Abstract:

This consensus statement from ISNPR has no abstract. The first few paragraphs are reproduced here, and the full statement is freely available online.

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In recent years, there has been an unprecedented growth in both the quantity and methodological quality of research directed at exploring the relationship between nutrition and mental health. Indeed, the strength of data has now afforded nutritional medicine a place in the mainstream psychiatric discourse (1).

Robust associations have been established between nutritional quality and mental health, with the bulk of this evidence indicating a protective effect of healthy diets on depressed mood (2), and the newest research supporting a detrimental impact of unhealthy diets on the mental health of young people (3,4) and adults (5,6,7).

There are also convincing data supporting the application of certain nutrient-based supplements (nutraceuticals) as monotherapy or combined therapy (8), or as augmentation therapy (9).

Although the growth in scientific research related to nutrition in psychiatry may be recent, it is now at a stage where it can no longer be ignored. In light of this, we aim to provide a platform to move towards a new integrated paradigm in psychiatry whereby nutritional considerations (both educational and prescriptive) can be considered “mainstream” (1). To this end, we present a consensus position statement from the International Society for Nutritional Psychiatry Research (ISNPR).

1) Sarris et al., 2015 - Nutritional medicine as mainstream in psychiatry

2) Lai et al 2014 - A systematic review and meta-analysis of dietary patterns and depression in community-dwelling adults.

3) O'Neil et al., 2014 - Relationship between diet and mental health in children and adolescents: a systematic review.

4) Jacka et al 2013 - Maternal and early postnatal nutrition and mental health of offspring by age 5 years: a prospective cohort study

5) Akbaraly et al 2009 - Dietary pattern and depressive symptoms in middle age

6) Sánchez-Villegas et al 2009 - Association of the Mediterranean dietary pattern with the incidence of depression: the SUN cohort

7) Jacka et al 2010 - Association of Western and traditional diets with depression and anxiety in women

8) Rucklidge & Kaplan 2013 - Broad-spectrum micronutrient formulas for the treatment of psychiatric symptoms: a systematic review.

9) Sarris et al 2010 - Adjuvant use of nutritional and herbal medicines with antidepressants, mood stabilizers and benzodiazepines.

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