of micro-nutrients are associated with good mental health, and diets that consist of low numbers of micronutrients are associated with low mood and reduced health [14].

Unfortunately, we’ve become a lot more accustomed to the taste of ultra-processed foods in recent years, and the easily accessibility of these foods means that they can be consumed, by anyone, in any quantity, at any time. Not only that, but they can be addictive, and especially vulnerable arethose with neurological diseases who have reduced dopamine receptors and are therefore prone to impulsivity and quick-fixes.

Sugar dense foods are often referred to as “comfort foods” because of their ability to temporarily improve mood through high palatability and dopamine release [15]. And sure, it tastes great and makes us feel happy and energised-for all of half an hour. Anyone with an ADHD child will know that that half an hour is the most painful half an hour of your existence, while you watch your child run from pillar to post and ask 1 million questions all in an attempt to burn of the excess energy, they got from the sugar they just had. It is then often met with a sugar crash and/or as mood low when we either feel really sleepy or really guilty for consuming unhealthy food.

So, the value of nutrition when it comes to brain development and growth has been well documented. But persuading an adult, let alone your neurodivergent child with sensory sensitivities that they should eat a stick of broccoli or some salmon instead of a chocolate bar or some crisps can seem like an impossible task. You don’t want to negatively affect your child relationship with food by restricting their intake or labelling food as “bad”[16], but it is important to be aware that impact that these types of foods have on our health is detrimental to our long-term well-being.

Our busy lifestyles mean that we are not all blessed with the time or the tools necessary to successfully accommodate these nutritional needs, and even more so when met with behavioural challenges. The severity of symptoms in neurological diseases from one person to another is exceedingly broad[8], and understanding the benefit of nutritional input is only half the battle. For the days you do have the time (and the means), I’d suggest indulging in a “cookery lesson” with your child, where they can look at, feel, touch, smell and taste foods. This will provide a safe, supervised environment where they can experience and build healthy relationships with food [17]. Behavioural research surrounding children’s attitude to food suggests that a safe environment encourages children to try new food, as well as benefits their social skills [18].

For the days that the above seems like an impossible task, just having the ability to provide your child with any beneficial nutrition at all is a win.  One of the major players in this field are Hardy’s Nutritionals. They are a company formed of medical and research professionals with the aim of improving long-term health for those who struggle with symptoms of neurodiverse diseases through the power of micro-nutrients.   Based on aforementioned nutritional evidence indicating that high intake of vitamins and minerals can widely benefit our health [6], clinical trials which facilitated the use of their supplements on people with neurological diseases such as autism and ADHD, and have shown positive outcomes in relation to symptom control in both mild and severe cases in children and adults:

• A large number of parents of children that used this product noted a considerable reduction in symptoms [19].
• Mood was drastically affected, which reduced the extent of behavioural challenges in children long-term, even after suspended use, and dramatically improved their overall quality of life.

Now, every child is different, and what could work for some may not work for others, so my advice? Take the evidence and make it work for you and your situation. Establish what works and what doesn’t and adapt.

Understand more about micronutrients and how they affect affect mood in our blog article:

• Why Children’s Diets Affect Their Mood and Behaviour

Or, for one to one support, book an appointment with one of our nutritionists who specialise in micronutrients:

Additionally, view our list of supplements that may support mental wellbeing:

Learn more

Here’s a bit more of an in-depth analysis of the ways in which nutrition is used by the body to aid cognitive function and impact mood.

The brain is essentially the control centre of the body. All functional responsibilities including the syncretisation of neurological signals given by neurotransmitters (inputs and outputs of messengers what enable systems to work properly) and metabolic competence (transformation of one compound to another) rely on sufficient nourishment and it’s efficiency is entirely dependent on the nutrients we consume [8].

Neurotransmitters are operational messengers used to transmit of transport nutrients to the brain, and help the release of vital chemicals that help to regulate pretty important stuff like your mood, memory and emotions. There are a range of neurotransmitters with different responsibilities that require a variety of nutrients for synthesis and production that leads to optimal brain functionality/health [4].

Eg. Tryptophan is needed for serotonin. We don’t eat serotonin but we consume tryptophan in some foods we eat which helps the body to produce serotonin. Serotonin is a “happy hormone” that regulates our mood and makes feel content. There are other ways of triggering serotonin in the body but in order to trigger the sufficient release of this, and other hormones, the body requires an intake of particular nutrients [20]. In other words, micro-nutrients provide not only the brain but the whole body with the necessary tools to work effectively.

One major trial that identifies the importance of nutrition in relation to mental health was The SMILES trial. This trial examined the dietary habits of a large number of adults who were able to dramatically improve depression through a healthier diet, and in some cases put it into remission [9]. The diet in question was the Mediterranean diet, which is now considered the gold-standard diet choice for cognitive function.

Mediterranean style diets consist of food such as whole fruit and veg, nuts and legumes, fish and olive oil (as well as low consumption of diary and processed meats) has been proclaimed as one of the healthiest diets for physical and mental health [8][9]. The top 10 fruits and veg that have been related to better mental health in studies that observed this type of diet were:

• lettuce
• apples
• berries
• bananas
• citrus fruits like grapefruit and oranges
• kiwi fruit
• carrots
• leafy vegetables like spinach, and cucumber

Along-side fruit and veg, an intake of oily fish has been directly correlated with brain function and development. These foods contain a combination of vitamins and minerals which are essential for nervous system management, mood and emotional regulation[21][22]. And some are only attainable through dietary sources.

Research shows that we should have 1:1 or 2:1 omega 6 fatty acids to omega 3 fatty acids (the good types of diet that help your brain do its thing) 3 but diets high in ultra-processed foods like the common Western diet shows an average of 15:1 omega 6 to omega 3, which can be detrimental to brain development and function [23]. Some studies have even shown that higher symptoms of ADHD correlated with a higher consumption of ultra-processed foods, and according to other research, 1/3 of children with ADHD with respond well to a diet that eliminate ultra-processed foods containing artificial colours and preservatives [24][25].

Learn more about omega 3 fatty acids in our blog article:  Dietary Omega-3s and Autism

Another of the key roles of micro-nutrients is the fundamental role in the production of ATP (Adenosine Triphosphate) which is the body’s main energy storage system. Because this system is a cellular level it, you guessed it, also requires micro-nutrients to work [26].  In fact, it relies solely on nutrients and needs a broad variety in order to function sufficiently! So, without sufficient nourishment, the body simply will not have enough energy provide adequate fuel to all its resources.

So moral of the story? Your body requires a variety of nutrients to function at its best, and that includes the regulation of our emotions and mood. However, even for those of us who understand the nutritional value of food we have days were it’s just not possible to achieve and so the challenge for the neurodiverse individual can be greater still, and yet arguably even more essential [27]. The takeaway? Prioritise. If we prioritise foods with higher nutritional value than those without, then there’s a nutritional buffer for the times that high nutritional consumption is impossible and the gap between good and poor nutrition are lesser. What’s more is that these habits can turn into long-term behaviour patterns and can improve neurological function and overall health across the life-span.

If you require support with dietary modifications or guidance on supplements to address nutritional deficiencies, book an appointment with one of our registered nutritionists:

References

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[2] WHO, 2019. Available online at: https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/mental-disorders [accessed:18/03/23].

[3] Ryu SA, Choi YJ, An H, Kwon HJ, Ha M, Hong YC, Hong SJ, Hwang HJ., 2022. Associations between Dietary Intake and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) Scores by Repeated Measurements in School-Age Children. Nutrients. 16;14(14):2919. doi: 10.3390/nu14142919. PMID: 35889876; PMCID: PMC9322602.

[4] Jacka, FN., Cherbuin, N., Anstey, KJ.,  Sachdev, PS. & Butterworth, P., 2015. Western diet is associated with a smaller hippocampus: a longitudinal investigation. BMC Med, 13, 215, doi: https://doi.org/10.1186/s12916-015-0461-x.

[5] Borge, TC.,  Brantsæter, AL.,  Caspersen, IH., Meltzer, HM.,  Brandlistuen, RE., Aase, H. and Biele, G., 2019. Estimating the Strength of Associations Between Prenatal Diet Quality and Child Developmental Outcomes: Results From a Large Prospective Pregnancy Cohort Study, American Journal of Epidemiology, 188 (11), 1902–1912, https://doi.org/10.1093/aje/kwz166

[6] Mujcic, R, J., Oswald, A., 2016. Evolution of Well-Being and Happiness After Increases in Consumption of Fruit and Vegetables, Am J Public Health. 106(8),1504-10. doi: 10.2105/AJPH.2016.303260.

[7] Opie RS, O’Neil A, Itsiopoulos C, Jacka FN, 2015. The impact of whole-of-diet interventions on depression and anxiety: a systematic review of randomised controlled trials. Public Health Nutr. (11):2074-93. doi: 10.1017/S1368980014002614. Epub 2014 Dec 3. PMID: 25465596; PMCID: PMC10271872.

[8] Fekete M, Lehoczki A, Tarantini S, Fazekas-Pongor V, Csípő T, Csizmadia Z, Varga JT. 2023. Improving Cognitive Function with Nutritional Supplements in Aging: A Comprehensive Narrative Review of Clinical Studies Investigating the Effects of Vitamins, Minerals, Antioxidants, and Other Dietary Supplements. Nutrients. 15;15(24):5116. doi: 10.3390/nu15245116. PMID: 38140375; PMCID: PMC10746024.

[9] Jacka, F. N., O’Neil, A., Opie, R., Itsiopoulos, C., Cotton, S., Mohebbi, M., . . Berk, M., 2017. A randomised controlled trial of dietary improvement for adults with major depression (the ‘SMILES’ trial). BMC Medicine, 15(1), 23. doi: 10.1186/s12916-017-0791-y

[10] LaChance L.R., Ramsey, D., 2018. Antidepressant foods: An evidence-based nutrient profiling system for depression. World Journal of Psychiatry, Volume 8, Issue 3, Pages 97-104.

[11] Xu, Y., Zeng, L., Zou, K., Shan, S., Wang, X., Xiong, J., Zhao, L., Zhang, L. and Cheng, G., 2021. Role of dietary factors in the prevention and treatment for depression: an umbrella review of meta-analyses of prospective studies. Transl Psychiatry,11 (1), 478. doi: 10.1038/s41398-021-01590-6.

[12] Jacka, F., Kremer, P.,  Berk, M., de Silva-Sanigorski, A. et al., 2011. “A Prospective Study of Diet Quality and Mental Health in Adolescents“, PloS One 6, no. 9: e24805.

[13]Conner, TS., Brookie, KL., Carr, AC., Mainvil, LA. and Vissers, MC., 2017. Let them eat fruit! The effect of fruit and vegetable consumption on psychological well-being in young adults: A randomized controlled trial. PLoS One, 12 (2), 0171206, doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0171206.

[14] Brookie KL, Best GI, Conner TS., 2018.  Intake of Raw Fruits and Vegetables Is Associated With Better Mental Health Than Intake of Processed Fruits and Vegetables. Front Psychol. 2018;9:487

[15] Avena NM, Rada P, Hoebel BG. Evidence for sugar addiction: behavioral and neurochemical effects of intermittent, excessive sugar intake. Neurosci Biobehav Rev. 2008;32(1):20-39. doi: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2007.04.019. Epub 18. PMID: 17617461; PMCID: PMC2235907.

[16] Why We Should Avoid Labeling Food as Good or Bad (withinhealth.com)

[17] Sensory food education – Help for early years providers – GOV.UK

[18]Scaglioni S, De Cosmi V, Ciappolino V, Parazzini F, Brambilla P, Agostoni C. 2018. Factors Influencing Children’s Eating Behaviours. Nutrients. 31;10(6):706. doi: 10.3390/nu10060706. PMID: 29857549; PMCID: PMC6024598.

[19] Johnstone JM, Hatsu I, Tost G, Srikanth P, Eiterman LP, Bruton AM, Ast HK, Robinette LM, Stern MM, Millington EG, Gracious BL, Hughes AJ, Leung BMY, Arnold LE., 2022. Micronutrients for Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder in Youths: A Placebo-Controlled Randomized Clinical Trial. J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry. 2022 May;61(5):647-661. doi: 10.1016/j.jaac.2021.07.005. Epub 2021 Jul 22. Erratum in: J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry. 6;: Erratum in: J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry. 2023 May;62(5):607. Erratum in: J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry. 2023 Nov;62(11):1276. PMID: 34303786; PMCID: PMC8782920.

[20] Fernstrom, J.D., 2016. A Perspective on the Safety of Supplemental Tryptophan Based on Its Metabolic Fates. The Journal of Nutrition. Volume 146, Issue 12, Pages 2601S–2608S.

[21] Kennedy, D.O., 2016. B Vitamins and the Brain: Mechanisms, Dose and Efficacy—A Review. Nutrients 8, 68. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu8020068

[22] Kang, JH., Cook, N., Manson, J., Buring, JE. and Grodstein, F., 2006. A randomized trial of vitamin E supplementation and cognitive function in women. Arch Intern Med, 166 (22), 2462-8, doi: 10.1001/archinte.166.22.2462.

[23] Pawels EK. And Volterrani, D., 2008. Fatty acid facts, Part I. Essential fatty acids as treatment for depression, or food for mood? Drug News Perspect, 21 (8):446-51. doi: 10.1358/dnp.2008.21.8.1272136.

[24] Buka I, Osornio-Vargas A, Clark B., 2011. Food additives, essential nutrients and neurodevelopmental behavioural disorders in children: A brief review. Paediatr Child Health. (7):e54-6. doi: 10.1093/pch/16.7.e54. PMID: 22851902; PMCID: PMC3200397.

[25] Feingold, B., 1985. Why Your Child Is Hyperactive: The bestselling book on how ADHD is caused by artificial food flavours and colours. Random House.

[26] Designs for Health. 2019. Nutrition Notes: Optimizing Micronutrient Status for Energy Metabolism

 [27] Ryu SA, Choi YJ, An H, Kwon HJ, Ha M, Hong YC, Hong SJ, Hwang HJ., 2022. Associations between Dietary Intake and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) Scores by Repeated Measurements in School-Age Children. Nutrients. 16;14(14):2919. doi: 10.3390/nu14142919. PMID: 35889876; PMCID: PMC9322602.

Disclaimer:  The views and opinions expressed in this blog post are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of any professional organization or guidelines. The information provided is for educational and informational purposes only and is not intended as a substitute for professional advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your therapist or other qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical or mental health condition.